Sirens

Sirens By Clam Chowder

"Where am I?"

He'd seen a signal fire along the foggy shore... then water was everywhere...

Jim Bob opened his eyes and immediately shut them. The light was bright.

Had he seen angels too?

He put a hand in front of his face and cracked his eyelids.

"You're on the Island of Sirens."

"Sirens? Like the myth?" He rubbed his eyes and adjusted to the daylight flooding the palatial room. He drank in the beautiful woman standing over him. "You don't look half-fish," he joked.

"Oh," she purred. "You'll be tasting my fishy parts soon enough."

"Oh yeah?" A horny sailor needed no further encouragement- Wait. What about the beacon? "First there's someone around here who needs rescuing. I got a distress call-"

"That would be us," a tall amazon proclaimed. He sat up as she stepped forward from a throng of women assembled around his bed. "We are the ones in need of rescuing. And as your Queen, I claim the right of first night!"

"Aw," the crowd murmured.

"So there's no emergency?" Jimmy asked.

"We are the emergency," she said slipping her pants off. "We haven't had a man here in five years. The rest of you leave," she barked. The divine ladies clothed in long flowing robes filed through the various doors of the chamber in graceful, long lines. A masterpiece of every variation on the feminine form paraded by- "You will understand if I dispense with the pleasantries." She straddled his hips and placed his throbbing erection inside her.

"Sure," he smiled. "Anything to help." Was he dreaming? He hoped he'd never wake up.

"How strong are you?"

"Fairly strong. Why? You need help repairing my yacht?"

"Your yacht is destroyed. Every ship that lands here is destroyed. It is part of the curse," she said as she bounced up and down on his pole. "I am sorry, but you won't be leaving. None of us is leaving."

He sighed. This could sure beat counting beans for a living. And he wouldn't have to worry about jealousy. They sure seemed to be into sharing. "So I'm stuck here on an island of gorgeous women?" He shrugged it off. "I can think of worse things."

"You may. Now, how many times can you orgasm in any given night?"

"I don't know. Two, maybe three."

"Three? That's all? We may not have enough time until the next new moon. There are a hundred of us..." She looked up at the ceiling while her heavy breasts hopped up and down beneath her plain blouse. Her eyes rolled back as she did a calculation.

"The new moon's 26 days away. I'd have to sleep with almost four women a night."

"You are correct."

"Listen, I want to oblige and all... I know you must be pretty horny, but... uh, I really think I should pace myself. I lose interest after just once- "

"We do not have the time. You must get us pregnant before then. When you find out why, you will want all the sex you can."

"Pregnant!?" He tried to push her off. "Now listen, I don't want a hundred kids screaming and calling me daddy-"

She pinned his weak, waterlogged limbs to the bed. "That will not be a problem," she grinned. "Now cooperate or I will summon the guards."

"Boy, you aren't much for romance."

"I am the Queen. I do what I must. And do not flatter yourself thinking you will replace my consort. Enough talk." She pulled her top off revealing two cantaloupes Jimmy was all too happy to run through his fingers. The woman leaned forward and proceeded to attempt what he could only guess was some primitive form of tonsillectomy.

The Queen was relentless in her assault of his cock. Her hips wouldn't stop. She smothered his face with a lust he'd never experienced, sliding her stiff nipples and soft warm breasts against his chest as she filled his mouth with her sticky tongue. She flipped every switch in him she could find.

His hands drifted to her rippled posterior in a vain attempt to draw out their enjoyment. But as he kneaded her muscular, jiggling buns as she pounded away at him, it only turned him on more.

If he could just get some bit of control... make it last a little longer...

Too late. He could feel his seed spurting into her hot depths.

He shouldn't have spent so much time off fishing by himself. He had no endurance. It was almost embarrassing.

She broke off the kiss and observed his expression with mild curiosity as her hips came to a halt.

That one moment, as the last of his essence splashed against her cervix... had he detected a note of feminine softness in her eyes? Sympathy, perhaps? Her determination had calmed briefly...

No. There it was again.

He held on to her waist as she tried to climb from bed.

"But you didn't come yet, did you?"

He was never that inconsiderate.

"It is unimportant. You must now service my lover." Geez. That was pressing even his considerable politeness. "Do not try to tempt her as you have done with me."

What? She didn't like the way he grabbed her breasts? What was he supposed to do, tie his hands up?

"You're welcome," he said wryly.

"Next!" she shouted. "After this you may rest a while."

She stood and as she clapped her hands, Jimmy felt the urge to draw a sheet over his waist.

Two serving girls appeared, pretty in their own right, to wrap their Queen in a large red sheet. One of the girls couldn't keep her eyes off of him.

"Where are you going? Not gonna stay to keep an eye on us?" he teased.

"I must recline in the royal chambers so I may conserve your seed. Do not make it necessary to post a guard."

"I'm only kidding."

"The burdens of state have relieved me of my sense of humor in these matters. Enough. I must hurry. Already I feel you dripping from me. Once was all I could stand."

Lovely woman, he thought to himself. Must not be fond of men. I hope the company gets better.

The serving girl winked lewdly at him before leaving to follow her queen.

Hm. Maybe it would get better...

"Hope it's a boy," he said to the amazon's shimmying backside.

"Thank you," she replied as her ass scuttled around the corridor and then winked out like a candle.

Shortly, another woman appeared in the portal, dressed in a soft pink toga. Her straight blonde hair was pulled behind her in a decorative ribbon. She had the loveliest blue eyes. He could tell from here. He loved blue eyes. He could spot them from any distance.

Uh-oh.

He remembered the warning. This one just might tempt him. He could be in trouble here.

The vision spoke in such casual tones. "She can be a little bitchy when she has to do something she doesn't want to. Don't worry." She walked to his side of the bed and took a seat, stroking his gravelly whiskers with care and fascination. "Say... you are kind of cute." Her face lit up. "No wonder she wouldn't let me in the room while you slept."

"Are you going to flirt with me and get my head chopped off?"

"What?" she giggled.

She couldn't stop cracking up. She almost slid to the floor.

Had he said something funny for this culture?

She smirked. "You personal safety is fine, though she does think my eye wanders too much." The blonde carefully unwrapped her toga and pulled the folds over her head, revealing the two wonderfully formed milky teardrops hanging from her chest. "You can have lunch after we're finished and rest a few hours before the afternoon."

"Then it's back to work?"

"I'm afraid so."

"You seem to have a much more pleasant disposition than the Queen." Ooops. He shouldn't have said that to the Queen's girlfriend.

"Thank you." She shrugged. "One of us has to be a- " She stopped herself. "She really is quite nice in private. I always tell her she should be a little softer at official events but it hardly matters. There are so few. The rest of the time she's quite personable."

He chuckled. "So I'm an official event, huh?"

"I'm afraid so," she repeated. "I'm sorry about it. So what's your name?" she asked, changing the subject and dragging a nail under the sensitive part of his chin.

He was glad someone finally wanted to know. HeÕd like to be a person and less of an exhibit in his own dream.

"Jim Bob Baker. My friends call me Jimmy. You didn't save my boots did you? Those suckers were expensive."

"I'm Dahlia. It is a pleasure to meet you." He shook the gorgeous, half- dressed woman's delicate hand, then he let it wander back on its way. "I fear everyone washes up on the island naked, Jimmy." She caressed the sensitive flesh behind his kidney. "It is part of the curse. I'll have them send you a robe and some comfortable sandals when we're done. We should have a pair large enough in storage."

What was this curse thing all about? It wasn't much of a curse if it meant beautiful women waiting on you hand and foot.

"That's mighty kind of you, little lady." He brushed her hair back and stroked her cheek.

"It's just sex, now." She took his wrist in her tender grip. "I don't mind being sweet about it, but just so you know."

"Sure. I'm hardly royalty."

"It's not that..."

"I'm not looking for a harem anyway."

She giggled. "I like you. You're nice... Shhh," she whispered. "Don't tell her I said that."

"Don't worry." He grinned back at her. "I think you're nice too. And I understand. I've never much cared for the dykes that hung out at the bars back home but you ladies seem to me exceptional sweet... in every meaning of the word. I can imagine what not having a man in five years would be like. You all got yourselves in quite a predicament here and I can understand what it must have forced you to do."

She pinched him. "It kind of turns you on, doesn't it? Admit it."

"Yeah. How'd you guess?"

"Oh... I just know how men think is all. And I'm pretty good at spotting an erection."

He looked down at himself and smiled sheepishly. He was getting hard again and his absent-mindedness only fed her giggles.

She was certainly quite a change from the Queen. He hoped she'd be a little more passive. At least enough so she didn't bounce his balls black and blue...

Dahlia stood and lowered the rest of her robe, revealing a wonderfully trim wedge of carpet to match her golden hair.

She laid down on the bed beside him, flat on her back and spread her legs slightly, leaving him the chance to savor her form.

"Will the Queen mind if we have a little foreplay? You've got a very pretty body I'd like to enjoy."

"Sure. Go ahead. I'd like to do what I can to make you happy." She glanced down at his crotch. "If you... want anything at all from me... just ask."

Her sudden coyness was quite erotic.

Jimmy turned on his side and rose up, pushing her knee back until he was between her legs. The cushions of her soft bosom greeted his chest.

They kissed, finally quenching his thirst for tenderness. He couldn't wait to make love to this beauty.

Her hips writhed gently against his, quietly confessing her passion for him. He moved lower to give some attention to her nipples when she put a soft hand on his shoulder.

He looked into her wide, affectionate eyes.

"Will you be gentle about it? It's my first time with a man..." she sighed, "in quite a while."

Her soft voice was so touching. The way she paused before that last part...

He kissed her breast. "I'm sure it's that way for all of you."

She smiled. "Yes. I suppose it is."

Jimmy took another bite of the food that had been left at the table. The room was completely deserted. Were they paying him a courtesy by finally giving him a little privacy?

Where were the promised clothes? The food had been laying there since he'd first awaken.

He finished off the apple and left its core on the plate with the other leftovers before cleaning his fingers in the serving bowl.

He was hoping there was something special in the fruits around here. He was really tired out. He sipped the cup of nectar. Even without the near drowning to contend with, he'd still need a little extra something to keep the pace up they had in mind for him.

Was this some strange Fantasy Island or something? One that gave you more than you wanted?

He couldn't figure it out.

A month or something? Was that the length of this vacation? Probably some weird menstrual thing. Then what? They sent him back after that? Were the little vixens hiding his ship?

But wouldn't it be dark during the new moon? He'd have to steer by the stars...

He was too worn out to think clearly about it.

He reclined in bed again and stared at the ornate ceiling.

Dahlia had been such fun. She almost broke his heart when he climaxed and she pushed him from her gentle embrace. Usually it was the man who wanted to be alone.

She was so demure about it, but still...

He wanted to hold her more.

Had he pleased her? Had she enjoyed it? She seemed to... He hoped so...

She blew him a good-bye kiss and trotted out the same door the Queen had left by, her ass's pretty W jiggling a dance all its own.

Would that be the departing view of all his lovers?

She was the last person he'd seen.

How long ago was that? An hour?

Ah well... he could always break another heart this afternoon.

Or have his broken. Yet another woman tiptoeing away from his bed after he'd had his fun with her... but before she'd had hers...

He could almost taste the ocean spray from here.

How close was shore? It was like sunning on the deck of his yacht...

The brine reminded him of how her thatch had tasted... the way she squirmed under his tongue... biting her finger to keep from crying out...

No air conditioning, he realized lazily. That was the problem...

He fell asleep in the warm air.

Jimmy yawned in the summer light now angling through the opposite set of windows.

Was it afternoon already?

His ordeal had taken more out of him than he'd thought.

He should have trawled the bars a little harder instead of doing something stupid like going fishing by himself for three days.

Then again, he seemed to have caught all the women he'd ever want...

He chuckled. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a-

He heard a noise in a corner of the room. The serving girl there kept smiling at him.

So it wasn't all a dream...

She set the promised clothes at the foot of his bed.

"Rested?" she asked.

"Yeah. Where did everyone go?"

"The Queen ordered you be given a chance to sleep."

"I guess I was still a bit tired."

"It's understandable. Getting here always takes its toll."

He looked the somewhat average-sized redhead over. She had a lovely voice.

She did look somewhat unremarkable for around here, which made her stunningly attractive by every other standard. Curly hair that tripped over her soft white shoulders, highlighting the narrow, delicate bones in her neck. Well curved hips. And just a hint of ample cleavage was available through her toga.

Green eyes. He'd missed her lovely green eyes.

How did an Irish girl find her way to an obscure island of Greek amazons in the Mediterranean? One apparently lost from civilization?

"What's your name?"

"Amber."

"We haven't met yet. I'm Jimmy."

She shook his hand. "Yes I know. Your name has made its way around."

"I hear I'm to make my way around too." He smiled as he looked her up and down one more time. "I hope you're on my list."

She blushed and then laughed. "Next week, I think. I did fairly well in the lottery."

"Ha! They're raffling me off!"

She smiled. "That's one way of looking at it," she said as she fluffed his pillows. "Another would be to say that we're raffling ourselves off." She smirked and circled the bed to look at him. "You wouldn't be unhappy to win a few minutes with me, would you?"

"Not at all. More than a few minutes I hope... So they let slaves enter the raffle too?"

"Slaves? I'm not a slave. I just work here. We're all free individuals on the island."

"With a Queen?"

"Oh. I know what you're thinking," she said as she went about straightening his sheets. "We haven't had that sort of a queen in quite a while. There's not enough to do around here to demand it." She sighed. "Yes. I know how she comes off. Some women are like that. And it is an official function."

He patted the empty space beside him on the bed, thinking once again of Dahlia. Amber took the cue to sit. Jimmy cupped her hand in his.

"And I suppose you'll run off to your lover too after you've had your way with me?"

"No," she sighed wistfully. "I'm single. All of those who volunteered to serve you are."

"Serve me? I thought you said you were all free individuals."

"We are. Some of us have volunteered to show you around the island and introduce you to our customs so you feel at home. You're the closest thing we have to royalty right now."

"Whatever I want, huh?"

"Within reason." She poked him in the ribs and made a funny face.

He chuckled and rubbed his stubble.

They must have bathed him while he was unconscious. He didn't feel the day old salt caking his pores. His face did itch, though.

"You didn't happen to-"

She reached under the bed and pulled out an old cargo crate of some kind.

"We managed to salvage a few things from your ship. Not much unfortunately. You never know what's going to wash up on shore." She set the wooden box on the bed. "That was what you were about to ask, right?"

"Yeah. Thanks." He rummaged around its contents. A few navigational instruments. The books were pretty much ruined. His wallet. What a laugh. Did they have money on the island? He obviously wouldn't have to pay for sex here so he dropped it back in the box. Wouldn't need the keys either. Some fishing line. A few hooks. A plastic bottle. Two empty beer cans (the true reason he'd gotten lost). A can opener? How did that make it? Shouldn't it sink? A rusted out flashlight battery. Mostly useless junk.

Some of this stuff was his. The rest though... Had this stuff really been on his boat or had they just rounded up whatever else washed up with him?

He shifted the contents around and scratched his troublesome beard again.

"My razor doesn't happen to be in here, does it?"

He could use some shaving cream too but they obviously had soap. That could do in a pinch.

"Oh, you won't be needing that while you're here."

"Why? You like men with beards?"

She smiled. "They're fun." She stroked his cheek with him, charmed by its texture.

"So this is it, huh? You didn't find any wreckage, no hull on the reef or anything?"

"We can't swim to the reef. A few boards did make it to shore. They always do. We put them to good use."

"Really? How far is it to land?" He couldn't imagine ever wanting to leave this place, but just in case- "Maybe I can build another..."

"No one gets off. Didn't they tell you? Besides, you wouldn't have tim- "

He grabbed at her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"Want to jump the line?"

She was so perky and that perfume of hers...

Amber fended him off politely. "I'd really love to but I can't. We can spend some time together this evening if you'd like. Unless your attraction is just sexual..."

"No. I'd like some company."

"Good." She brightened even more as she climbed from the bed. "You're awfully chipper considering. I'll let Andrea know you're ready for her."

"Chipper?"

"Yes. Considering your trapped here with the rest of us."

"Well, little lady. My job back in the states was pretty boring. I can imagine tougher things in life than being the only man on an island full of sexy women."

Amber frowned. "No one told you, did they?" Her lips pursed. "She hates breaking the news. She always leaves that to others. And Dahlia's so damned nice." She sighed and sat on the bed again. The serious expression on her face caused him to worry. "I guess that leaves me." She looked to the green hills in one of the windows and lost her train of thought. "There's no use in keeping the truth from people. Why do some avoid it like that? Even when it hurts? Or it's inevitable? It doesn't make matters any better." She turned to him again. "You should just tell people. Direct isn't always impolite, is it?" She cupped his hand between hers to reassure him. "Relax. You're perfectly safe. It's nothing like that." She kissed his knuckles until the concern was gone from his eyes, though she knew it was a fleeting repose. "Don't... hate us for what I'm about to tell you. We're just as much victims of the curse. We never light the signal fire. We never control where the island pops up. We can never leave and believe me, we all want to. We just make the best of it."

"Spit it out, honey."

"Sorry. I'll stop being mysterious. It's just that.... we never know how to put it." His hand slipped from her grip. "You're ship wasn't the only thing we couldn't salvage... In a way, we couldn't salvage you either. In a month you'll be one of us. It's part of the curse."

"What do you mean I'll be one of you?"

"A woman. In about four weeks time you'll be completely female. When the moon turns new again. Why do you think we're so, um, 'hot for your body'? There's precious little time-"

"A woman!" He stop straight up and glowered down at her from the bed's canopy. "Nobody said anything about that! What the hell are you talking about? Woman!?" Were they pulling his leg? Were they going to pull on something worse...!?

"They're such cowards leaving it to me," she whispered under her breath while he ranted.

Amber pulled him back to earth with a gentle caress. His biceps we so large and hers so weak by comparison... She was surprised her touch could act so powerfully on him.

"I'm afraid it's true. We were cursed by Circe three thousand years ago. It's, um, why we have to make the most of you while we can."

"Nobody said anything about this," he mumbled to himself. Jimmy couldn't take his eyes off the sheets. "Why aren't there warnings posted on the reef? I mean this is ridiculous. You people must be insane."

"We can't get to the reef... Here." She rummaged around in his box. "Look at your compass."

She placed it in his hand and he watched the dial spin uncontrollably. No matter how much he shook it, it wouldn't settle down. Shit. The sun outside obviously wasn't going anywhere. How could he have missed this when he was going through his things before? Maybe it was broken...

No... that night... The gauges on the boat...

In retrospect it explained so much- the flash of light on shore... the loss of navigation... shifting winds... hitting the reef... too much going wrong for mere coincidence...

And that beautiful voice, crying for help... Had he just dreamed that?...

The dancing needle gave him vertigo. It slipped from his fingers and landed with a clatter on the rest of the junk.

"It's a magical island. We disappear and reappear all over the place. And if we didn't suck in innocents like yourself we'd probably die out." Amber cocked her head. "Please don't be mad at us. It's your right not to have sex. No one will force you, but... you have a chance to give life to so many people. We're all very grateful and we'll do anything we can to help you." She sighed as he brushed her from his shoulder. "Like I said, we don't light the signal fires. Circe's spell does that. She hated men so much. Thank Zeus our forefathers didn't end up farm animals like her other victims." His attention remained fixed on the upside down compass and the trinkets around it. "I wish there were some way to get you off in time, but there isn't." Amber sighed again and put a hand on her hips, but she seemed more understanding than frustrated. "If you don't believe me, try swimming past the reef. You can't make it. The tide always washes you back to shore."

He sat in bed for several minutes, not wanting to look at her even though she refused to leave his side.

If only he could run off somewhere and hide, get away from this woman. But where? This was the only spot he knew. He'd inevitably run into more women elsewhere.

And something told him she wasn't crazy. That night of swelling tides had been unnatural. The way it sucked him in... He probably couldn't escape its grip if he tried, like she said. And the way the other women behaved. And looked. No place could produce so many perfect women. It had to be magic.

Didn't it?

He suddenly wanted it to be a dream. He wanted to wake up.

He hated her for telling him and yet trusted her all the more for it. She was too non-chalant to be lying. And too concerned for him... but why couldn't she have lied to him like the others? At least he would have had some peace, however fleeting- if it wasn't in fact just some grand, well-acted joke...

He finally mustered the courage to ask her.

"Ohhh no," she murmured. "You deserve to know. That would be so wrong. I know it hurts and I'm sorry for that but it's got to be faced. It's better if you don't deny it and let us help you. I know it's a shock. You won't find life here so bad. I promise. We are trapped but we do make the best of it. And we'll treat you wonderfully." A puff of air escaped her ruby lips and she sank against one of the bedposts by his feet, glad at least he was speaking again. "We used to not tell the men because it affected their performance..." Her heavy green eyes looked away shyly. "But after a week or two you'll find out anyway when your body starts to change." She caressed his prickly cheek, hoping it was the right part to touch at this moment. "Please don't withdraw. If you don't want to sleep with any of us, we won't force ourselves on you but... it would mean so much to us all. We're depending on you. We need you to be strong for the next several weeks... and given your situation," she let a small smile peek out, "I think you'll want all the sex you can take. Yes?" Could she get him to smile back? Her grin broadened. "Andrea's very pretty. And she's single too. I'm sure she'd take your mind off things." Still no response. "No? I tell you what. Why don't I just leave you here to digest it? You've got a lot to think about and you probably need your privacy. I'll be in the next room. Call if you need anything."

Amber rose from his side and smoothed the fabric of her toga. Hair swung about her neck like vines on a willow. She took a long last look at him and turned to leave.

A hand fell about her arm.

"No... please. Stay and talk to me a while. I can't... I can't have sex just yet... but I don't want to be alone."

She faced him again and smiled tenderly.

"You don't have to do anything until this evening... And please understand. I know I've said it before. It's something that must be done. We're all victims here and we desperately need your help." Her nail grazed his chin again. "But it can wait a few more hours. Why don't you let me take you around the village while there's still light? The sunset over the harbor is quite beautiful... and you did say before you liked my company." She extended an arm. "Come. I'll help you up. Sitting in bed all day isn't good for you."

He chuckled lightly. "Like that matters."

"Now, now. You'll always have your health... wow."

"What?"

"I think you're the tallest person on the island."

"On an island of women? What a prize," he retorted. "Sorry. I don't mean to say you're short."

"Oh, my height doesn't bother me. I'm about average for a woman."

"Well you are a very pretty average." He gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Why thank you." Amber carefully wrapped the robes around his shoulders and arms. Jimmy knew he should pay closer attention to how it worked so he could do it for himself, but his mind was too scattered. Oddly enough, it wasn't her recent confession that preoccupied his thoughts. Something in her lovely face called to him. "Like I said, we're an old Greek colony. No one will mind if you walk around nude. In fact... it would make everyone's day." She giggled as he slipped into the sandals. "You may run across a few naked women too. Personally, I'm a bit modest and my skin's too fair for the sun... You don't need a cane, do you?... No. Then here. Walk close to me and lean over if you need some support... I know I look frail but I'm pretty sturdy..."

The smooth stone streets amazed him. Some of the carts even had white-wall radials.

"You did all this? This is far from a primitive village."

"We do our best. Thank Zeus for pollution," she sighed. "I don't know what we would do without trash on the beach. If only people threw more stainless steel into the sea..." Amber perked up as he looked with interest at everything. She knew they couldn't match his old lifestyle, but she wanted him to know it wasn't as bad here as he might think. "You'd be surprised what washes in. They found a can of tennis balls this morning. Rachel says we need wrackets to use them, though... We get bottles, crates, fishing rods, ice-chests- though I'm still not sure what ice is- logs of all sorts, tires, of course..." Her wrist flopped on her bosom as she chattered away. "Why just last year a box of... what did one of the elders call them? Tampons? washed on shore and the fighting over it was terrible. It was the bloodiest incident in recent memory." No sooner had it slipped out than she covered her face and grimaced. He chuckled at her unintended irony. "Sorry. I didn't want to scare you off about women." She shrugged. "It can be inconvenient at times."

Now Jimmy cringed as her meaning sank in.

Next month, if she was right...

"So what do you do without tampons?"

She watched the fisherwomen in the distance preparing their day's haul for its trip from the wharf.

"What?... You'll know when you need to," she said softly. Then her step picked up again and the lovely bones in her feet seemed to shine under the leather sandal straps. "Down this way," she pointed. "It'll take us through the heart of town and down to the beach where we found you. Come on. We'll be back in time for sunset."

As he passed the spread out wood and stone homes, he couldn't help but notice the size of the place.

"This has got to be more than a hundred people."

"A hundred? There are many times that on the island." She followed his eyes over the various dwellings. "Oh." That's what he was talking about. "A hundred fertile women. The rest have had their child. Or children as luck may have it. The others are old and infirm... or as yet too young. Of course you're free to take on extras if you can manage. Any woman is yours."

"Four a day is pushing it."

"I know. I'm sorry for that."

"You surely don't expect me to give every one of them a child, do you? I mean every guy wants to be stud but there's timing to consider and so many other-"

"You may bring twenty, maybe thirty new faces into the world."

"That's extraordinary."

"Yes. Close to forty if we're lucky. We think it may be one of the other parts of the curse... You'll make enough stuff. Don't worry. Most men do."

The beautiful women of the village all greeted him with smiles and warm hellos. They couldn't have been nicer. The old ladies were even pleasant and attractive in their own right. None of them seem hunched over or bedeviled by age. They had few wrinkles and some gray hair but nothing more.

She introduced him to several individuals but he was hopeless with names. Always had been, and there had already been so many new ones today.

They bumped into another 'volunteer.' It seemed he had three or four. She said she'd stop by in the morning to check in on him. Monica? Mariella? He couldn't remember. Long black hair that came down to her bare midriff. That he remembered. A lithe figure with tiny breasts but very tall, with thin wide hips. Quite tan. She was on the list too, thankfully.

He watched the odd pairs of women pass by them holding hands. The social structure of the island sank in when one couple faced each other, kissed and parted company not twenty feet in front of him.

"We're coming up on some of the family dwellings. I know what you're going to be wondering, just don't say anything about the little boys. I'll explain later... Why hello Julius. How are you today? Did you learn a lot in school?"

The boy nodded. He couldn't be more than eight or nine. But he was definitely male.

"Who's that?"

"This is Jimmy."

"Is he the man everyone's talking about?"

"He certainly is."

"He's going to look like you tomorrow?"

"No. Next month, sweety."

He tugged on Jimmy's robe. "Can we play some before then? They aren't much fun."

"Sure." Jimmy bent down to tweak the boy's nose. "Do you want to throw ball or go catch some lizards?"

"Both!"

He giggled and ran off to his mother's arms. She smiled at Jimmy and invited him to "Stop by any time. I'm sure the teacher wouldn't mind letting the boys out of class for a day."

The lady winked playfully as Julius laughed under her gorgeous bosom.

Amber pulled him along.

Jimmy turned, curious to see if she approved, and caught a glimpse of the same warm, broad smile that was on the mother's face. Amber's cheek tilted when she noticed him quietly observing her. Red hair spilled into the wind and two green eyes sparkled back at him. They were so expressive and penetrating, especially as she looked away and tossed her head back to laugh along with the other children.

"I think we can find time in your schedule for that," she assured him.

Other children?

Their trip down the cobblestones was accumulating an entourage.

Every once in a while he stopped dead in his tracks, turned and chased a boy off to the sound of high pitched screams.

Amber couldn't stop squealing herself. Each time he returned to her side, she worked a hand around his shoulder, her grip growing a little firmer. He loved the way her fingers shook on his shoulder as she giggled.

One mother spotted them coming around a corner and yanked her son inside before he could see them. She smiled apologetically as they passed by.

Jimmy could only guess.

He looked around and even saw little girls joining the chirping chorus.

He'd always liked playing with kids, perhaps because he had so much in common with them. They obviously returned the affection.

Did their mothers? Most of them seemed overjoyed. One or two expressions gave way to guilt and they quickly turned away. But most were pleased, though they hung back and gave their sons and daughters room to play. Who couldn't be happy around such giggling?

Unfortunately, the town wasn't very big. Before long they reached the outskirts and the cottages gave way to tall grass. Mothers appeared behind them, alone or in pairs, to snatch back their curious children. By the time he felt the first sand in his toes, their followers had disappeared altogether, banished to the watchful safety of their homes for the remainder of the afternoon.

Unkempt trees soon lined the sides of the cobblestone path and then, it too vanished into sand.

He could hear the crash of the surf now. Brine filled his nostrils. Just as he wondered where their fresh water came from, he set foot in a small creek. The sun was low in the sky now and it was hard to see in the shade.

Amber pulled at his tentative arm and dragged him across the cool waters.

"I didn't want you to say anything that might make the boys feel self- conscious," she explained. "We let them know what's going to happen; it just can't be avoided. We bend over backwards not to tease them about it." She sounded like she was apologizing to him for it. Couldn't she see he'd enjoyed the company? "They don't start to change until puberty and... well, then we run the poor fellows ragged. It's a terrible way to get introduced to sex, I know, but they turn around and do it themselves later when they're the women. For some reason it's not as easy getting pregnant from the young men, but we try anyway." The redhead sighed as her face vanished momentarily in the shadow of a tree limb. "We've got to start sexing them up as soon as they get peach fuzz. You never know when the next lunar cycle will roll around and poof." She glanced up at the canopy of trees that covered them. "You're something of a prize, being fully developed and all. And not related to anyone. The bloodlines are a problem too."

She sounded more than sympathetic.

"Did you have a brother?" he asked. She was quiet. She picked up his hand and they walked toward the beach. "Were you a boy? I mean... you're very much a woman to me- " Was that considered some sort of insult?... Would he feel insulted as a woman at being reminded of having been a man? He shivered. "Is it not polite to ask? I'm sorry if- "

"No. Don't be." She squeezed his palm.

The beach came into view and, faced with the beauty of the afternoon sun low in the sky, he let the subject drop.

"This is where we found you."

She unwound her robe and let it fall to the sands.

"What are you doing?"

"We're going to swim out to the reef. See it there? With your hull perched on it?"

He squinted. That pill of sticks was it?

"Don't worry," she assured him. "You won't drown. It's very hard to die here. We have the odd accident but disease is rare. And you certainly can't die in the surf."

He'd been curious to see how much of what she said was right. Was it all a lie? Could you really not get past the breakers?

Had she read his mind and all his doubts? Was that why she'd brought him straight here?

"You know a woman once washed ashore."

"Oh yeah? What happened?"

Amber kicked off her sandals and stood before him in all her natural glory.

He was wrong about her being average.

She had lovely wide hips that rode up high on her waist, peeking out almost like bicycle handles from the way their fair skin gleamed in the light. Lower down they tapered off into a perfect set of juicy thighs that seemed to almost push her rounded bottom back at its nice angle. Her breasts were full and creamy, topped with strawberry pink nipples that crinkled in the wind.

"Well when we found her, it was a bit of a- " Her lips pursed and she knitted her brow. Even in frustration her face could never approach the grotesque. "What did that one surfer from California say?"

"Bummer?"

Amber chuckled, causing her breasts to quiver in the cool breeze. "That was it exactly. A 'bummer.' She did get much prettier after the new moon, though."

"Good for her."

"She's a hermit. Lives up in the caves. It's a shame the change didn't make others of her own sex more palatable to her in that way."

Were the other woman that way because of the way they were raised?

His sons would turn into girls and hitch up with other girls?

This was too absurd. He stripped off his clothes, tossed away his sandals and chucked himself into the crashing waves.

"Come on. Let's get cleaned off." Amber grabbed collected their clothes and led him back into the woods. He watched her cute white rump bobbing in front of him, fascinated by the glimmer of red hair between her legs.

He'd wasted an hour trying to get to that reef. He could throw stones at it. A piece of driftwood even floated past him and out to sea, going so far it merged with the horizon.

But every time he got near it himself, whosh...

He tried every corner of the beach in sight. He would have ventured around the entire island had it not started to get dark.

And somewhere in his heart he knew it wouldn't do any good.

Amber treaded water patiently beside him the entire time, her face expressionless as she struggled to keep her nose above the waves. She swam past him once, just to show that it applied to her too.

The tides washed her straight back into his arms.

Like a clumsy oaf he'd grabbed her breasts by accident. But she brushed a strand of wet hair from her eye and didn't even blink. She smiled and they came in to shore.

Somehow that settled matter for him.

"So it's really true."

"Yes," Amber sighed. She looked at his genitals with him. "It even confuses the animals."

"They'll treat me differently?"

"What? No." She would have laughed but it was her fault for putting it that way. They reached the creek and she guided him up its middle until they came to a small freshwater pool. "The curse affects the animals too," she said as she sank into the clear liquid. "Fortunately it's not as hard to breed goats and cattle as it is people. Their sexual cycle is much longer than a month which gives the adult male more of a reprieve, so to speak... Rachel says the fertility rates are higher on the island too. I guess they have to be."

Her torso bobbed back up. Sheets of cool water hugged her body and puckered the pink caps on her firm breasts. Her curves were so well proportioned and feminine. Something about the play of the shadows made her even more attractive.

Her lips danced around as if they couldn't decide whether to smirk or grin.

"You certainly are eager," she tittered.

He followed her eyes down to his erection.

"Yeah. First you've seen?"

"No," she said. She spread her fingers out across his chest and washed the salty water away. "Try not to ask too many question like that about people's lives. Particularly the ones you have sex with. I'm afraid you might find some of your... what should I call them?"

"Lovers?"

"No. That's exactly the problem. Clients, perhaps? You'll find some of them a bit aloof. Almost pointedly so. Like the Queen. If they already have lovers it can be something of an embarrassment, depending on the relationship, of course." She shrugged. "Everyone's different so... try not to fondle them, turn them on or be affectionate unless they initiate it. And if they do... goodness, never bring it up with their partner. It's just sex."

He encircled her smaller fingers around his erection. Amber became so engrossed in the sensations she didn't protest.

"How about single girls? Can I ask you questions?"

She smiled. "Yes. But please not hard ones... not right away."

"I think I might be able to work five in tonight."

She returned his kiss, but pushed him away. His engorged member bounced free of her grip.

"I don't want to take a chance away from others. You can be spread too thin, you know."

"Then why don't we just stay here and kiss?"

"I'd like to... but it will be dark soon. It's harder to find your way back. We could get lost."

"So?"

"But... It would be wrong to think of myself first. I'm flattered you like me. I'm sure you'll like Andrea and Helen tonight too."

"That doesn't bother you?"

She turned and splashed water over her shoulder, letting it trickle down to the small of her back.

"There are others to think of right now. You, for one. I have to see that you're pleased with... everything." She gave him a coy, sideways glance. "I'd be happy to share your bed, though... afterwards... if that's what you want... but nothing more until next week."

She scooped up more water for her hair.

"What if I prove to have plenty of stamina?"

She grinned at him. "That's another matter." He splashed her. "Ah!" she yelled. "That's one way to get clean."

The redhead folded her arms across her chest and faced him, breasts shivering through their makeshift supports.

"Cold is it?" he teased.

"My nipples feel like they'll pop off."

She didn't quite understand why he laughed at her comment. She was just making small talk.

"Oh," he explained. "It's wonderful women get cold so easily."

"Really? That's not what happens when you get cold?" She eyed his erection again. "You don't get stiff too?"

"No. My nipples do. Unless I'm... attracted to someone, this thing- "he pointed to his dick- "just shrivels up in cold water."

"Oh." Her innocent playfulness evaporated. "We don't want that happening sooner than need be."

There was silence in the sandy forest, save for the bubbling of the brook.

Her words were prophetic. He did rapidly lose his erection.

She looked a little sad that she'd turned his confession of affection around on him in the dimming light. She hadn't meant to. It had touched her.

"Is that how it happens?" he whispered as he watched his penis retreat.

"Not really." She sighed and took his clothes from the bank. "You'll notice a few changes over the next weeks. Your face softens. You grow small breasts. Your body hair falls out. Bones change... I think that's why the Queen wanted you first. Some former men like to wait until you're much more feminine. But not all. Don't make any assumptions because of where someone comes up on the list. Some of it's random or biological. In fact... it's best you not think about it at all. We're all women in every sense of the word." Was he paying attention? He kept looking at his... "Don't fret. You'll keep your, uh, equipment until the first new moon."

"After that?"

"Things go downhill fast."

"Should I just put it out of my mind?"

"If it affects how you enjoy your time left, yes."

"How do I know you still aren't lying to me about this part? Sure, you were right about the tides..."

She led him back to water shallow enough for them to don their robes.

Instead of defending herself as some women might or asking what motive he thought she had to lie, Amber simply shrugged.

"I don't know," she offered. "Maybe you will be the first man unaffected. Maybe the curse has been lifted." She gave him half a frown and cocked her eyebrows. "We can all hope."

Jimmy stood in front of the bright red spectacle that hung out over the ocean and set even the waters aflame. He and Amber held each other around the waist as they waited on the tip of the wharf in silence.

While he admired the way the dusk darkened even Amber's fiery curls, another woman pulled up on his opposite side and added her arm above Amber's. Amber leaned forward, looked past his shoulders and smiled at their new companion.

"Hello Andrea."

"Nice to finally meet you, Jimmy. We thought Amber might have hidden you in the hills."

Both women giggled.

Jimmy muttered a "hello" but couldn't take his eyes off the setting sun. It was too beautiful for words.

As the red gave way to light blue and finally turned darker, he glanced around the wharf and they left. He noticed one or two small boats tied to posts.

"How big is the island?" he asked as they followed the fires back to the palace.

"Four or five miles across? We stopped counting long distances like that."

"Think I could take one of those boats around it?"

"Sure. I'll set something up for tomorrow."

"Thanks."

"We can do a hiking tour later, when time permits."

"Good." He looked at the dimly lit dwellings on either side of the stone path. "The homes are pretty close to the shore. Do you ever get hit by heavy storms?"

"Do we ever get hit by heavy storms?" Andrea corrected him. She pinched his firm chest and rested her head back against his arm.

"No. We never have," Amber replied.

Jimmy listened to the cackle of the torches lining the walkway as it wound up the hill to the royal residence.

How long would they burn? he wondered. Only a sliver of moon hung in the black sky. Once the flames died, he'd be trapped for the night.

And yet he was oddly grateful for the darkness. Wasn't moonlight his enemy now?

Andrea had drifted down one of the many corridors, leaving Jimmy and Amber to dine alone on shellfish.

He savored the oysters with some amusement. Were the women sending him some subtle message?

Amber told him more about the island, how they lived day to day and what their customs were. She was apparently a housekeeper but had also learned to paint and weave. She sometimes also taught math and reading. Before long she was apologizing to him for having to go do something tomorrow. He wasn't sure which of her jobs it related to. Apparently everyone did a little of everything. Even the Queen herself fished. No one else was quite as handy with a spear as she was.

He could believe it.

He slid a hand over his abused balls. They felt much better now... particularly when he heard the Queen had used up all her rights with him this morning.

He'd definitely be sticking this spear in a different fish.

What was Amber talking about now? They made their own paper on the island? She offered to show him their archives in the palace library.

From the way she described it, the palace was more of a state house and community resource.

They didn't have time to take a tour of it after dinner but she said they could arrange for it tomorrow, when he returned from sailing.

It wasn't but one story tall though it was older than anyone remembered. Some said Circe herself had lived in it before anyone else arrived. Amber quickly read the drift of his thoughts and assured him that things would turn out the same whatever part of the island he slept on. They'd tried a hundred different things and none had ever worked.

He washed down the meal with the last bit of ale they'd let him have. He wanted more but they were of course right about its affect on male performance. It was funny how they were so stunned by the sight of him but then knew the most important things about men as second nature.

Amber didn't seem to have a problem with its affect on her performance, though she drank only a glass for moderation's sake.

"Perhaps you're right," she said. "I should enjoy it more. After next week I might not have any for a while."

Why? Oh. Pregnancy...

"Let's hope," Jimmy said as he pushed his chair back from the table.

The conversation had reached a natural lull and there wasn't much to do, but he didn't want to give her the impression things were over. She'd saunter off like all the rest and call in his next patient.

He wandered over to one of the windows and looked out at the speckles of light. The distance hearths were hypnotic in the darkness.

Bugs, he realized. There should be bugs.

And screens on the windows.

He wondered why there weren't insects in the air. The climate here was surprisingly mild. The soft breeze had turned almost chilly.

Amber joined his side and massaged the goose bumps from his arm.

"Singing."

"What?"

"The island of sirens should have singing."

"Yes," she agreed softly. "I suppose it should."

He turned to find her smirking while she caressed him.

"What?" he prodded.

"Nothing." She looked shyly at the floor and wrestled her lips into a less devilish expression. "I can arrange for some dancing and music if you like."

"Sure. Is there time?"

"Of course."

Like that the redhead vanished into the empty corridors.

Within minutes a train of scantily clad women snaked through the room and encircled him. A tall, lithe brunette unfurled her top and drew it around his neck like a leash. The circle parted and she lead him gently back to the table, where the Queen now sat.

She pushed him into one of the simple wooden chairs beside her.

Two women cleaned the plates away while the brunette held his attention with her hypnotic eyes, tugging the silky smooth fabric back and forth over his neck.

Suddenly she let one end of the large scarf go and pulled it back to her, fluttering and curving in the wind.

His mind snapped back, momentarily. He searched for Dahlia and finally found her in the back of the troop.

"I must apologize for my earlier rudeness." The Queen was whispering in his ear over the music.

"What?" Music? Amber strummed a lyre under her arm in one corner of the room. Andrea stood next to her, partially covered in shadow playing a flute. Both women smiled when they saw they had his eye. "Ah," he grunted. "Your girlfriend's very pretty. I can see why you didn't want to upset her." He turned to the Queen. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed with your legs in the air?"

"It dries quickly enough," she winked, "though it does begin to smell."

He sniffed the air.

"You smell lovely as always."

"That is the perfume, my dear, not your doing." Her nose twitched as she remembered her manners. "Nevertheless, I apologize. It is always hard to tell what some men will be like."

With a body like hers, they'll always be hard, he thought to himself.

He bit his tongue.

"I heard you will boat around the island tomorrow."

"I thought I'd like to see what my new home is like."

"Good. I hope you do not waste too much time trying to escape."

He raised an eyebrow. How did she know?

"The archives tell of an engineer once who almost did it."

"Yeah? How?"

"He built a large siege engine, unfortunately not quickly enough. She still tried to catapult herself out to sea."

"What happened?"

"She flew over the reef as planned. Then the tides imprisoned her again. Legend says they made a necklace with the coral they scraped from her bottom. It is quite beautiful if you would like to see it. And it is the only coral we have." She paused. "I will give you some rope and a heavy stone if you would like to try that trick too." She raised a glass to him. "Do not make plans, though, for the day after."

"Why?"

She said nothing and signaled the throng of dancers to begin.

Nice.

But still no singing.

There was more striptease than he thought there would be on an island of women. Did they appreciate each other that way? Was it just for him?

The Queen was faithful in an odd way. He never caught her eye straying from Dahlia. And Dahlia's, like all the others, never failed to seduce him.

The dancers collected their multicolored fabrics and quickly departed with their Queen as Andrea, curiously enough, did the opposite and unraveled her robe in the far corner.

Oh. Of course. He'd had so much sex on the brain from being caught up in the primitive rhythms and undulating hips that he'd completely forgotten about sex in particular.

She hung her red toga neatly on a peg in the wall under her flute.

Amber was the only other woman left. She collected her lyre and stood to join the rest.

"Would you like to stay?" he asked, before he could think enough to squelch the question.

"Not particularly," Amber replied. "I know it's just sex for you. Well... it could be more. If it is, I... you should have your privacy then too."

She started to say something else but he looked away and let her go. She passed his table and met her counterpart halfway. Andrea stopped and began whispering in her ear.

Jimmy stood, disrobed, and, while they were engaged in quiet conversation, went to the bed to give them some distance.

As he reclined, the two women smiled at him and Amber disappeared behind the curtains.

Amber... no, Andrea walked over to him.

She had a huge pair of tits. How could he have missed that? They hung easily a foot from her body, so large and heavy they pressed out to the side of each arm, bouncing and swaying in peculiar rhythm with her step. They hung mere inches shy of her bellybutton and the torch light played wonderfully across her wide, reddish areolas.

She stopped at the foot of the bed and pivoted to let him admire her.

"I'll be helping you two days from now," she informed him.

"Why do you switch like that?"

"Well, there's a lot to do on the island. We all do different jobs so we're busy at different times. Besides that, as many of us as possible would like to meet you and show you around."

"Before I'm gone?"

"Before you're different. We'll want to spend time with you then too."

"Not with the same enthusiasm."

She shrugged. "Sex isn't everything. You'll find that out." She grinned. "Not until the new moon, I hope... maybe not after..." she hinted.

He smiled back. Andrea sat on the bed and he brushed his knuckles against her massive tits.

"I bet you make the other women jealous."

Her smile broadened. "Why do you say that?"

"You're so well endowed."

"These? They droop too much." She cupped each and hefted them up. They melted between her fingers and spilled over her small hands, revealing narrow white semicircles hiding like shadows on the skin beneath.

A strange place for tan lines...

"I like them."

"Thank you. I suppose I'll make a good wet nurse someday like my mother. If I can only get pregnant first..." She sighed and pinched his cheek. "You talk too much. I bet you hit it off with Amber."

"What makes you say that?"

"She likes to talk too."

"What do you like?"

She kissed him on the lips, teasing him with her tongue. "More than talk."

Her warm breasts fell all over him in their eagerness. She pulled the stick from her bun and showered him with fine black hair.

"Go on. Squeeze all you want," she purred.

They were softer than the pillows. And quite cozy in their own right.

"They're very warm."

She kissed him. "I know."

Her lips moved over his in waves as he kneaded the mounds of flesh. She had no end. Where were the nipples run off to on these things?

Finally. A small point of hardness rose in the center of his palm. He probed the surrounding bumps for the edge of her broad disk. He found the other and plucked at them both.

She broke off the kiss and giggled.

"Like it?" he asked.

"Yes."

Her expression suddenly changed. She frowned and surveyed his body.

"What's wrong?"

"I'd like to make it fun but I don't have much experience when it comes to doing the things men like. Is it the same things women do together?" She blushed. "I mean, without that important difference..."

"I suppose." He kissed her neck. "Why don't you teach me what you like? I'm gonna have to practice, aren't I sweetheart?"

Her blush deepened. "It's up to you. Your pleasure is paramount."

"Naaaahhh," he drawled. "I'm gonna take my time. You can't leave until I'm finished and you gotta do what makes me happy, right?"

"Yeah," she hummed. "I like your attitude."

"I like yours. You're the first woman who hasn't..."

"Who's treated you well?"

"No. They've all been very nice..."

"Who's been enthusiastic?"

"Yeah."

"I think you'll find the single women more that way... though if a married woman gets carried away..."

"Don't make anything of it. Yeah, I know the rules."

"Rules?" she giggled. "Is it a rule you talk me to death?"

He feigned a look of hurt. "You asked- "

She silenced him with a long kiss. "I know... Ah!" She giggled again. "Slowly darling, slowly... we have plenty of time to warm each other up..."

She relaxed her grip on his hand.

"Ah!" She yelled again. "Can't wait to get in, can you?" she smirked.

"I like more than your breasts."

"That part of me is harder to get to." She pulled her other foot on the bed and reclined on the pillows. "Is this better?"

She was a big boned woman, not close to fat but much plumper in her curves than the other women he'd seen. It matched her heavy breasts. She was thick too but somehow even her stomach was fairly flat and nicely sloped. Nowhere on her was there a dimple of cellulite.

Voluptuous. That's what she was. She was built for screwing and not much else.

What a waste on an island of women...

But not tonight.

She sighed pleasantly as he stroked her thigh. His finger ran through the fine black curls covering her crotch and its dark dividing line. Jimmy wet his lips.

"Can I?" he asked. It'd made Dahlia anxious. A few moments of it and she worked her hand into his hair, pulling at him suggestively. She was so sweet, he didn't press the matter.

"Absolutely," Andrea replied.

His face hovered over her thick, round vulva and the curved crevice formed between them. He parted her hair aside and pinched her open. A thick musky odor greeted him, rising out of the gray-brown wrinkles of her glistening inner labia.

He licked his lips again.

Was this something particularly intimate? Hm... But everyone had kissed. Even the Queen. How was this different?

"What?" she asked flatly.

"You're the first to let me really... Is this intimate or something? Kissing doesn't seem to be- "

She sighed. "All the women like it. Trust me." She smirked. "It's your right to inspect us if you want..." He chuckled. "Go on," she prodded. "See if I'm hiding anything." Her voice shuddered and cracked as he began lapping at her spread open folds. "We'll do anything... you want in bed," she purred. "Provided... ah... of course you... you do that one thing... you do so well..." She smacked her lips and made a futile stab at massaging her nipples with her outmatched hands. They sagged almost to the mattress on each side of her. "Don't worry... some women might be reluctant... sigh... but if they know... you want to," she moaned, "it's fine..."

He rolled her thick, knobby clit around his tongue, tickling it out of its home until she was wild with lust. The rhythmic flexing in her fingers pulled the edges of the sheets up from the mattress. He slurped away as her plush buns wriggled under him and she sang into the night.

In a minute or two he had her yelling at the top of her lungs.

Then suddenly, like a fever, the high-pitched screeches broke. She caressed his hair as he lay between her bent knees. He could hear the crickets chirping once more in the night air.

But not another human sound drifted up from the path. Had everyone turned in? The surrounding silence made him nervous. Were they disturbing anyone?

"You do that well," she sighed.

"Really?"

"You have a real enthusiasm for it. I guess all men must."

He shrugged. Did some women not like to do it? What had she mentioned earlier from her lust-fill haze?

"Why would they be reluctant?"

"Who? About what?"

"Women, when I want to kiss them there." He pointed to her crotch for emphasis.

"Oh." She thought a moment. "I guess your suspicions were right. It's very intimate for some women. Sometimes only after spending several evenings together will they trust you enough to let more than your fingers down there." She shrugged. "Some people are just shy I suppose. But once a woman remembers you're her partner it shouldn't matter. Why? Has it?"

"You were the first, actually."

"Really? The others said no?"

"Not so much said it. The hints were very subtle but I could tell- "

"Oh. Well, none of us are embarrassed by that part of the body. I hear nudity is frowned on elsewhere. Is that true where you come from?"

"Some. Yes."

"Really?" Her mind turned back to his question. "I suppose they might already be ready and might get enough stimulation in other ways. They might simply prefer kissing or just be in a hurry. Who knows? Though if you need to take your time..." She smiled and gave him a kiss. "Just ignore them. They'll be happy enough you did... " She caressed his armpit. "Like I said. It's your pleasure that's paramount." She kissed him again. "If you like it then they'll like it. And I mean like it... whatever gives you pleasure they'll like... they'll be enthusiastic. Does that answer your question? I hate the talking part of the job." She grinned as she cupped his erection. "Now. Can I return the favor? Is there something like that I can do for you?"

"Sure." It was Jimmy's turn to lean back on the bed.

She smiled like a fox as she bit his thigh. He loved the way her breasts sandwiched his shin. They were almost hot to the touch now.

"Don't let this go too far," she stressed. "I want a kid out of all this." Her index finger pressed into his gut.

"Nag, nag. Now whose talking too much?"

She eyed his erection for a moment as she took a guess at the mechanics. She licked up and down his shaft and within seconds engulfed him in his entirety. Her breasts tickled his balls as her slick throat pounced up and down on him. Only when she came all the way up did her mammaries even begin to dangle. Then their lushness pooled around him again, melting like spilled pudding on his leg. A stiff nipple occasionally slipped down his skin. It was one of the most erotic things he'd ever felt.

He rested a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at him and let his organ flop from her mouth with a soft, wet plop.

Andrea smiled and crawled to eye level.

"Can we do it several different ways? I don't mean to put off your pleasure but this might be my only chance- "

"Sure," he grinned. "Men like that."

"They do?"

She moved over to the side and wagged her rear end at him, causing her drooping mounds to sway in harmony. They reached the mattress, stretched thin by gravity until they thickened by her elbows, nipples merrily scraping the rumpled sheets.

He grew stiffer just watching her. In a second he was inside her moist tunnel, pumping away harder than he had all day.

That he couldn't find any pattern to the way her tits flew out from side to side only made him more aroused. He leaned over for a better view and savored the shudders whipping through her fleshy cylinders.

She rose up on one arm and made a vain effort with the other to calm her soft, pendulous udders, but they were helpless willows in his wind.

He fingered her clit until she lost all concentration and fell back to earth. With his other hand, he probed her silky undulating flesh, stroking each of the massive columns like a giant penis.

He found her nipple creating delicious friction on the bed and folded her in two, pulling the cone around her back to lick and nip at it. He yanked at its twin like milking a cow.

She convulsed around his throbbing cock, arms shaking uncontrollably as she tried not to fall over.

He stalled as soon as she paused for breath then withdrew and sat up on the corner of bed, patting his lap.

"Over here. You mind doing a little of the work?"

"Sure. I can figure it out."

The more she revealed her inexperience the more she charmed him. She must have been in her mid-twenties at least and yet she was younger than most teenagers.

Andrea stood in front of him, feet planted squarely on the floor, facing away. She twisted around to take a look, slowly stepping up to his hips. Jimmy put his hands about her waist as his cock slipped between the crack in her ass and pressed to his abdomen.

"Grab me," he suggested. "No... not my thigh..."

"Oh," she whispered.

Her fingers wrapped around his prick and then it disappeared as she steered him in and her soft round derriere descended on him.

He cupped her mons and lightly flicked at her tender pea nestled in the dark forest rising above their joined crotches. Her warm, wet folds returned the touch, brushing his finger as they curled up and down.

Her breasts flopped over his other arm like the faces eager children peeking over a fence. She drew his hands to each of her nipples, encouraging him to twist them while her own fingers plunged between her thighs. He pulled and played with her gelatinous mounds like putty.

He nibbled the side of her neck, running his tongue up to her succulent earlobe. Her head lolled to the side, sweeping its long black mane away. Andrea swiveled toward him again, struggling to return his affections.

She let out a small sigh of frustration.

"No. Hop off first," he suggested.

She dismounted and Jimmy nudged himself back until his thighs no longer dangled over the floor. His knees hooked with the edge and he held his arms out for her as he reclined. Andrea figured the mechanics out quickly enough and once more took her place in his lap, kneeling over him and grabbing his cock.

They finally embraced and fed their hunger for one another.

Jimmy spread his legs apart and took hold of her plump behind. She moved so much more delicately than the queen had those long hours ago, back when the dream was real. He could feel her stiff kernel grinding slowly into the bone over his penis, as hard and determined as he was.

He loved the fluid weight bouncing against him. It reminded him of the sea, the way its rocking motions sang him to sleep at night. Her soft mounds pressed to the side, spilling over and tickling the spaces under their arms.

She was so big.

Their necks had such a gulf to overcome.

He wrapped his fingers along the back of her head and pulled her tighter. He felt her doing the same, sending her chest slipping around him.

She'd had oysters too. He could taste the fresh shellfish still haunting the corners of her mouth.

What did she taste in him?

Suddenly her lips grew calm over his. Her eyes burned. Her crotch slowed to a snail's pace, tenderly arching against him. Her breasts shook deliciously beside him. Soon her walls trembled around his erection.

She blinked and broke the kiss off, smiling at him.

An impish expression crossed her face as she worked a palm between them and pressed back on his chest. He leaned back on the pillows and watched as Andrea ran fingers through her silky hair, pushing upward against the sky in her grinning ecstasy.

She grabbed one of the banners draping the bed posts and began prancing merrily on his pole with newfound vigor and confidence.

He reached up for her jiggling mammaries, wrapping his spider-like fingers around their liquid playfulness. He reveled in the show for as long as she would allow. All too soon she fell forward, until her hardened points danced again across his chest.

She cupped one and offered it to his waiting mouth.

"Sorry. I wish I could stay but it's Helen's turn."

Andrea kissed him on the forehead.

"So I just lay here and let love come in and out like a revolving door?"

"What?" Her laughter died out when she discovered his comment was more a mark of irritation than a joke. "Sorry," she whispered. "I've never heard of a door that revolves." She kissed him again. "I'm flattered you like me enough to be upset. Perhaps we can work something out later." She scooted to the edge of the bed and stood. The movement of her heavy breasts still fascinated him. She bent over to collect her robe and he watched her pendulous mounds shift and shudder against one another until they disappeared from view. "I'll see you in two days time." Then Andrea paused before leaving, as if she couldn't remember the right door. "By the way... you don't have to spend all your time in this bed. The entire island is open for you pleasure- someone's home, the beach, another room here, perhaps? It's up to you. I'm sure none of the other ladies would mind if you asked to share their bed with them. I'm sorry I didn't think of it myself before we made love."

Made love.

He stared blankly at her as the torches continued to burn.

"Well?" she asked politely. "Would you like to meet Helen somewhere else or should I send her in."

He smiled. "I'm fine here I suppose." They'd just get lost trying to get out to the beach this time of night, even though the yellow glow of the village was still visible.

"Oh, I forgot. She's married but she's very sweet. She might not tell unless you ask and I thought you should know."

"Thanks. Is every woman who leaves supposed to tell me about the next arrival?"

"No. Just us five."

"Five?"

"Your five volunteers. You can have more, of course. It's not that others didn't want to help. It's simply the traditional number. You can have different ones too if someone else catches your eye."

"No. You two have been lovely so far."

She smiled at the compliment and fumbled with the rest of her toga.

Helen had left like all the rest. She offered to stay when he asked, but then he remembered she had a loved one to get back to. She kissed him gratefully and he let her slip off quietly into the night.

The hallway torches were no more than glowing embers now. The fires outside had died too. Stars twinkled clearly through the windows.

He turned on his side to watch them, drawing the bedspread to his chest and wondering to himself if he should close the curtains to keep the chilly nocturnal winds out.

What had Amber told him? The island moved but the stars never did.

What a spell...

A blue shadow appeared in the doorway.

He blinked several times. How long had she been there watching him? Yes... It was definitely a woman standing there.

He chuckled out loud. What else could it be on this island?

"What?"

"Amber?"

"Yes. I came back to check on you. Are you fine?"

He rolled the sheets back in reply and made space for her on the bed.

Could she tell in the darkness?

She drifted over from the dark portal, floating with the grace of an apparition.

The bed shifted as she joined him for a kiss.

Hs limp head fell away from her mouth and Jimmy and stared at her naked form from the pillows. His palm lingered on her warm, soft back as she sat beside him.

"Can you stay the night?"

"Sure," she murmured.

She reached for something on the floor and he felt a damp cloth wiping the dried sweat from his brow. She dragged it slowly down his chest, working her way...

"No." He put his hand over hers. "Don't worry with cleaning me up. I'm tired enough to sleep as is. Come to bed... unless it bothers you."

"Of course it doesn't bother me."

He pushed one of his pillows to her side.

Amber rubbed her warm feet with his under the sheets and then laid down.

Though they could barely make out one another's form in the darkness, she staid on her back, looking up at him as he rested on his elbow. They caressed each other for several minutes in the sleepy quiet.

Jimmy ventured a kiss or two.

She felt him grow hard again against her leg.

"Can you turn on your side?" he asked. "No. The other way."

She pressed her back to him and he wrapped a strong arm under her breasts, letting her stroke its curly hairs.

He found her a little dry, but Helen had left him lubricated enough for the both of them.

"Don't." Her eyes shot wide open. She tried to turn over but she was pinned in more than one sense. "I said I- "

"Relax, will you?" He kissed her shoulder. "I just want to be inside you for a while. I won't come. I promise. I'm too sore to anyway."

"Oh." Her spine relaxed against his stomach. "So you're not trying to- ?"

"No. But if you mind I'll- "

"No. Please don't. I didn't mean to- "

"I know what you meant." He kissed her again.

"Good. It feels nice."

"And who knows?" He raised an eyebrow to the black void. "There's still a little left on me. Maybe..." he trailed off suggestively.

"I'd like that," she said softly. It was a fairly good time in her period. But one could never tell with such things.

He swept her hair away and let his lips dally on the nape of her neck. She tried to return his attention but she obviously hadn't had much experience with this position. He stroked her cheek and asked her not to worry about him.

She kissed the back of his palm and let him roam freely while she watched the silver pinpricks shimmer in the window.

Had she observed him from the doorway with the same wonder he had beheld the stars? Their reflection in her black eyes were the only part of her he could make out for sure in the darkness.

His hand drifted to her lower nipple and she intertwined herself with it.

As he nibbled on her ear, she opened further to him. He wished he could slide against her increasingly warm and inviting walls, but he was far too sore. She'd been right about a fifth time.

But just to feel himself in her grip was sweet enough.

Her own smell began to rise up in the night air. Sweat trickled from her intimate recesses.

Was some of it still Helen's, he wondered, just warmed over? Could Amber tell? Of course... every woman could.

He'd forgotten about the hints of femininity still lingering in the background. It took her own strengthening odor to remind him.

He kissed the side of her cheek.

"You're not bothered by the smell of another woman on me?"

"Not at all."

"You don't mind some of Helen being in you too?"

She smirked and chuckled.

She patted his arm and drew it closer to her, sighing and then becoming silent for a while.

"How long will I feel you?" she asked while she stared at the night sky with him.

"If you massage me just right, maybe all night."

Her vagina constricted about him, giving new life to his flagging member.

She laughed out loud. "I wondered what else that muscle was good for."

He kissed her again. "No more than a month though, even with your skill." He laughed himself.

"I know," she whispered. "I know." She played with the hairs covering his arm while he nuzzled her honey scented Irish curls. "Thank you," she said, before they both wandered off into their own dreams.

"Melissa is here."

"Melissa?" He opened his eyes.

"Remember? I introduced her to you yesterday."

Oh. Her name wasn't Miranda?

"But I like you. Won't you stay?"

"After a while I might." Amber shrugged. "You never know. You might like Melissa better."

He pinched her bare bottom before she trotted out of reach.

Melissa came in dressed like another servant. The two women smiled and exchanged greetings with each other.

Then Amber vanished behind a curtain. He could still smell her scent in his hair and on his arms.

Melissa knelt at the foot of his bed.

"Would you like a bath first or would you like to meet Julia? It's not too early is it? It's just that I heard men like sex..." The covers slipped away as he sat up, revealing his morning woody- "... when they wake up... for some reason..." She finally blinked. "Sorry to stare. I've never seen one before- not one pointing up like that... or quite so large."

He smiled. "You'll have to wait your turn."

"Oh I know. It's not..." She rested her chin in her palm and continued to study him. "What's it like... I mean do you know it's that way when you're asleep? You don't roll over and- ?"

"How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"Eighteen and you already want a child?"

"I have to take the opportunity when it presents itself."

"Do you have a girlfriend yet?"

She blushed. "Nothing serious. It's why I'm here with you." She frowned. "You're not going to answer my question?"

He shrugged. "It points up when I'm asleep so I don't mash it. Yeah, I know when it's there. So does my girlfriend." He winked at her. "You'll certainly know."

She giggled. "So would you like a bath first?"

He glanced down at his erection. The normal strands of stickiness were gone. Had Amber already taken care of that? Had she done something during the night?

"A bath would be fine, Michelle. Thank you." She squeezed a sponge out in the bowl by the bed. "Would you like to touch it?"

Julia was perhaps the shortest women he'd seen on the island. She wasn't anywhere close to five feet tall, with a thin face like a young girl's.

Melissa led her in by the hand and then left them alone. Julia drew her down for a peck on the cheek first to thank her.

Damn. He'd been calling Melissa by another name all morning. The sweet creature hadn't said a thing. She must have thought he was too tired.

He'd have to find some way to make it up to her.

He offered Julia what was left of his breakfast, but she declined, shaking her head demurely. With a single flick of her wrist, her robe dropped to the floor and revealed a body far from girlish... though her pussy was shaved bare. He hadn't seen that yet on the island.

She sat opposite him on the bed and folded her legs, placing her arms modestly in her lap.

What had Melissa said? She was married and already thirty? She hardly looked it.

"Your wife doesn't mind, does she?" he asked.

"No." Julia smiled at him and he relaxed. "She's very pleased. We want very much to have another child. We're very grateful for the chance."

"Good. I'm... still not sure how to approach it. It's a bit awkward for some and they don't seem to have their hearts quite in it."

She patted his arm and shifted a leg onto the bed.

"But I want to make you feel good. You need to, don't you? Or else it doesn't work? There's nothing for us to be embarrassed about is there?"

"So you won't mind if you come too?"

She pinched his cheek affectionately under her thumb.

"If you want. It doesn't matter to me... But if you try to make love instead of just have sex with everybody, you could get tired."

He shrugged. "Sex is always hard work. Maybe you could help?"

"Anything I can do. Please tell me."

"I couldn't coax you into a show, could I?" He smiled. "Just to help start my day?"

"A show? Like what? A dance?"

"Well... is there something you do with your lover?" He traced the outline of her hip. "Maybe play with yourself? Show off? Show her what makes you feel good?"

"Oh. I heard you might like something like that. Sure. I guess. We don't do that together but if you like it's no trouble."

"You've never played with yourself in front of her?"

"No. Should I?"

He chuckled. "She's more the one to ask, don't you think?"

"Oh." Julia blushed.

He gave her a kiss. "You're very pretty when you get red."

"Thank you."

He pushed her back on the bed and sat up at her feet. Julia bent her knees and spread her short legs apart. She placed a thin finger on her pink lips and gently rocked it to and fro.

"Is this what you want?"

"I don't know. Can you come from this position?"

"Sure. Why are you worried about me, though?"

"Because... I've had so much sex already, it's taking a little longer each time to warm up."

"Oh. I understand. Sometimes it takes me a while too... Sure you wouldn't rather kiss? That wouldn't do it?" She'd heard men might be odd.

"We'll kiss during sex if you like." He pecked her ankle. "I just want to see my partner having fun too..."

She sighed. "I haven't done this in ages..."

He winked. "I make you feel like a girl again?"

She giggled.

"Besides." What the hell did he know? He waved his hands in the air like a magician. "Your womb will open up wide when you cum and my little suckers can swim right in."

"Oh." That made her enthusiastic. Her pinky glided faster over the top of her slit, causing it to wag back and forth like the tail on a well-fed collie.

"Does your wife shave you?"

"Yes. Sometimes." She added another finger and made small circles over the apex. "Am I supposed to talk during this too?"

"If you want."

She sighed. "It's up to you... Can I lean back?" Her breathing quickened. An oily gleam appeared inside her.

"Sure. Do what you need to do."

She closed her eyes and her legs. There went the view.

"Am I doing it right?"

"Of course."

She pulled at a nipple with her free hand. The red blush spread over her chest like coffee soaking up in a towel.

"What are you thinking about?"

"My wife," she smiled.

Julia screamed.

It was the kind a woman could only make when her modesty had been violated.

She struggled to draw the sheets up high over the both of them as she angled Jimmy for more cover. She was just too small to move him much.

Her nails dug into his back like a herd of mice ran by. The nervous jelly of her frightened breasts trembled against him as her thighs squeezed ever tighter.

He'd tried all he could not to smother the little lady and now she was sucking him under like quicksand.

Jimmy followed her eye to the window, where a little girl peeked in on them with all the fascination of a child who'd just seen two dogs in the street doing it.

"You!" Melissa burst out of the curtains, panting and red-faced from running. She headed straight for the window and the ponytails dropped out of sight. "You two run along!" Melissa yelled while she leaned out, shaking a stern finger at the now-invisible pair. She reeled herself back in and drew the shades. "That should do it. I don't know why those two weren't in school. Sorry for the interruption... oh," she gasped. She saw them lying together, still coupled in the kind of embrace neither could easily break. She put her hand up as a blinder and awkwardly fumbled with the other curtains, her eyes darting around nervously.

"Don't mind me," she kept repeating until she'd finished darkening the room. After much trial and error, and at least one broken vase, she managed to back blindly into the corridor she'd entered from.

She'd be wonderful in bed, Jimmy thought to himself. She was so shy. Where was she on the list?

He almost couldn't help himself from laughing at both women's sense of modesty.

It was more understandable in the teenager... even if it was getting him harder in the older woman... that poor woman beneath him whose heart wouldn't stop pounding... who clutched at him like a comforter in winter.

The veins in her neck throbbed against his arm. She wasn't this flushed even a few seconds ago when he had her screeching passionately. He didn't think she could get redder.

"It's OK." He stroked her cheek. "They're only kids."

"You don't understand," she gasped. "That was my wife's daughter. She saw me... I was doing..."

"So you'll explain it when you get home. Or your wife will. She'll understand."

"Oh Zeus! My wife!... she's going to think... oh just hurry up and get it over with," Julia said rapidly.

"You're hardly inspiring me here," he teased. She was still terror-stricken. If he didn't get her mind back to business, she'd dry out and they'd both be in trouble. "I got it," he whispered. "Start yelling again."

"What!?"

"Shh! Keep it down. What's your wife's name?"

"Cornelia."

Why'd it have to be so long?

"You don't have a pet- " No, that might really get her in deeper trouble. "Start moaning again like you were before and pretend it's Cornelia. Call out her name. Do you ever do that with her when you're alone together?"

"Yes," she said with some embarrassment. "But why- "

"Because Melissa's obviously listening out there and can at least hear shouting. She'll hear you, I'll tell her how irritated I was at you for calling out someone else's name and she'll report back to Cornelia. That should square it."

"You know it might?" Julia got the expression women sometimes have when they gossip together about grooming advice. "That's so smart. I never thought of that. Thanks."

But Jimmy wasn't her best girlfriend. "You just gotta do one thing for me."

"What's that?"

"You gotta get me hard again..." he pleaded.

Her mouth dropped open. "Sorry. I'm not being sexy." She frowned. "That's my fault. You are being really nice to me and it was fun earlier." She smiled. "Well as long as she won't know... I mean... it's not like I'm cheating on her..."

That was the wicked grin he wanted to see again.

"A what?" he asked Melissa.

"A boat trip. Amber made the arrangements. She said you wanted to see the island."

"That's right. I thought she'd be going with me was all."

"No. I'm with you today... Unless you'd like me to fetch her for you."

"No. You're doing a great job. You scared the hell out of that poor little girl. I can't think of anyone to better defend me."

Melissa smiled wanly. The woman who met them at the docks put a hand to her mouth and chuckled under her breath.

"I just wish Julia would have kept her mind on things. Sorry. I shouldn't say that in the presence of others. And who is this lovely woman?"

"This is Michelle. The trip will run through lunch and I thought, if you're in the mood, you and Michelle could get, uh, more familiar, while we were on the other side of the island. I have some traps to check on over there anyway, so I thought I'd leave you two alone for a while."

"I take it we'll all fit in the boat?"

"Sure."

Duty calls.

He crawled into the oversized dingy. Had they built it themselves? The design didn't inspire confidence.

What was the worst that would happen? They'd sink and wash to shore?

Both women piled on top of him.

"Don't do that. We'll row. You should really rest."

"Bullshit. Gimme that." He might not have much time left as a man, but he was going to make full use of it and stay in shape.

Why? To impress the ladies?

No, just because he could.

He flexed the muscles on his chest.

The ladies dropped everything and stared at his nipples.

He did it again.

A jaw fell open.

He alternated.

Finally one of them giggled.

"Do I have to rig the mast too?"

The spell broke and they set about their work.

Something wasn't right in the way they were...

"Isn't the sail set in the wrong direction?"

Melissa winked. "Remember the tide?"

Sure enough. They hit the reef at an angle and wound up scooting parallel to the shore.

Ingenuous.

Melissa occupied herself with the rudder, turning her back to him and falling out of earshot in the roar of the waves.

Michelle grabbed his waist for support as another surge hit, then leaned in and whispered seductively in his ear. "I'll keep my mind on you..."

He grinned.

It was a larger island than he thought. Parts of it looked uninhabited, though the girls assured him you could get most everywhere by footpath in about an hour or two.

There was a tall peak in the distance, occupying the middle of the island, where an old woman lived. They said you could see forever up there. Of course there was nothing really to see, no matter where the island was. No one had spotted another piece of land or even a boat in three millennia. Wrecks like were the closest they ever came to the outside world.

The hill was surrounded by several lower prominences, some bare and filled with low rolling pasture lands far inland where sheep and cattle grazed. Several distant figures chased the herds. Dogs had died out long ago, so people had taken the duty.

Would that be his fate? Chasing confused ex-bulls into their pens at night?

But they had plenty of birds. Maybe they could fly in and out at will like the bugs that never bit. Were the creatures who stayed away from humans immune to the curse?

He watched Melissa from shore as she dove for her traps.

Or was it Michelle?

No. Michelle was the one next to him.

Right?

Shit he hoped he hadn't called out the wrong woman's name a minute ago.

Well if he did, it didn't matter to her. She was still in her own private paradise. Did she know what a cigarette was? She had that 'gotta have one' look... eyes closed, laying back on the sands under the spotty shade of the palm.

"Letting him take" as she'd said.

What had one of the others called it? 'Letting him stick.' At least she didn't say 'conserving his seed.' He felt like a bloody gardener when they mentioned that.

She'd actually let him lick her pussy to warm things up. Only Andrea had let him enjoy that and even she moved quickly to the main course.

Michelle must have figured she was trapped with him and the picnic basket for the duration and to make the most of it. Melissa deliberately took her time out on the reef, playing in the surf.

Where had she found that old snorkling mask? Had it washed up in one of the shipwrecks?

He scratched himself in one of the places only men are prone to.

"I have got to shave. This thing itches like crazy."

"I can do that for you," Michelle said, eyes still closed. "I shave legs on occasion. That doesn't look much different."

"Have a razor on you?"

"What's a razor?"

"What do you shave with?"

"A knife."

Maybe he should let Amber do it...

What a funny thought.

Why did he turn to her of all the women he'd met? Was he developing deeper feelings for her?

It could just be the trust of a friend?

He should spend a few more nights with her to find out.

Would she come back this evening?

"I assume you're talking about your face, though your legs could use it too."

"What? Men don't shave their legs."

"Oh."

"Don't you like my hairy legs?"

"Sure."

They were always saying 'sure.' Women.

Well, maybe the same stuff just didn't matter to them.

He chuckled. None of them had yet asked what he did for a living either. Or how much money he made. Or how big his boat was. They weren't like any women he knew.

Then again, they already knew his future prospects.

He sighed and ran the sand through his toes.

"I heard you were a baker."

"Yeah.... Guess... uh, guess it's up to my brother now to keep the family line going." The kids wouldn't be taking his last name, would they? He'd be a woman by the time they were born. Yugh. He didn't want to think about it.

It was too incredible. Why didn't he doubt what they told him more? How did he know it was true?

"We grow wheat. I'm sure your skills will be useful."

"Which skills?"

"Baking."

"No. My name is Baker." He tossed a shell into the sea. "I'm just a number cruncher."

"A what?" Michelle laughed. The hand slipped from her eyes and her head lolled to the side as she peeked at him.

"I help businesses add up their money."

"Money? Oh. Your skills might not be very handy, then. We don't have money... though of course we've all heard about it." She looked up at the leaves once more. "We've got some gold coins in the archive if you'd like to see them. They're from the original shipwreck. But their number doesn't change." She frowned under the black bars of the palm's shadow. "Sorry."

"Suppose I'll be pretty useless then."

"Not at all." A lazy hand patted his shoulder. "So your father was a baker?"

"No. It's just our family name, passed down over the years. You have that here, don't you? Last names? I haven't heard anyone's yet."

"Clan names? Oh. We don't use them much. Only a handful of us have the same first name."

"No other Jimmy's?"

She chuckled. The back of her hand fell over her eyes again. "No. You're it."

"Hey... I'm sorry I called you Michelle this morning, honey. Why didn't you say anything?"

"You were so sweet. It's understandable you were tired out from your ordeal. It's hard to pay attention to all the new things happening, I imagine."

He pinched her cheek. "I bet you were too caught up watching my sausage bob around." She blushed. "You were! That's why you didn't notice..." He tickled Melissa until she started to pull away. "Hey. I'm not being mean. Look." He put his hands on top of hers. "I want to make it up to you."

"Really?"

"Yes. It was rude of me."

"Noooo.... You were just- "

"Now don't argue, honey. Just tell me what I can do for you." He thought a moment while she was silent. "Would you like to share my bed for the night?"

Her face brightened some, but there was hesitation still in her eye. Was she afraid of her inexperience?

"Is it OK with Amber?" she asked timidly.

"Do I have to ask her? Why are you worried?"

"No. I just thought that... You seem closer to her than to me. I wouldn't want to- "

"She's not free tonight anyway. Now would you like to keep me warm or not?"

She smiled. "I would."

"Good. I'd rather not be left all alone again."

Jimmy swept the sheets aside while she kicked her sandals off. Melissa swung her legs next to his and laid down beside him.

Fully clothed.

She was as shy as he thought.

"You know you'll have to take that off when we make love?"

"I know," she said meekly. "Can I wear it for now? Maybe if I'm close to you I'll get used to it."

"Sure. Haven't you ever been naked with another person? You didn't have trouble diving in the nude when I was around."

"I know... it's just... you're so different. In private... you know? Publicly it's not a problem, or with another girl after I'm comfortable with her... I just... you do such strange things."

"Me or my body?"

"Oh no. You're very sweet. It's just... your body changes so much when you're aroused. And you're so much larger. I'm not sure what to do- "

"- with me?"

"Yes."

He kissed her on the lips. "You don't have to do anything at all... I'll take care of it when the time comes." She relaxed a little as he stroked her cheek. "All you have to do is lie there like this. I'll do the work and make you feel good." Her lip twitched. "But we're not doing anything tonight anyway. Not unless you want to kiss a little. Did you want to do that?"

She hummed. "Do you want to?"

"You're the one I'm apologizing to. What do you want?"

She turned away from him and draped his arm over her shoulder. "Just hold me. It's been a long day."

"Sure." He kissed the nape of her neck. "You've been very sweet to me." Damn. He was getting another erection. A tooth dug into her lower lip. "Don't worry. It happens when I'm with someone I like. Even when I'm asleep." She sighed and stroked his arm. "I hope it doesn't bother you. I'm not going to roll over in the middle of the night and- "

"I know you won't," she whispered. "I trust you. And if you did, it's not for me to say no. It would..." She patted his elbow. "It's an honor."

"Only when you say." He kissed her shoulder again. "You should enjoy it, not want to forget it." He worked his other arm underneath her and held her tight. "Now is being big so bad?"

She watched the clouds drifting across the ivory sliver of the moon's shadow.

"No... no, it really isn't." She moved his hands up to her small bosom and kissed his knuckles. "You're very cozy."

"I liked watching you dive today... The way your feet fluttered in the air before you went back down. It was cute."

"Thanks."

"Have you been doing that long?"

"Since I was fourteen."

"Four years. You like it? Is that what you're going to do with your life?"

"Some of it. It's fun."

"The crabs were nice."

"They were... Can we talk in the morning? My skin's still a bit burned and I'm sleepy."

Jimmy awoke to the sounds of songbirds again.

The island had some lovely ones in his dreams.

But they never left him alone. They were little electric alarm clocks. Always bugging him about work.

No...

It wasn't birds like yesterday. It was... singing? He cracked an eye at the nearest window. Nothing but empty blue sky.

Where...?

He yawned and crawled up to the sill.

There was Amber, standing alone, backed by a semicircular sea of femininity.

Was it every woman on the island?

There must be at least forty he could see. More in the bushes. Some even holding their daughters by their sides or perched on low hanging tree limbs.

What time was it? He rubbed his eyes. The red was just fading from the sky.

The birds chirped along too. Did they understand it? He couldn't make out the lyrics. Was it ancient Greek? Whatever it was it was enchanting. That he couldn't understand only made it moreso.

He sank on his elbow and smiled down at them.

And yawned uncontrollably. Amber grinned and almost fell from the surrounding chorus of notes.

Her arms rose up from her sides. She clasped them to her breast and then broke out in solo as she reached out to him with open palms outstretched.

She cocked her head. Her lips trembled sweetly from the rush of air. The forceful melodies seemed almost to bubble out of her throbbing throat like a spring.

A little line of fat formed where she tucked her chin in.

She broke into a smile and every odd performer took a step closer and rejoined her in song.

They stopped and their counterparts in the rear picked the harmony.

They cycled back and forth in pretty geometric patterns, as if they were telling him a story full of distinct characters, woven with different voices.

Amber stepped forward again.

Perhaps they were wooing him.

How cute. Was it just a simple love song?

The steps and harmonies grew more complex than that.

It was hard to follow. He was still groggy. And the notes floated on the air... they seemed to call for his consciousness to come with them... it truly was the isle of sirens...

He blinked hard. They were putting on such an effort, he couldn't let himself nod off under their spell.

The other women stopped and Amber once again took the ball, uttering what sounded like a powerful final note and calling seductively to him with her arms and eyes.

Then there was silence.

Even the early morning birds, normally so noisy, stopped to admire the fading echoes, unsure now of their own powers of song and doubting where they could next take the melody.

The last note died in the hills.

It was over. Every woman smiled at him.

He stood up and clapped very loudly. The birds warbled again.

"Brava. Brava."

The ladies took a bow.

He waved Amber to the window.

She lifted the hem of her skirt and walked forward. "I thought you needed a little serenading. Men are always complaining women cheat them on the romance."

His smile broadened. "I'm touched." He pecked her on the cheek. "You remembered the other night."

"I won't forget any of it," she whispered back.

The chorus took his show of affection as a cue to collect their reward. They formed a long line behind Amber, politely out of earshot.

"You didn't stop by again..."

Amber blushed. "You would have woken up when I left to sing. Then it wouldn't have been a surprise." She looked behind her. "We'll talk later. You have many other admirers to greet."

"And they all deserve it," he said proudly, waving them on before he bent down for a good-bye kiss. "You're always welcome," he whispered.

Amber turned, throwing a swish in her hair, and walked off cheerfully, letting her hand linger with his until her arm could bend no higher.

Her fingers slipped from his grip.

He dutifully kissed each of the singers in turn, all the while keeping track of Amber's retreating form from the corner of his eye.

There were too many waiting to permit much conversation. They exchanged pecks on the cheek and then thanked them and sent them on their way. He recognized a few faces from the bedroom. Almost all of them in fact.

Even the Queen popped out of the shrubs and fell in line with the other angels, though she obviously felt out of place. He couldn't exactly see her as the kind who sang and danced for Dahlia in the bedroom. But she was doing her best to smile at him, however awkwardly.

Just as his back started to hurt, someone slipped a pedestal under the window.

It was harder to watch Amber now, though the gaiety in her step was unmistakable.

She stopped and turned. Was she...?

A dozen little boys filed out from behind a tree and drowned her in a sea of hands.

"Sorry, sweety... Only the girls... when you're older..." She pinched a ruddy cheek. "Because he's... play just with the boys... of these days... Don't want... him... kiss, do you?"

A dozens little "ughs" went up to the skies.

"Let's..." She was out of range now. Little arms fell on her like rigging to a sail as she led them off to school. The wind caught her skirts and just then, just for a moment she turned the rest of the way and he caught a glimmer in her eye.

He grinned.

"Why sure..."

Jimmy bent down and kissed the young mother then plucked the little girl from her arms and gave her a peck on the cheek too. He scratched her belly with his scraggly whiskers for good measure until she squealed in delight. The few remaining ladies laughed and two or three other girls ran from their mothers to line up under the sill.

It was amusing to watch the queen hoist each of them on her broad shoulders.

"Thank you, your majesty..." He took the child with ponytails in his arm. "Why aren't you a big girl..." He pinched her cheek. "And so cute." He scratched her too.

Soon the queen was out of children and had to stand herself before him. She glanced around nervously, searching vainly for one last child, before stepping up.

"We're having an outdoor luncheon in your honor this afternoon," she informed him. "I hope you can attend."

He smiled. "Well if it's in my honor, I guess I've got no choice." Dahlia giggled behind her. "It wouldn't be much of a celebration without me." He leaned forward and gave the Queen another kiss on the cheek. "It's very thoughtful of you."

She stepped to the side and helped her lover up.

"Thanks Dahlia. It was sweet of you to come."

"I enjoyed it."

Dahlia held back and offered her hand. He eyed the queen warily and kissed her knuckles like a knight of old.

"Perhaps this afternoon you won't hide her beautiful voice in the bushes?"

The queen smirked.

Dahlia shrugged and gave him a 'Lovers. What can you do with them?' sort of face. "I don't know why she hides behind others in chorus. She's just as good."

The blonde stepped down and wrapped her arm around the queen. The pair walked off, whispering to each other.

Dahlia laughed.

Jimmy polished off the remaining stragglers quickly enough.

Still, it hadn't been all the women he'd met so far. He didn't expect to see all of them either but... something nagged him. It was the sort of thing some of them would want to be at.

Who was that?

Oh well.

He was still groggy.

Why wouldn't that woman take her eye off his waist?

He looked down and finally noticed he was naked. A very sticky, smelly, messy kind of naked from last night. He'd kissed little girls with that stuff matting his- ?

He backed sheepishly from the window, triggering frowns all around.

"Sorry," said the woman, gazing eagerly into his eyes.

Her few remaining compatriots whispered disapprovingly and batted scarves at her.

He waved good-bye and drew the curtains.

He turned to find Melissa already gone from the bed. Full-bodied Andrea was waiting patiently with the wash basin.

One of the other M's was standing next to her. Michelle, if he remembered right. She held a bone knife in her hand.

"Did you want a shave?"

He wished Amber hadn't left.

Without a doubt every woman they passed on the streets looked with disappointment at his smooth face.

He hoped Michelle wouldn't catch any trouble over it. She'd felt bad enough when she sliced open his chin. "Sorry. And I thought knees were hard." He couldn't stop laughing at that line.

And he had to before she moved to the other cheek.

At least she hadn't hit a vein.

He should have asked for her resume beforehand. It hadn't occurred to him his would be the first face she'd ever done.

"Does it still hurt?"

"What? Hm. No, Andrea. The salve feels quite nice. I, um... I shouldn't have moved like that. It's my fault."

She smirked. "No it's not. It's Michelle's fault... Well, I guess it's partly yours. None of us has ever shaved a man's beard before. What did you expect? It was an unusual request."

"I know. I should have done it myself. At least then she wouldn't get blamed for it."

"We'll all get over it. It's your choice."

"It'll grow back," he shrugged.

"No it won't."

"Huh?"

"Not enough. But never mind. Better sooner than later... I'd wait to shave anything else, though. It's still too thick."

"Let the Games begin," proclaimed the Queen.

Amber turned and whispered subversively in his ear. "You know she hated having her ass in the air all day."

He laughed.

"You're a good judge of character." He turned to her and squeezed her shoulder. "Sure you won't join us?"

"I need to watch my class. You'd be surprised how hard it is to get them to run in a straight line."

"Probably not." He watched one of them spiraling into the woods.

"Oh! Come back here, you!"

She was cute when she hoisted her skirts up like that to run.

He clutched the decaying nerf ball and cocked his arm back. "Come on, Marcus. Go deep... farther back... that's it. It's a long one..." He tossed it. "And it's good. Somebody tackle him... on second thought... oh." He turned around. "Your majesty."

"The Games await," the Queen reminded him. "There will be time to spend with the children. Now is your chance to impress the rest of us."

"Impress?"

"Yes. Demonstrate your powers. It has been so long since any of us has seen a man in his natural element."

Natural element? A cubicle? "I'm supposed to put on a show?"

"Not at all. We wish there were other men here, but we will have to suffice as your competition. Do you not enjoy sports? I know some men- "

"No. I like them fine. Do you?"

"Certainly. All of us do... But we cannot always do the proper things for some activities or do them as well. Perhaps you can help?"

"OK. What's up first?"

"Nothing too strenuous. It is all in the spirit of fun. To offer you a chance to enjoy yourself."

"While you watch, huh?"

She grinned. "It is a side benefit."

He looked at the woman's sinewy arms. "You're not going to be one of the ones beating up on me, are you?"

She laughed. "No. You outclass me in too many areas. My function here today is strictly ceremonial... Now. The soccer ball has finally been reinflated- Zeus knows that took long enough, poor Linda is still dizzy- there is also the javelin, the discus, a foot race and any number of other games. We have a few hours before we eat. The choices are yours."

Andrea frowned. "But we'll lose if I have to take my top off. They'll really get in the way," she sighed. "You don't understand. It's hard enough to run like this."

"We won't lose. Trust me."

"Are you sure? I don't think you can give me a lead that big."

"I won't have to... Just trust me." He pinched her pouting chin. "Wasn't the night before reason enough?" She cracked a smile. "We'll win the race," he stressed. "I just need you to stay focused and run straight for the finish line. Can you do that? Not get distracted?"

"Of course, but- "

"No buts. Just do your job." He slapped her fanny. "Trust me."

He passed her the wooden rod.

Andrea lurched away, breasts flying everywhere.

Damn she was sexy like that.

Sure enough, up went the flag pole.

He turned to face the rest of the field as they caught up with him.

He'd never thought he'd be able to stand alone in a crowd of women with a huge boner and not be embarrassed. But here he was in all his natural, turned-on glory. All eyes were on him, wide open like children at a candy factory. He never felt more like a work of art.

He twisted his neck to keep his own eye on Andrea's magnificent bouncing form. She really was really giving it her all.

Jimmy chuckled as one runner collided with her equally distracted anchor. The baton went flying into the woods and both ladies ended up in an awkward embrace on the grass, staring at him with big doe eyes from positions that would tax even mating contortionists.

Andrea took a quick peek behind her, curious about why the rest of the world had come to a halt. He gave her the thumbs up and she smiled back. The harder she ran the further her tits flew and the higher his pecker strained against the empty air.

Damn she was sexy.

"Don't look back! Go for it! You're clobbering them!"

Two competitors saw his signal and the spell over them broke. The pair peeled the batons from their stunned partners and stumbled after poor Andrea but it was too late. They'd never catch her. Her little arms and legs were pumping up and down furiously in the distance. Her whole body was bright red. Even she could win it from here.

One of the runners was obviously still preoccupied. She turned to snatch a final glance and fell all over the grass like a newborn foal on a frozen lake.

The other woman didn't have a chance, but try she did, straining valiantly until Andrea crossed the giggling finish line. She came up to him later as he put a soothing arm around Andrea's back. The dejected woman accused him of not being fair.

Jimmy just shrugged. "I guess you should have taken your top off," he replied.

Blushing Andrea, doubled over and still short of breath, managed a smile.

The woman glared at Andrea's dangling bosom. "That's what I meant. It's not fair." Her face wrenched up and she walked off.

He hoped she wasn't on the list.

Then again, maybe it would be fun. She had some spirit....

"Thanks," Andrea panted. Sweat dripped from the matted black hair that shrouded her face like a veil. She swept it off the grass, over her back again. "Who'd figure... what else these things... were good for." She coughed. "I never thought I'd win one of those..." she chuckled. "Classic... I almost tripped myself... when I saw..." She clutched her dangling udders and rescued them from the vegetation. "Oh but they hurt though..." she gasped. "It was worth the trouble... What a great way to win... Partnership, huh?" She took another gulp. "That's what it's all about. Claudia will immortalize us for sure."

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry if they hurt. I didn't mean- "

The knobs in her spine moved like a snake. She finally caught her breath and lurched up, brushing her slick black mane from her cheeks. "Don't worry about it... They're always sore. Sometimes more than once a month." She sighed. "I really wish they were smaller... I've never liked them this size." She smiled devilishly. "We're lucky you do." She patted him back.

He suddenly thought of her in the sack the other day, how much he'd enjoyed seeing her red and sweaty just like this.

"They have a certain grace to them."

She smirked. "What's the English word? Spastic?"

"That too."

"Well... they know if you pay them attention again in private you'll be gentler."

The Queen walked over, Dahlia at her side. He'd never seen her more jovial. She couldn't stop laughing.

Andrea slung her robe over her shoulders and wrapped her breasts tightly as the Queen congratulated each of them.

"It is a wise man who gets his competitors to defeat themselves."

"Indeed. I thought you might get mad that we'd cheated."

"Cheated? Mad? Hardly. The rest of the women cheated themselves of victory. You were clever and honest when they weren't... when you knew they wouldn't be. I like that. You took advantage of their one weakness and used the curse to your benefit." She wagged a finger at him. "You understand life. You understand the wisdom of the myths." Dahlia whispered in her ear. "Excellent. Yes. The island will commission Claudia to immortalize the day in song."

Andrea blushed. "Thank you my Queen."

"And you too did well Andrea. You could have tripped with the others but you kept your eye on victory."

"I wanted so badly to win. Just once."

"Sometimes once is enough to make you the best when it is the right race."

"Again. Thank you, my Queen."

"Ah. Do not be so formal. The festivities are over. Call me Lucia."

So she did have a name, Jimmy thought.

Lucia squeezed his bicep and seemed pleased with what she found.

"You have a strong arm. Perhaps there are more songs to write..." she said loosely. Then the cloud disappeared from her eye and she straightened up. "We will go hunting tomorrow, before you become too flabby and I shall instruct you on the finer points of throwing... Yes. Would you enjoy that?"

Flabby? He flexed his arm. He looked fine.

They were feeding him too much. He did need to work some of it off. He was getting soft. The three days sitting on the boat getting heat stroke hadn't helped.

Soft.

Shoot. He would get soft and there was nothing he could do about it.

Was he really eating too much? There was hardly any fat in their diet.

Andrea poked him gently in the ribs.

Huh?

Oh.

"Yeah. I would. It's just that I've never thrown before. I'm better at casting a line."

"We can do that too. It's up to you. If you'd rather spend time with the other ladies, nothing will be said of it. I merely make the offer."

"I don't mind a day of hard work."

"Good." Lucia brightened and put an arm around his shoulder. "Some women think I was once a man because of my decisiveness, because I take action and revel in physical pursuits. What do you think?"

"I think... I think without men around, you have to be strong for yourself and for your loved ones."

Dahlia smiled at him.

But Lucia hit him on the back. "Uhf."

"I like you. You understand things. I hope you make a strong woman too. Or does it not matter to you?"

"I'd like to stay as much me as I can."

"We all hope that."

Lucia sighed and contemplated the woods in silence. Jimmy scratched his ear as the Queen's eyes clouded over again.

He was at a loss as to what to do. Had he reminded her of the inevitably unpleasant? Or was she about to pinch him on the ass and give him a beer?

"I tell you what. After you've had lunch and a chance to rest, I'll take you on a walking tour of some of the trails." Andrea frowned at the offer but he failed to notice. "Would that be fine with you?"

Jimmy nodded. "Some parts of me haven't been getting as much exercise as the others."

The women laughed.

"Good. See you- " she pointed at an angle to the sun- "at two."

She and Dahlia intertwined arms about each other's waists and walked off. She turned to Dahlia, whispered something and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"It's hard to believe Dahlia was once the boy," Andrea whispered.

"Really? I think she's the more sexy of the two."

"Everybody does."

"Really? You don't like bold and determined lovers?"

"Not when they're women."

"She was a turn on in her own way... though she did make my balls black and blue." Andrea giggled hysterically. "Yeah. Hilarious... So. You like men and you like women but you don't like masculine women?"

"Some of us do. Dahlia obviously does. It's none of my affair. I was just making a comment, not passing judgment."

"I know." He put and arm around Andrea and they walked to the side where some of the spectators still congregated. "Why don't you go ahead and get cleaned up for lunch. I'll be along to the palace shortly."

"OK."

He held her hand firmly before he let her go. "You ran a fantastic race. A lot harder than you had too. You could have beaten them by a mile anyway." He kissed her on the cheek. "I'm proud. You did all the hard work."

"The victory is both ours."

"Of course." He pinched her. "I helped too... Even if it wasn't the hard part."

She laughed. "Thanks, nonetheless. I'm so happy..."

She did look pleased. Moreso than the all too brief minutes they'd spent together in bed. Would he ever know her well enough to figure out why?

Off she shuffled, clearly still short of breath.

His head hurt some too.

Boy, if he had to do that again as a woman he'd be in trouble. He hated running.

Ouch. Particularly with tits.

What if they ended up like hers? He shuddered to think.

Maybe he could whip a big banana out of his toga and they'd all fall over laughing.

Yeah... that might work. He'd have to remember that.

Gallows humor...

He came across the other woman who'd tripped, still sitting on the ground where she'd fallen. She hadn't taken her eyes off him the entire time.

"Are you all right? Nothing broken I hope."

"No. Just a few scratches." She rubbed her shins. "I hope they'll heal in time."

"Time for what?"

"Next week. You don't like scabs, do you?"

He pinched her cheek. They made her look like a tomboy, but she probably would think her femininity was slighted if he said that.

"You're very cute, regardless. Your eyes just got the better of you."

She blushed. "I know. I should just wait my turn like everybody else but... I never thought I'd feel the things I did, looking at you."

"I hope you feel them again."

"I will," she smirked. "I will."

He leaned in and whispered in her ear. "You don't have a girlfriend I'll make jealous, do you?"

She giggled. "No. Do you?"

Jimmy looked up at the sky.

He wanted to answer, but for once he thought better of it and stopped his mouth from running off without him.

"Oh I'm... No. Please don't answer. It wasn't right of me."

"Don't worry about it." He patted her on the back. "I seem to have a hundred girlfriends and I can't remember all of their names at the moment."

She laughed. "I hear it's a nice problem to have." She intertwined her arm with his and pulled herself up. "I'm Clarissa. There. Now you only have ninety-nine to worry about."

He snorted. "So tell me, why didn't the Queen run?"

"Oh. We don't let her. She beats everybody. Even with that fairly large bosom of hers."

"But I got to run. Surely I can beat her?"

"Oh. No one has any doubt that you could beat us all. But it was in your honor. For you to show off. Didn't you enjoy it?"

"Yeah. You didn't let me win, did you?"

"Of course not. That's why we gave you Andrea. So the rest of us could have a little hope. I can see we were pleasantly wrong."

"Andrea? You weren't picking on her were you?"

"No. It was her idea in fact. She's always last. We all thought it was the fairest thing to do. Why? Do you disagree?"

"Not at all. She really liked it... well, look. Good luck with your next race. I'll see you around."

"Five days," she piped up to his departing back.

There was Amber again, surrounded in the same swarm of young ones. Put a ball of yarn in any two pairs of hands and in a minute they'd have her wrapped from head to toe like a mummy.

She spied him out of the corner of her eye as she rounded them up.

"Come on. Back to class." She hustled them down the trail under the guard of another young woman. "Everybody hold hands... I'm watching you Clara... Oh." She turned to find him standing right behind her.

"You enjoy teaching?"

"Yes. Very much. Many of us do."

"Did they run straight?"

She put a hand over her mouth but she couldn't stop the laughter from bubbling over. "As straight as Andrea," she snickered, "when you 'pointed' her in the right direction." She stuck a finger out from her crotch. "Gooo! Doooon't loooook baaaaack!"

He pinched her side. "I'm glad you enjoyed the spectacle."

"It was quite original... though it was hard explaining to the students."

"Oops. Didn't think about that. Sorry."

She shrugged. "They learn about sex eventually. Though I have a feeling they're going to try the strangest things when we race at lunch tomorrow." Amber smirked. "Oh well. A small price to pay..." She gripped his side. "Say. I bet the queen was impressed. She's always saying brains are more important than brawn."

"She did like it. She invited me hiking later."

"Oh dear. Don't let her tire you out."

"I won't. So... provided I keep my clothes on... when did you want me to come down and play with the little boys?"

"Anytime you'd like, of course."

"Sometime when you'll be there. Um... unless you don't want your class disturbed."

Her hand moved to his chest. "No. I'd like that very much. Why not- is the Queen doing something with you tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

"I thought Andrea said so. Well it might be stressful too. How about the day after?"

"Sure."

"And I'll see you tomorrow morning, anyway," she said. "I've got you for half the day."

"Good..." He tugged at her belt until she put her palm over his. "Now are you guys going to give me some sort of schedule I can look at or just keep me guessing?"

"Mmm. Just keep you guessing."

"OK. Well why don't you drop by again tonight? It'll save you the trip up in the morning."

"I'd like that."

"I hope you're not jealous because you didn't get to run with me today."

"It's not the race I run." She kissed him on the cheek. "Besides, it was more enjoyable to watch, as all the other competitors found out."

Amber turned and hurried after the last of her charges still lingering in the woods.

Andrea had stayed by his side faithfully all day. She even dragged herself along the hilly trails in pursuit of their exceptionally fit Queen in her thinly disguised competition with Jimmy.

He might beat her in a foot race but she made it clear the long haul was another matter.

Still, she was far from a poor guide. He'd seen a lot today. Everything major on the island, in fact. She wanted to take him to one of the lookouts, but poor Andrea looked too tired for the climb.

He made up an excuse about his clothing being too loose and his balls hurting. He'd thought of saying his foot was sore, but feet were something they all had. He wanted something they couldn't question, something that wouldn't arouse suspicion but would be final.

Though it produced a bit too much concern on their faces. He hoped he wouldn't wind up with his crotch wrapped up with the island's only roll of duct tape.

He was glad he'd fit the second and third woman in around lunch. The fourth was difficult enough that night, even after the long nap.

He'd had to force her to be on top, even though she didn't have much experience with it.

That look in her eye...

When things started taking too long and he coaxed her down for a blow job to help him along. He'd seen women disgusted at giving them before, but she was positively terrified it might accidentally go in the wrong end.

"Are you sure?... Are you sure?..." like some echo in the bed chamber. Would he ever get it out of his ears?

Still... she'd been so pleasant. He shouldn't have teased her with it. If he were in her position, he was sure he wouldn't want to see his chance at a child flushed down the drain. Or elsewhere.

Her position...

It didn't take long before he shared her apprehension.

"Huh?"

Andrea frowned. "I was hoping I could stay."

Amber said nothing, didn't even look upset.

She'd done so much for him today. "Would you both like to?" he asked, before he could think clearly about it.

Neither seem affected one way or another by his question. Was it their way of telling him they weren't thrilled?

Damn these women for hanging around him with those eyes that asked him to make decisions like this.

"If it makes either of you uncomf- "

"No," they interrupted in unison. "We both want to sleep with you."

"Both? You sure?"

They looked at one another and grinned. "Yes." They started disrobing.

Amber was first to bed, having perhaps less to unwrap. She curled up by his side next to the edge, facing out like she'd done the first night. Her silky red curls caressed his chest as she looked up at him for approval.

Jimmy grinned back at her, grabbing her hip and spooning her.

Andrea looked at the pair, clearly feeling left out and expecting some form of direction from him.

He patted the space behind him.

"Back here where I can feel your wonderful breasts pressing into me." Amber winked. "Here. Give me your hand."

Andrea smiled now that she understood why he wanted her that way. She was overjoyed again.

Was today the day she was finally getting on friendly terms with her bosom? She'd seemed so blase about it when he'd slept with her. Er, had sex. He was finally getting to the sleep part. How did other women treat breasts, exactly? He couldn't imagine being attracted to another man that way and yet here they were, doing what every man fantasized about...

"That really was a wonderful race," Amber said. "I've heard the first verse in Claudia's song. It's quite lovely."

"Isn't it?" Andrea settled in behind him. He'd have to be careful not to turn over in the night and hurt her. Those warm cushions of hers were the best. Especially the big smooth nipples.

Would Amber take offense at a thought like that?

Why was he worried?

"I hope you two aren't going to keep me up all night," Andrea grumbled, "chattering like girlfriends."

He chuckled.

His hip joint popped.

What was that about?

He sat up in bed, massaging the socket.

He yawned.

Were there mirrors in this place? Had they been hiding him from himself? He'd spent so much time having sex he hadn't noticed. They didn't leave him alone a moment.

Who'd he slept with yesterday? They were starting to go by in a blur. He'd pretty much doubled his personal archive of pussy and yet... he had trouble remembering each one. They came and went so fast. He'd seen a dozen different female shapes, all the most beautiful representatives possible...

He barely felt any stubble on his chin this morning. Had Andrea been right?

Where was she? Where was Amber?

"Amber? Andrea?"

"Yes?" Amber's red head poked through the brown curtains. "Andrea's gone for the day. She'll be back in three days time... unless you want I should fetch her?"

"No. I guess I can put up with you for half a day," he grinned slyly. "Why do you guys always run off before I wake up?"

"There is work to be done. We can't all be lazy."

"You mean you can't all lay around having sex all day?"

"Not at the same time," she said blankly. "Just one by one." Her head cocked and her lip twitched. "Why? Should we try? You want us to?"

"No," He chuckled and her face relaxed. "So who gets to go watch me be manly with the Queen this afternoon?"

Amber laughed. "That would be Linda."

"Linda?"

"You haven't met her yet."

"Didn't Lucia say something about her being ditsy." "Ditsy? No," Amber mused. "She had a headache yesterday... but I don't think she'll be upset you didn't want to play soccer. She's not that kind of person. But ask first if you want to hear her flute. She may still be a bit dizzy."

Dizzy. Oh, that's right. That's what the Queen had said. Why was he having trouble recalling little things like that? Or was he just not paying attention in the first place?

"Linda's the last?"

"No. After Linda there's Hope."

"And Hope's it?"

"Yes." Her head pulled halfway back into the corridor, then she paused and looked up again. "I meant to ask you. You're probably getting bored with the surroundings. Francesca offered to let you visit her home. She lives on a nice bluff overlooking the ocean. I'm sure you'd like it. I could take you there before lunch and let Linda pick you up for your afternoon of adventures with the queen."

"You'd do that to poor old me? Abandon me with a strange woman for an hour or two?"

The most perplexed looked crossed her face until he broke out in a smile.

"You." Her lips puckered and twitched. "Just shout. One of us is always around the corner if things are too unfamiliar."

"If I get a flat I'll let you know."

"A 'flat'...? Oh." She chuckled. "Well you'll have to use Linda, then. I'm going right to class after I drop you off. Besides," Amber winked. "She has those heavy breasts you like so much. She'll fix 'a flat'."

"Hey...!"

Too late. Her face had vanished along with the rest of her.

The curtains swayed gently over the dark hole between them.

"This is Francesca's. Linda will be along in a moment and then I'll skip off to school, OK?"

He paused at the bend in the path and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I hope you didn't take offense."

"Offense at what?"

"About the way I reacted to Andrea's breasts."

"Oh that." She sighed. "They're just breasts. We've all got them."

"It's just that... you know, some men are really partial to women with big hooters."

"'Hooters'? Hm," she mused, "'hooters'.... oh. Hooters." Her hands wandered in front of her chest as she realized how he'd just expanded her vocabulary. "Hooters." Her head cocked to the side. "Really?" Her lip twitched. "Are you?"

"Sometimes..." She frowned. "Sometimes I like a woman with none at all." She raised an eyebrow. "Flat-chested, I mean."

"Oh."

"I'm the kind of fellow that likes all sorts of parts of a woman."

"I know. They're just breasts," she said again.

"No. Every pair is special." He kissed her cheek again and caught her in one of her rare blushes of speechlessness. "I enjoyed Andrea's very much in her own way. I just didn't want you getting jealous."

"Really?" She smiled broadly, as if every other comment save the last had flown by. "I know. I don't think about that other stuff. It's not my place." She tapped his rear end. "You run off now and have your fun. I'm sorry if I worried you with my little joke."

"You didn't worry me." He pinched her bottom. "Why don't you run around naked? I'm sure you'll like my reaction..."

"You! What's gotten into you this morning?"

"It's what I got into Denise..."

She pinched him back. "Stop teasing me that way!"

His chuckles died down. "Sorry. I've never slept with two women at once. You made me giddy."

She smiled and gazed into his eyes.

"There's Linda... look, I really must go..."

"Why don't you come along when we go play with the Queen? That won't disturb your schedule will it? I don't feel comfortable around Lucia all the time."

"Sure. Dahlia will be there, though. Don't you think she's sweet?"

"Whose sweet?" asked an unseen voice.

Jimmy turned around to see who could only be Linda. She had short, wavy blonde hair and stood just a few inches shy of his own height.

"Dahlia," Amber replied.

"She certainly is sweet..." Linda purred. "Too bad she went and got married." She pinched Jimmy's side. "You make me so jealous... you get to sleep with all the sexy married women."

Amber laughed lightly. "You're in good hands," she smirked. He kissed her one last time and she walked off to town.

"Come on," Linda tugged. "She's waiting... Or do you need to see my titties to get warmed up, stud?"

He grinned. He walked with her around the corner and slipped a naughty hand into her toga.

His jaw dropped open.

"Big, aren't they?"

"Where do they stop?"

She winked. "You'll find out tonight. I'm on the list." She nibbled his ear. "They're big and pink-white. You'll love them... They put poor Andrea's nipples to shame..."

If only he could get them side by side for a comparison...

"Not coming in?"

"No, dear. My job is done." She patted his hardening crotch. "I'll be out here if you need me. Go on..." She pushed him through the crack in the door.

"Francesca?" Why were there two women sitting on the bed?

"No. I'm Sara. The house in Francesca's. She built it a few years ago."

He walked up to the open window and smelled the warm brine in the air. He caressed the mist settling on his fuzzy cheek. The view was indeed splendid. The window was so wide it was almost like being outside. It must be spectacular at sunrise.

"Like the view?"

"Yeah... But I thought I was having sex with a girl named Francesca."

One of the ladies giggled behind his back.

"No. She's well past the change in life."

"He wants to make love to mom," the other tittered.

He turned around.

"Mom?"

"She loaned it for the hour. She suggested it might make it special."

"I brought my mate," the other said, patting the woman's hand. "I hope you don't mind. They say in the legends men used to dream of making love to more than one woman. Is it true?"

He grinned. "As long as we have fun, sure. Why not?"

He sat down next to Francesca's daughter and stroked her long auburn hair.

"No, honey." The blonde laid hands on his shoulders. "I'm the one you have sex with. Not her."

"Don't I get both of you?" The two women were positively stumped. Hadn't they thought this through? "Share and share alike?" Wasn't that how marriage worked?

"Well... Ok. As long as I'm where you end up, if you know what I mean... I suppose it doesn't matter where you start."

"Fair's fair," her wife smiled.

"Why doesn't he want to know our names?"

He snickered. Women. "Why don't you tell me?"

"I'm Deborah," said the red head.

"Sara," said the blond, leaning in to kiss the other girl.

"How long have you two been married?"

Deborah broke off their wet embrace with a loud smacking. "Three years." She turned to Sara. "We really shouldn't ignore him, honey."

"Oh."

"No. Don't mind me," Jimmy said.

Each girl arched the same eyebrow. They really were a match.

"Why don't you show me what you do together?" Prove to him how much they needed him... Yeah. He'd never been able to indulge that particular male fantasy.

"Oh," they purred in understanding.

"Good," said Sara.

"I told you," Deborah whispered before turning to Jimmy. "I thought you might like to see how women make love... You know." She cupped his hand. "So you'll get used to the idea and it won't be awkward for you later." She shrugged. "When you find someone you love..."

"Um..." He cleared his throat. "That's sweet of you."

"Thanks. I didn't want to be presumptuous."

"Have you seen many women making love before?"

"He's blushing." Both girls giggled.

"Sorry. We don't mean to tease you."

"We'd be honored," added Sara.

"Is this your first threesome too?" he asked. "You don't do it much on the island?"

"Oh," they said with apprehension.

"I haven't. Have you Sara?"

"No."

"I guess we're new at it too."

"So should we... what? Just ignore you for a while? What do you want us to- "

"Well... you can look at me seductively if you like. Just make sure I can see what's going on. Don't forget the 'show me' part."

"Of course." Deborah fluttered an eyelash at him.

The lithe young women fell on each other, smooching and giggling.

That was all they did for the next several minutes. Occasionally they'd glance at him, eyes filled with curiosity more than anything... and occasional self- consciousness as they eyed his lonely erection.

Only when their tittering leveled out into low, rolling moans did Sara shift down to her lover's breasts, pinching at one of her puckered red nipples and lapping at the other.

Deborah caressed the back of her head until she slipped too low on her body, leaving a trail of kisses on her way to the red thatch between her thighs.

Sara pushed her thigh back and Jimmy shifted his seat for a better look. She brushed the red hair aside with her fingers, revealing a second set of luscious pink lips to match hers. A long red tongue unfurled and seemed almost to merge with her wife's trim auburn muff.

Deborah moaned louder and twisted her stiff nipples under her thumbs.

Sara's hips reared up too and wriggled just like Deborah's. He could just make out the dark shadow of her slit beneath that light yellow carpet. Her ass had such a lovely curve to it.

He wanted to plug that luscious bottom thrusting into the empty air right now. It was all he could do to keep from stroking himself.

He sat there absorbed and dumbstruck. He'd heard of such spectacles at frat parties and those places the truckers hung out. But he'd always had enough trouble talking just one woman into sex, let alone two. He'd never understood why he might want to waste the extra effort.

Until now.

And it wouldn't be a waste. They both wanted him.

He couldn't hold back anymore.

He stood and ran a thumb through Sara's velvety lips.

She cried out in surprise and reared up.

Deborah sat up too and, as Sara turned to look at Jimmy, the two of them pinned her to the bed.

Deborah latched on to her breasts and began to repay her favors as Jimmy spread her legs out and moved down on her. Sara's hands drifted into his hair, combing at its kinks and knots.

The stuff tangled too much. He'd need to get it cut soon.

But not by Michelle.

Yet another woman was pushing his head away from her crotch. Delicately... politely hinting... as if he wouldn't notice, like it was some sort of subliminal suggestion.

"Am I not supposed to?" he asked. "Is this something special?"

"Huh?" Sara blushed as she realized what she'd done. "No. Go right ahead. I- " she stammered. "Please. If it makes you happy."

"Are you uncomfortable with it?"

"A bit," she sighed. "But go on. I'm sure it will feel quite lovely. In fact I'd like you to... please..."

"Can your wife come down to help me out?"

"I'd like that."

Both grinned and Deborah kissed her lover tenderly.

He ran a finger through her thick vulva again, parting it like a zipper. Deborah joined his side, crouching by him on the wide bed. He kissed her full on the lips.

She closed her eyes and dropped her hand lazily on his shoulder. He looked to the side and found Sara smiling politely back at him. He broke it off and went down on her, spreading her legs back to make room for the two of them.

"Ah!" she sputtered as his tongue fought delightfully with Deborah's for space.

Already she had two fingers in her girlfriend. He pinned her thick lips back and they each paddled a side of her clitty. Sara grabbed at both of their heads, fingers arching up and down like a child tenderly plucking at a teat.

Deborah giggled endlessly as their hot breath mixed together over her lover's juices. "Promise you'll do this on me?" she asked him.

He winked. "OK."

"Where- ?"

He crawled behind her, laid hands on her hips and proceeded to bang away. He leaned to the side to catch a glimpse of the frustrated redhead trying to munch away at her wife.

Could he tease them back about it?

"Enjoying yourself Deborah?"

"Yes, thank you. Very much."

He chuckled. "How long would you like to do this?"

"As long as you'd like of course."

Sara frowned.

"Tell you what. You warm her up for me, OK?"

"Huh?" she slurped away.

"As soon as you get Sara there off, I'll switch up. OK?"

Sara's frown deepened. Deborah, tossed her head back and looked at her mount, quite perplexed.

Then awareness dawned in her hazel eyes.

"You hurry up now," he teased.

Sara sneaked a finger into her muff. Deborah slapped at her but she wouldn't withdraw.

"Ow! Don't bite me..." Sara complained. She gave her a love tap on the cheek. "What did I do?"

Jimmy swept up Deborah's auburn hair into a ponytail and pulled her up.

"I changed my mind." He winked at Sara. "I'll switch after I feel Deborah cum. How's that?"

She certainly wouldn't fake that. But could she cover it up? What an interesting question...

Sara grinned and sprang up from the pillows, silencing her mate's protests with a long kiss. Jimmy nipped at her collar bone, plunging his face into the tangled red and yellow forest. He could just make out Sara's hands working their way between her girlfriend's legs.

Deborah tried to brush her away but her heart wasn't in it. The poor girl was confused as hell. Did she want to feel good or did she want to feel good? Do I come or do I come? Jimmy chuckled. What a dilemma he'd created.

"Deborah?"

The arm wrestling stopped. "Would you do something for me sweety?"

She broke of the kiss. "Sure."

"Could you play with her too? I find it really arousing."

Her cheeks burned red. "Like this?" she asked softly.

"Yeah... but could you play with her other nipple too?... Both?... At the same time?" He tugged at her earlobe with his teeth. "Can you show me how it's done, honey?"

That took care of the hand guarding her mound.

She sighed, resigning herself to fate and Sara's big smile smothered her once more. What a sight, watching their red lips wrestling together just inches from his nose. What were those tongues tasting?

Poor Sara... poor lonely, dexterous Sara. Her hands were busy double timing both snatches. What determination. It wasn't long before their eyes glazed over and both women shuddered in delight. She knew their bodies quite expertly.

"My turn," Sara piped up, as soon as her focus returned.

"First... you have to help me get Deborah off again." He wiggled his tongue in the air. Sara pouted. "Sorry, honey. But I promised her. I'm a man of my word."

He heard a flute in the distance.

"What's that?"

"Linda," explained Sara.

"Don't you love it when she gets bored?"

Sara sighed softly as her hand fell across her bare waist. Like so many others had, she kept her hips propped under a pillow to keep him from dripping away. Through Deborah had escaped the ritual she seemed just as trapped by the afternoon heat.

Their heads rested lazily on one another's arms. The couple looked close to sleep.

Weren't they supposed to run out on him right about now?

"We'll spend the whole afternoon with you if you like."

Deborah turned and kissed Sara.

"But don't you have to be getting back to the palace? You know, for the next girl? When is that? Or did you turn her away?"

"Oh." He sat up at their feet. "I kind of expected you guys to traipse off like all the rest."

"No," Sara giggled lightly. "Francesca gave us the afternoon. She's taking care of her granddaughter for us."

He eyed the grayish spot nestled in Sara's fuzzy golden triangle. How long would she have to stay like that?

How long would Deborah be stuck by her side?

She still looked moist between the legs too.

Was he the one supposed to saunter out the door this time?

"What?" Sara asked as he placed a firm hand above her crotch.

"What about you?" he asked, looking at Deborah. "Would you like to be the next girl?"

"No," Sara replied. "She's been with child already."

Was it not allowed?

Jimmy shrugged.

He dipped a finger in Sara, who was now unusually protective of her privates, then spread a globule of white stickiness as far in her mate as he could.

Sara frowned and draped the sheet over her waist.

"You had plenty to spare," he winked. It was his anyway. Or had been... wasn't it still? How did ownership of stuff like that work?

Deborah grinned at his remark but Sara... For the first time on the island, a woman looked back at him like she'd positively been violated.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"It's not tradition," Sara protested.

"He did make love to both of us, honey." Deborah kissed her and the blonde relaxed. "I heard even just a little is enough sometimes."

"All it takes is one," he added.

"One what? Man?"

Amber had the sorriest expression on her face. But it wasn't something he'd done. She fawned all over him like he'd broken an arm or something. It was adorable but he couldn't tell why.

He couldn't draw her into close conversation until Linda and Dahlia walked out of earshot to set up targets with the queen.

Amber stayed with him, helping him learn to balance with the spear.

"No. Grab it a little higher."

"Tell me again why do I need to do this. Is there wild game on the island?"

"Some... You can use it to fish too but that's much harder. Besides. We have to defend ourselves. You never know what might happen. A lot of unhappy men might wash up someday in a warship."

He laughed. "Is that what Lucia says?"

"Who knows? It's possible." She caressed his elbow until he bent it more. "We probably wouldn't be as good at hand to hand combat as they would but with arrows we might hold our own. It hasn't ever happened, but in the scrolls they write about wars between the islands and city-states- "

"Trust me. It still wouldn't matter. You can't fight a modern war with these things."

"Really?"

"Really. Ever heard of guns?"

"Yes. But I don't quite understand how they work. Something like arrows, right?" Her hand dallied on the back of his neck.

"No, honey. You can't defend against them with anything on the island." She moved his arm higher and pushed his thigh back. "But no man would ever lift a hand to any of you. You're too gorgeous and starved for sex."

She laughed and helped him pick out another spear.

"One can only hope." She walked behind him and, like a second shadow, began correcting his grip.

"You really are the sweetest bunch of ladies I've ever met."

"We can get catty at times. You're seeing us on our best behavior."

You too? he wondered. "I've got you spellbound, huh?"

"Yes," she sighed nicely. "No... a bit lower." Her ankle pushed against his. "Widen your step... good..." Her necklace of honeysuckle floated through his nostrils. Her tenor changed. "I heard you had a threesome this afternoon." There was silence. Should he invite her- "That's so rude, don't you think? That she would split her attention of you that way."

"I liked it."

"You did?" Her hands dropped away. Jimmy lowered the pole as she faced him, cupping his cheek and cocking her head. "You liked watching two lovers being intimate when you knew they cared more for each other?"

"I like watching women be sexual, alone or together. It's kind of a thrill to see them being intimate." He shrugged. "The more the merrier. We all had fun." It was just a show, after all...

He didn't expect her reaction. "That's so big of you." He chuckled. "I wish you'd be around longer. There's so much about men I don't understand."

"I wish I could be around longer too." He draped an arm across her shoulder. "You could come with me tomorrow and we could be together in a threesome. I know it wouldn't quite be the same- What?"

She was blushing. "No. They're all married to someone else."

"Later? With another single?"

"There's just not another woman I like that way."

"But if I asked, you would?"

Strangely, she brightened up. "Oh sure. If it made you happier. I know it must get boring at times."

She must not like the odd numbers. "Don't worry about it if it makes you uncomfortable."

"It's not that. I just- "

"Shh." He put two fingers over her lips. "I said don't worry about it. We have plenty of time to be together in other ways."

He meant it, of course, but how much? He'd said the same to Melissa but then it was just words rolling off his tongue.

Amber smiled and thumped his chest with her palm. His eye lingered over the three women in the distance as they slung empty gourds over tree branches.

"What?" Jimmy asked.

"Go on. Throw it at me. I'll catch it."

"I'm not very good at this. Someone could get hurt."

"No. Not at all. Just watch." Lucia grinned slyly. She looked positively girlish.

"These things fly pretty fast. Even from me."

"I'll grab it. I've done it a hundred times before."

"How old are you?"

"Thirty-five."

"Aren't you getting a bit old for this?"

"Don't worry about that. I'll stop when my eyesight goes bad and all that."

How would she know when that was?

Dahlia frowned from the sidelines.

He flipped the spear around.

"That's the wrong end. Honestly, you won't hurt me."

He dug the sharp tip into the grass.

Lucia glared at him impatiently while he fidgeted with his weapon.

"Amber," he asked, "can I borrow your sash?"

She stood silently and let him tug it from her, not daring to protest as her spirals of red hair fluttered in the breeze Lucia seemed to be sucking in her direction.

The others were similarly mute.

Amber hugged her waist to keep the robe from flapping open.

Jimmy wadded up the strip of fabric and looped it around the dull end. He tied it off and then pulled at it to insure it would stay on long enough. It definitely wasn't the most aerodynamic creation. He tried not to chuckle when he realized it resembled half a giant Qtip.

The queen continued to huff about it and assure him of her dexterity.

No one could quite figure out what changing the tail of the spear was supposed do to the thing.

He hefted it by his shoulder again, lining her up in his pointed sight.

Lucia smiled at the challenge, her interest in his special technique plainly evident.

"Is that a snake by your foot?" he asked, flipping the rod over again in his palm.

"What?... Wher- ufff."

The javelin's cushioned tip ricocheted off her thigh, its sash unraveling like a ribbon in the wind. Lucia's flailing hands tangled with it and she fell over, clutching her leg.

Dahlia rushed to her side, tears streaming down her face. How long had she prepared herself for something like that?

Even Linda left him to go after her.

But not Amber. There was shock and concern in her face, but not horror.

"Why did you do that?" she whispered with apprehension.

He thought about what he could say. She'd kill herself one day? She was being foolish and needed taking down a notch?

"Because I like Dahlia."

"Can you walk?" He offered a hand to Lucia but she wouldn't take it. "What would you have done if nature had tricked you instead of me?"

She cast her eyes down again and the unfocused orbs stabbed through the white bandage laced around her thigh.

"She could lose the child if she's pregnant," Dahlia hissed.

"Better than losing your lover. I'll sleep with her again if it makes you happy."

"It would be too late in her cycle."

He sat by the Queen's side and massaged her shoulder.

"I am sorry..." He glanced up. "Could you ladies give us a moment?"

Amber tugged at the reluctant consort. "He won't hurt her," she whispered.

He waited until they were out of range, listening all the while to Lucia's shallow breathing. Dahlia turned in the distance and kept a keen eye on him while Amber seemed to mutter something to her. Linda leaned against a tree and observed the whole scene with detached curiosity and vague attraction.

"I wasn't trying to win or show you up." More silence. "I said there was no shame in being strong for your loved ones... I meant that. And you weren't tricked by some weakness of your own. Think what would have happened if a real snake had distracted you and I happened to throw the sharp end at just that instant. You might- "

"I do not need you to spell it out," she said flatly. "I am not a fool."

"Good. I'm glad you understand. I just want you to know it wasn't something I wanted to do. I didn't know of any other way to show- "

"Dahlia?" she shouted, trying to mask the crack in her voice. "Go on back. We will catch up."

He watched the lump she swallowed travel down her throat.

"Are you sure?" the blonde replied.

"Yes." Lucia swallowed again.

"We'll catch up in a minute." he added.

The three turned and descended down the path, Amber and Linda clinging to each side of Dahlia. The taller woman stroked her hair.

He stopped massaging Lucia's shoulder and let his hand hang loosely. He stared at her stern profile.

"I am sorry. I hope it doesn't damage our friendship. I was looking forward to learning archery from you lat- "

She buried her face in his chest and collapsed in tears.

He took her in his arms.

"I hope the baby's fine. I'm sorry I didn't think of it."

Jimmy limped down the side of the hill with the Queen. She steadfastly refused to lean on anyone else, including Dahlia. He knew she was embarrassed with herself but her lover was starting to read it with jealousy.

"Can we stop and rest a minute? I'm tired," he confessed.

Jimmy slung the bow from his shoulder and set it down while he leaned on a rock.

Dahlia didn't let him out of her sight, even though she'd been more cordial to him since Amber had taken her aside. She raised an eyebrow in the twilight as he cupped the Queen's ear.

"I know you're just feeling guilty about what you put her through," he whispered, "but she's starting to think you're avoiding her because you're smitten with me for conquering you and all that crap. Let her help. It's me she's mad at anyway."

Lucia stood and, without a word or nod, limped into the outstretched arms of her sullen wife.

A bright flame weaved its way below them. It had to be Amber judging from the color of her equally fiery hair. She waved them forward as she rounded the final bend and came into sight.

Linda must have stayed behind to prepare dinner.

Amber lit and passed a second torch to Dahlia as the couple passed her. She then locked her arm around Jimmy's and started back down the path with him, maintaining a discrete distant from the Queen and her whispering consort.

"I... wasn't going to say anything," Amber whispered, "unless you asked but I didn't want you to think it was related to anything this afternoon." He sighed. "You haven't asked of course, so maybe I shouldn't bring it up since it's not my place, but... I already made a promise this morning to sleep somewhere else tonight... I'm sorry. I'll stay if you like of course but- "

"No. That's fine. I'm sure you have your reasons."

They traveled the rest of the way in silence.

"Can I spend the night?" Linda asked. "I am the last for today... Would you mind or do you have other-"

"Sure. I could use the company." It beat being alone and she was quite sweet. But then so was every woman here. "Just don't run off on me before I wake up."

"I won't," she cooed, continuing to gently stroke his arm as she drew it tighter around her abdomen.

He'd seen her so aggressive and openly flirtatious around other women. It was a shock how receptive to him she'd become in bed. She was still eager and caring, but now also quite passive and... almost shy? Overwhelmed? Such a tall and big boned woman too... Did he really make her feel this way? Weak in the knees? Was it acting? It couldn't be. What a transformation...

"She really is fine you know. Look how she split that arrow afterwards. Not many people can make that shot to begin with."

"She's a trooper, your Queen."

"She's very tough."

"Yup," he sighed.

"So did you like my nipples? Were they all I said?"

"That and more." He kissed her again and cupped her bare breasts. Her points had puffed back out to spheres in the warm air. They were beautiful creamy globes in their own right, enough by themselves to give pride to any flat chested girl. They blended in so well with the surrounding skin that if it weren't for the way they pouted out, you couldn't tell she had any areola at all.

He reached over and doused the torch in a bowl.

"You can play with them in daylight sometime if you'd like. I feel rotten we had to do this at night. I know how much you like breasts."

"They're very pretty... Maybe you'd like another crack at one of those married women tomorrow," he smirked in the dark.

Her breasts shook against his arm as she chuckled. "It's within your rights and I'd love to but... they'd find out it was me and get upset."

"I'll find a way around it."

She kissed him. "Thanks but..." A gust of her warm breath stirred through his chest hairs. "There is this single woman on the list... Let me ask Susan first though."

"Sure."

Linda carefully folded her hands under her cheek and rested on his chest.

"I hope I have your son."

"I hope so too." He stroked her invisible strands of hair, wafting up more of her rose scent. "I'm sorry you haven't met someone yet. It would be hard raising a child on your own."

"I know... but I might not have to."

"Susan?" he asked.

"Mmm. Perhaps..." She seemed non-committal. "I feel a little guilty asking Amber if I could stay with you like this."

"What?"

"I asked her this morning. Hope and I are the only ones who haven't spent a night with you yet. Of course it's all up to you."

"No." He resumed his petting. "I'd like to do something special for all my helpers."

Had Amber really meant it when she said there weren't any other women she was attracted to? That's what she was- ?

"I know it's hard just arriving here and meeting all these women. It makes it tough to develop a normal relationship and- "

"We're just friends."

"Who?"

"Me and Amber."

"Oh. I know..." Her voice wavered. "Men sometimes feel rushed about it. I was just saying you can take your time meeting everyone if you want."

"Rush?... About what?"

"Falling in love of course."

"Huh?... It's cold," Linda muttered as she cracked an eyelid.

She drew the sheet up then stopped herself as she noticed him watching.

"They are lovely in the daylight."

"Thanks," she smiled.

Her arms stretched above her, sending little tremors through her chest.

"You didn't run off."

She yawned. "It's not my morning to."

"I guess that leaves Hope," he joked.

Something clattered in the bowels of the palace. He heard a muffled "Damn."

"That would be Hope."

He arched an eyebrow. "Really?"

"She's, uh... I don't know the word for it. She's something of the village..."

There was another commotion in the corridor. Another muted curse.

"Klutz?" he offered.

She giggled. "That sounds about right."

He cocked his head questioningly.

"Her name proved to be something of a misnomer to her poor mother."

"I bet."

"She's been known to fall off a bed during sex." Jimmy laughed at her until she frowned. "Like I should know...." Linda protested.

"Shit!" The sounds of calamity were getting closer.

"Hope?" he shouted.

"Yes!? Sorry to wake you!" she yelled apologetically.

"Can you give me a few more minutes?"

"Sure!" She sounded enthusiastic. Clunk. "... fuck..."

"She's really very sweet," Linda whispered.

"What happened to her?"

"No one quite knows."

"She's normal otherwise?"

"Yeah. She's quite nice. In fact... she won't do it at all around you. Something about men. You're quite safe."

"That's why you assigned her?"

"Yeah. Kind of like Andrea and that race. You're her one shot."

"So why'd you name her Hope?"

She laughed. "An oracle said the first man to marry her wouldn't turn into a woman."

"Hey! I thought... They told me that- "

"He fell off a cliff first," she smirked. "Don't fret. We'll kidnap you before we let that happen again."

"Jimmy?"

"Huh?" The light was bright.

"I promised I wouldn't run off and leave you to wake up alone."

"Hope?" He put a hand over his eyes. "Why is the light so bright?" Was he drunk last night?

"No, honey. It's Linda. I'm sorry about the light.... It's starting," she muttered.

"I thought Hope was on her way in."

"Did you have a dream just now?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "I think so." He cracked an eye open. "Say... they are beautiful in the light. Like two rare gems."

"Thank you." She kissed his forehead and sat up in bed, blocking the sun with her fair skin and enchanting globes on globes. He removed the hand from his face. "Did you dream about Hope?"

"Sort of."

"She was uncoordinated and dropped a lot of things?"

"I think so. But I didn't see her."

"And I told you about an oracle that said she saved a man by marrying him?"

"Yeah. But he fell off a cliff."

"Oh dear. That part's true. Please don't bring it up with her. She hates that."

"What?"

"We don't know why. We think it's Circe's little way of playing with us. Like an echo. The last two men dreamed something like that. She really is quite sweet."

He blinked.

The sunlight was bright.

Linda's nipples were beautiful.

And she had waited for him to wake first.

He smiled as she stroked his brow.

"Keep me away from the mushroom sauce."

"Why?" Her voice was so soft.

"I had a bizarre dream about Hope."

"Really? What about?"

"I don't know. I never saw her. It was frustrating... And there was some strange legend about her too... only it kept changing... She's never been married has she?"

"No. She's very young. Nineteen or twenty I think. Sounds more like a nightmare than a dream. You did toss and turn a lot."

"Sorry."

"Maybe it was the mushrooms. I didn't sleep well either."

"Yeah. My mushrooms were bothering you."

"Is it itching yet?"

"Huh?" He followed her eyes. Why was he scratching his nipple?

"Is it bright too? You're squinting."

"Some. Is it just me?"

"Afraid so. It's starting. Do you know what to expect? Has anyone told you?"

"Amber said a little."

"Do you want to know more?"

"Do you want me to go in with you?" Hope asked.

She smiled and punched her chin forward while she tucked a lock of light brown hair behind her ear. She had such exaggerated facial expressions.

"Sure. If you'd like... Why don't you?"

"Well..." Her cheeks puffed up around her closed lips. A gust of air broke free and swirled her bangs. Hope nodded up and down nervously, eyes darting from side to side. "Kids make me uncomfortable," she finally spit out. Her rocking chin came to a rest.

"Really? Are you on the list?"

"The list," she repeated in a deep, mocking voice.

He chuckled.

"No, not really." She took his hand between hers. "But I can be if you want me to. I'm sure it would be fun."

"Would you like to?"

"Oh it's no trouble." She swept more hair back behind her right ear and nodded at him again. She seemed several years younger than she actually was.

"Do I make you nervous, Hope?" It seemed such a strange name for her. She was so utterly lacking in self-confidence.

"I'm a little out of it this morning."

"You didn't have the mushrooms too, did you? Bad dreams like me?"

"No," she laughed. "Just, uh... female trouble."

"Oh." He thought a moment. What exactly did that mean now? "Period or girlfriend?"

She snorted in laughter. "A little of each, actually. Don't you just hate it? She's on a different one than me and... Well that's more than you probably want to know."

"Ah," he swaggered. "You think you got girl trouble. Try keeping a hundred of them happy."

She burst out in laughter again.

"In any case, I'd like to thank you for your trouble. If you'd like, you could share my bed tonight or some- "

"I'd like that. You're very considerate. Maybe we can work something else out too... You know, when it's not likely I'll get pregnant..."

"What about your girl?"

"Oh, her? It's not that serious. Besides, that stuff doesn't apply with you."

Amber poked her head out of the schoolhouse curtain and shouted at them.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Jimmy. Hi Hope. Are you ready?"

He asked Hope one last time. "Want to come?"

"No. I'll stay out here. You and Amber can handle it."

"OK." He patted her knee. "Don't go running off."

"I won't," she snickered in reply, finally taking a seat on the primitive playground swing.

Jimmy stood on the wooden steps and parted the fabric.

Thirty little heads turned around, breaking the silence with the breathing noises of thirty little runny noses.

Most of them seemed to be the same age and size, but not all. Some looked a little older than the rest. The mix of boys and girls appeared fairly equal, but they weren't segregated so it was hard to count.

"Class? Show Jimmy what you learned this morning."

Amber waved him forward.

He walked to the front of the room, pausing to watch her pupils dragging sticks through the rectangular dishes of wet sand on their desks.

Amber patted the empty spot on the tabletop behind her and he leaned against it.

"Thanks for coming," she whispered.

"Glad to."

One by one, the boxes of sand went vertical. There were a lot of "Hi Jimmy"s backed by proud faces.

"Anthony. Yours is upside down. Class, check your boards."

One or two more flipped over.

"Good. I'm very proud of you," she told them. "They don't know how to write in English yet," she whispered to Jimmy. Jimmy was suitably impressed and nodded his approval to the class. "Now for once," she continued, "I don't have much to say. I thought I'd let Jimmy have the floor and say whatever he wants." She turned to him. "Jimmy?"

"Uh, well. I don't know what you want me to say, really. Why don't I answer any questions you have. Yeah. In the front."

The girl mumbled something guttural.

"Don't speak Greek, sweety. He doesn't speak Greek," Amber reminded her.

"Why not?"

"He's not from here. Class? Where's he from again?"

"America," they all recited. "Home of the free and the brave."

He laughed.

A boy in the back raised his hand. "Aren't we free Amber?"

"No honey. We're trapped here. Remember the difference?"

"Oh."

"How many people are there in America?"

"A lot," Jimmy replied. "How high can you count?"

"A hundred."

He turned to Amber. "Do they know multiplication?"

"Some. That's the next level."

"Well how would I explain..." He whispered a figure in her ear.

"Really?" she whispered back, wide-eyed. Amber turned to the class and her voice sank low. "About one person for every star in the sky."

Their eyes grew wide with hers.

A dozen hands went up.

"Is Mother Earth really round?"

"Do we really go around the sun?"

"How big is the moon?"

"How big is Mother Earth?"

"Why does the moon do this to us?"

"Settle down now class," Amber scolded them. "One at a time."

Jimmy winced and cupped her ear.

"What's next? You're not going to make me undress for an anatomy lesson, are you?"

Amber giggled and whispered back, "They've already seen you naked, remember?"

Then sure enough, the next question out was "Can we see your thing again?"

"When you're older, sweety," said Amber.

"Aw. But he won't have it then."

"There will be another man. There always is," Amber sighed. "We covered the facts of life last week when he washed ashore. You should ask your mothers those sorts of questions anyway." She folded her hands in her lap. "And you could have asked me all those other questions too. She'll still know about the stars and the sky next month."

"Can I ask what it's like to be strong?" said a boy on the front row.

"Sure," Mike said. He grinned and turned to Amber.

"Ooo!" she yelped as he scooped her off the desk.

"It's fun," he informed the boy, swinging her back and forth while she clung to his neck.

Her grin was genuine, but her eyes betrayed a bit of unease as her class giggled away. He set her down gently and smoothed out her toga.

She swiveled back toward the children, her red locks spinning like a top.

"Have you done it yet?" The class giggled again. It seemed directed at Amber more than himself.

"That's not a polite question, whoever asked it. I told you to talk to your mothers about that. I'll only discuss it when you're older... Now are you going to waste his time being silly or- "

Another dozen hands shot up.

He picked one out.

"What's it like sailing on the ocean..."

"Now boys. You remember I promised you on Tuesday that you'd get to go out and play ball with Jimmy." Every male face shuffled in its seat. "I want you to be on your best behavior and treat him well. As you know, he won't be around much longer like this and if you want him to come back you need to remember your manners as I'm sure you all will. Now." She straightened up. "If that's all the questions, the boys in the class can now go outside."

She passed Jimmy the village soccer ball as a symphony of rattling chairs rose up. From the way they bolted, he could have been a Martian for all they cared, just as long as he got them out of the wooden building.

"No, Clara. Sit. You're not a boy." The girls all giggled. "It doesn't work that way. It goes boy to girl. You know that."

"It's not fair," she pouted. Her remaining classmates roared again.

"I know it isn't, sweety. I wish it was. Now you girls in the back, why don't you scoot up so I can read you a story?"

The checkerboard pattern of empty desks disappeared as the rest of the children formed a solid rectangle in the front.

She nudged Jimmy with a smile. "Go on and have fun. They'll run off if you don't hurry."

"He thinks he's a girl already!" Clara tittered. One or two other girls cracked up with her but the rest remained awkwardly silent.

"Clara!" Amber shook a stern finger at her. "Go sit in the corner."

Jimmy quieted the room by giving their teacher a departing peck on the cheek.

Were they stunned or awed? Their eyes went back and forth between the two adults like some tennis match.

Poor little Clara just stood in the back of the room, not even peeking between the curtains at the screaming boys outside.

He walked back and tousled the munchkin's hair on the way out. She took a playful swing at him.

Amber held the class's rapt attention as she read from a scroll, so he quietly plucked Clara up and held her to his side, making sure none of her classmates noticed. He pinched her nose and put a cautious finger over her lips, then kicked the ball outside and followed it, feeling Amber's frown burning into his back.

"Hey. How about a game of..." Huh. He'd run out of things to do with a soccer ball. "Uh, what do you want to play now?"

"Seagull!" "Seagull!" "Two fish!" "No- "

"I don't know any of those games... How about some hide and seek?"

"Yeah!"

"Jimmy?" Amber shouted pleasantly from the schoolhouse. Her redhead poked between the curtains. "Please don't," she smiled. "I'll never find some of them again."

"Ooooo. You got in trouble with teacher!"

A dozen little fingers pointed at him.

Amber pursed her lips playfully and wagged her own finger at him.

"Ooooo. She's gonna make you kiss her again." "Betcha."

Amber blew him one and disappeared again, lest she have trouble finding the female half of her class too.

Dozens of small hands tugged on him in all directions.

One by one, the mothers trickled in with lunch for their children, patting them on the head, wiping grease from their lips and fixing their little togas while they sat together in pairs on the benches and ate.

Hope and Amber had their own special table where they tended to the students who's mothers were too busy this afternoon to make it. It was hard to believe any of these women were mothers, they were all so pretty.

One by one...

All those hands grabbing at him this afternoon...

The fathers...

What was it like for those women who'd once been men as they watched the sons and daughters they had fathered? Where were they? Were they just other mothers in the crowd now? What did they feel-

"Jimmy? Hello. I'm Renee- Julius's mother. Would it be too much trouble if you had lunch with him? You're all he's talked about the last couple of days."

"Sure. I remember you, fella."

He tapped the boy on the shoulder and leaned over to pick him up when his mother thrust a wooden box in his tiny hands.

"I brought enough for Jimmy, too, honey. Why don't you be a big man and go set it up on that table over there for him."

"OK," he chirped and trotted off.

Renee cupped Jimmy's cheek softly and gazed up at the large man. "Thanks. He's had all these questions lately but he doesn't want to ask me."

"Sure. Glad to help."

"If there's anything I can do to repay you... sleep with you... or let my wife," she suggested timidly.

Why would she say that? He almost felt insulted.

Or was she doing it because she actually wanted him to say yes?

Why would he be insulted? The circumstance was a bit strange but she was still gorgeous.

Was he getting oversexed? Was there such a thing?

"Uh," he drawled. "I'll get back to you."

"I'm sorry. I forget you must have all the offers you can handle. I don't mean to impose... Could I cook you a meal, perhaps?"

"Sure- "

"One for you and your lover of the hour?"

"Uhhhh..."

"Sorry. I'm not very good at talking about such things. I guess that's why Julius wants to visit with you."

"Julius. Oh. Right. Listen, he's waiting..."

"Don't let me keep you. Bye."

She reached up on her tiptoes and pecked him on the chin.

He turned and walked over- where was the boy? He scanned the area.

There, at one of the tables behind the bushes. The one farthest away.

He paused to let Amber and Hope know where he was vanishing to.

The pair had their hands full. Poor Hope spilled a cup of milk on the table when he touched her shoulder.

"Sorry Andrew. You can have mine."

Was it really children that made her nervous? Or some strange mixture of people?

Amber delicately draped her fingers over Hope's wrist. "I'll get it, honey." The girl relaxed again.

For a moment he thought of Sara and Deborah, lying back together in the house overlooking the sea.

Why was that?

Renee wasn't much with words but she was with pot roast. The savory juices ran all over his fingers, defying his every attempt to lick them up.

"How old are you again Julius?"

"Nine."

"Did you want to talk about something in particular, son? Something, maybe, you couldn't ask back there in class?"

"I guess."

"Are you upset Amber wouldn't let you ask certain things?"

"Not really. She's nice and all. But she's not the same."

"Same as what?"

"Same as asking you."

"Oh... Like what?"

"For instance.... what's it like being a grown up man?"

He shrugged. "Great, I guess."

"Am I missing anything?"

Like a father? "What do you mean?"

"Well I won't get to be one. I'll be another woman. Am I missing something?"

He sighed. "Probably not."

"Really?" The boy arched his eyebrows. "Why's that?"

"Well I don't really know... Do any of the women think they're missing something? They've been women all their lives." He wanted to say yes to the boy, but what good would that do? How could you miss something you'd never really have or experience? That was right, wasn't it? "Think of it as... getting something extra right now that they never had."

"Oh." He tugged at a thread of beef between his teeth and popped a carrot slice in his mouth. "You sound just like they do."

"You thought I'd say something different?"

"I don't know."

"I'm just doing what grown-ups are supposed to do."

"I didn't think it would be the same stuff."

"Some of it is."

Julius was silent a moment. He kept staring at Jimmy's arms, particularly the biceps as they flexed.

"Will I miss my thing?"

"I don't know." Jimmy downed the last of the meat and set to work on the carrots. Did they have potatoes on the island? He'd miss those.

"Andrew told me it was fun for the first few days but then it got to be like doing his chores."

"What was?"

"Sex with everybody... Why are guys supposed to have sex with everybody but the girls can't? It doesn't seem fair."

"Fair to who?"

"Fair to the girls. Or are girls different about that too? I don't really feel like having sex with anybody, but the boys, when the time comes, they say they suddenly like all the girls. Are the girls that way too?"

"Well... I suppose. Especially when you're young. But sex is one thing. When anyone's in love, they just want to be with that one person... but I don't really know about teenage girls. I've never been a girl."

"Oh. I forgot." He fidgeted on the wooden plank. "I don't feel right asking Althea."

"Who's Althea?"

"She used to be Andrew. I don't like talking to girls about sex stuff. I guess I'll know what I need to when I need to know it."

"You know when I was a boy, I didn't care about girls until I was a couple of years older than you are now. I wouldn't worry... but whenever you have questions, you can always ask me. Even if I'm different. I'll still be me inside. I'll understand."

"OK," he sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"They always say that but then... something's different about them."

"Well ask me now if you're worried."

"Is it?"

"Is it what?"

"Like doing chores. Are they going to make me- "

"No. You'll have fun. No one's going to make you do anything. In fact a lot of times they'll do what you want, just to please you. And you'll want to do the same for them."

"I hope they don't make do it with someone my age."

"Why's that?"

"Cause little girls are gross."

They both laughed. "I know what you mean." Jimmy sighed and leaned back against the tree behind him.

"I don't mind playing dolls with them, but sometimes I like doing other stuff they don't want to do."

"Yeah...." Was that how they raised the boys? With dolls? "So you wouldn't mind being a mommy some day?"

"I guess not."

"Women aren't gross, though, are they?"

"No. I like most of them. They're nice... but I can't think of them that way. I mean I know what I'm supposed to do when the time comes but... I can't feel like doing it yet."

"It'll be a big surprise, but you'll have fun." He sat the young boy on his knee. "It's hard to understand right now because you haven't grown up yet. How many caterpillars think about flying? But they do eventually. Your body changes a lot when you become a man. The things you think about... "

"Will it be like when I change into a woman?"

"Yeah. Kind of. Like when you change into a woman. They're both big changes. The way you look at the world is different." Was that why Julius said he'd be reluctant to approach him as a woman? Did he not understand it himself?

"Because the boys suddenly like all the girls that way- is that why they turn into them?"

"No."

"What about..."

"No," Amber said. "There are plenty of younger boys- a lot of four and five year olds- but they aren't ready for this school. Only a handful of infants, though, but their mothers are still taking care of them. You probably won't see them. They stay at home a lot. There are some older boys too, but not with me." She hummed and looked at the sky. "And there's the last class or two of girls, but I don't teach them. We have a lot around the age of fifteen. They're very well-behaved too, but they gossip too much... and after 17 instruction is highly individual. Some get married and learn a trade. It varies. Did that answer your question?"

"Mostly," Jimmy replied.

"I hope you enjoyed yourself. I know the kids had a wonderful time. Even the girls. Thanks for playing soccer with them."

"Yeah. I liked it. So... what? They get a month of father's days every four or five years?"

"Yes. Something like that... we always forget how tough it is on the children."

"Ah," he sighed. "They're good kids. Even Clara."

Amber frowned. "She reminds me of a girl who used to punch me in the arm."

"Really? That explains so much about you..." Amber giggled as he wrapped his arm around her. "Who was she? Where...? Point me in the right direction and I'll protect you now." He crouched down and shook his fist in the air. "I'll take care of her for you."

"Punish her, huh? It's a little late for that. You've already screwed her, unless that's your idea of 'punishment,'" she grinned. "What are you going to say? 'Give me that orgasm back?' Undo that kid in there!"

He chuckled. "Which one was that?"

"I'm not telling."

"Lucia?"

"Nope."

"Andrea?"

"Nope."

"Linda?"

"Nope."

"Dahlia?!" he sputtered in laughter.

"Nope... And you know she was a boy." Amber pinched him. "I'm just going to say nope to all of them anyhow. Nope nope nope. You know that."

"Guess I'll have to wait until I'm a girl and hit you myself."

She got very quiet.

Amber took a last bite from her apple and tossed it into the woods.

She brushed her hands off. "Why were you so nice to Clara after what she said?"

"If I wasn't, she'd just be mean again. What good would that do? She's just a kid anyway."

Her head ticked to the side. "I guess."

"Did you mind when I picked you up? I hope I didn't undermine you in front of your class."

"Oh." She cupped his cheek. "That's sweet of you. No, I didn't mind. You can lift me off my feet anytime."

"Super." He kissed her on the cheek. "I want you to know you're a very good teacher."

"Thanks."

"You can spank me any day."

"Spank?"

"Punish."

"Oh." She bent slightly at the waist and sputtered in laughter, turning just a bit red.

Jimmy saw an opening and pinched her vulnerable bottom. "Next week if I recall." She gripped his wrist as he rubbed her neck. "Guess I better study up, huh? How long will it take to walk to the moon?" he squeaked. "How much water is in the ocean?"

"Stop..." she chuckled.

"I better be prepared. What other questions are on the test?"

"Can I see your thing?" she giggled.

He pinched her again. She'd have to hurry up to ask that question, wouldn't she?

But he didn't want to bring it up again.

Why did he keep joking about it?

It didn't seem real.

Would it?

He didn't feel it as he looked up at the sky with her.

"What happens if I can't come up with the right answers?"

She winked at him and then smirked. "You're getting plenty of help studying. Don't tell me you need more?"

"Renee just offered."

"Every woman will offer if you let her, silly. Remember to pace yourself."

"Yeah. I remember. Pace myself," he repeated. "Just like the foot race..." She punched him in the side. "Help! Clara! Defend me!" he laughed as they tickled each other.

"Sh! They'll hear."

The pair sobered up again.

"Say... what's the deal with Hope?" he asked.

"I don't know. She is acting kind of strange this morning."

"I wouldn't know. I've just met her.... Does she not like children for some reason?"

"I don't think so..." Amber replied. "But I've never really asked."

"Huh!?" They'd been ambushed. "What, Clara?" Was she trying to open his toga again?

Amber backed away, mouthing to him her intentions to round up the class from recess.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." He hoisted Clara to his side. "What is it?"

"How come you're bigger and stronger than me, but I'm bigger and faster than most of the boys my age?"

"Well I'm an adult. Of course I'm stronger."

"But you're stronger than Amber too. All the women."

"Oh. I think girls develop a bit sooner than boys." Was that what she wanted to know? "In a normal place, when the boys reach puberty after you do they start to get a lot bigger and stronger than you... but I guess that never happens here. You haven't asked until now?"

"No. I just thought about it."

She kissed him on the cheek and he set her down, letting her run off giggling to the school house.

Hope saved him from the tide of children that suddenly swarmed by at Amber's beaconing.

"Come on everybody," Hope chastised them. "Let him go. Get back to class, you! Jimmy's got to go work on his list." She winked at him.

"Ugh!" "I hate lists!" "Ugh." "Sorry Jimmy!" "Hope I didn't get you in trouble." "She gives you homework too?"

"Something like that," he replied.

"Does it work? Is it still itching?"

"No. It's mostly gone. Thanks Hope." The balm smelled terrible. No wonder they hid it from him all day. It wasn't terribly romantic.

"Reminds me of being a little girl again."

"Huh? Why?"

"I used it when my breasts were budding. You're timing was lucky. The flowers for it only bloom once a year. The other ten months you're screwed."

Lucky? "That's what's happening to me, huh? I'm 'budding'?"

"Afraid so."

"Yours itched too? How long?"

"Oh. I think just the men itch when it happens, but it treats that too. No. Mine were sore. You'll feel a little of that too in the coming days. After you shed, I think."

"When's that?"

"When did it start itching?"

"This morning."

"Three or four days, then. You should have said something earlier, you know. I'd have given you- "

"It wasn't bad." He crinkled his nose again. "It must have been a sorry perfume for adolescence, though."

"You get used to it." Hope snickered. She looked down and smoothed out the ruffles in her robe caused by the breeze. It was funny how her nervousness had gradually evaporated throughout the day. "You know it happens when you sleep, don't you?"

"Yeah. Linda clued me in a little more... Does it bother you? If you want to go- "

"No. I'll stay the night with you."

"Can you keep me awake all month?"

She laughed. "No. It puts you to sleep if you try that. I can't even watch you either. It'll do the same to anyone around you. Sorry." He cupped her face. "But not much happens in any given night anyway."

"You seem to know a lot. You keep records and read up or something?"

"Like all of your volunteers, I can answer any of your questions about it. We did go through training."

He smiled. "I hope I wasn't too much of a bother."

"No," she grinned. "Not at all." Hope kissed him. "It was an enjoyable day."

"Put your female troubles behind you?"

"Yeah. I think so." She gazed at the reddish outline of the mountain with him. "Linda said you had a dream about me?"

"I did." He caressed her arm. "I can't remember it real well. I think I dreamed you were this klutz- "

"Klutz?"

"You dropped things a lot and bumped into stuff..."

"Oh... Figures you had it while you slept with Linda. She never will forgive me about that- "

"Except you didn't do it around me and..." He scratched his chin and continued to remember as much of it as he could. "That you'd gotten your name because there was an oracle that said the first man to marry you wouldn't change into a woman... only it turned out it meant he'd fall off a mountain first and- "

"Did you want to marry me in the dream?"

"Yeah... Huh?" He tore his gaze from the darkening sky. "Oh. I don't know. A little when I first heard the oracle." He kissed her forehead. "Why, honey? Scare you?"

"What? No. I'd be... honored, of course." She smiled calmly.

"Really? You'd want to marry little old me?"

"Sure. If you'd like."

If 'he'd like'? "You hardly know me."

"So?"

He chuckled and pinched her cheek. "OK. Whatever."

"Well I want to see you have fun first. It makes me enjoy it better. What? You have a girlfriend I'll make jealous?"

"No."

"Don't you want to have fun? What's wrong then?"

"It's just... I don't know how to relate to someone as different as you that way."

Was it a dream again?

He blinked and saw the bed's canopy.

No. It was a fragment from yesterday. A girl named Heather, wasn't it? Or some other plant name. She 'bloomed' eagerly enough. Her turgid vulva puffed out like a cat holding its breath, reminding him, strangely enough, more of the peach he'd had for dinner than any flower.

Who'd he woken up with this morning?

He'd given up trying to figure out how the cycle of volunteers went.

Or trying to count the days. Something about having too much sex had always messed with his sense of time.

He just watched the moon out of the corner of his eye at night. It was the only clock that mattered anyway. Half full now.

And growing.

Who was in bed with him? Andrea?

He'd been so spoiled it'd gotten so he couldn't sleep well alone.

She had him today? Why wasn't the order more regular?

Jimmy turned quietly to watch her and felt the unusual jelly shift around on his own chest like trapped water.

There was no avoiding the truth now. Andrea didn't grow an inch in a week. Neither did the rest of the world.

Doors. Doors in particular didn't grow like trees.

He took a deep breath of the floral hints still lurking in her black flaxen hair.

She'd remained in bed with him for the first time. After that night with Linda they'd all stopped deserting him in the mornings. It was funny how word spread about even the littlest things he mentioned.

She really did have the most wonderful body for sleeping. Every part of her was well padded, soft and sensual, moreso than the delicately woven sheets and pillows of the palace bed. It was impossible to wake up next to her without an erection.

What a shame she'd moved off the list so quickly. Was there another woman on the island like her? Linda was voluptuous too, in her own right.

Jimmy sighed. There just wasn't enough time.

And there was something special about Andrea, especially after the race. Especially during the race. He chuckled as he thought about it again, growing harder and pressing into her warm bottom.

At least he could cozy up to one of these angels every night. Just being close was enough.

Andrea stirred and plied his fingers tenderly from her bosom. He hoped he hadn't hurt her during the night. He didn't have much experience sleeping with a woman her size.

Come to think of it, he couldn't remember anything from during the night. He'd slept solid as a rock, like almost every other night here. There was the occasionally strange, but lucid dream, like the one about Hope, but he never remembered opening his eyes for just a fraction of a second, looking at the ceiling and changing positions. Didn't he do that anymore?

Andrea spilled everywhere as she took a deep breath and shifted onto her back. She turned again, eyes still closed, and her heavy breasts fell on him. She smiled and draped a wrist across his shoulder. She was awake now judging from her breathing.

Yeah. She sighed and gave him a blind kiss which landed on his nose.

Her mounds of flesh slowly changed shape with each pleasant breath.

He'd enjoy having her company today. Her presence was always soothing, even if she didn't seem to care much for conversation.

If it was her turn, who did that leave tomorrow?

He sighed. The ways of the women were overly complicated. It was easier just to ask.

"Sore again?" Andrea stretched her arms.

"Some," he sighed.

"I'll get the ointment."

If it weren't for the slight sagging, he'd simply look quite muscular.

But muscles weren't sensitive like this.

Did they actually sag? The flesh was pretty firm. But soft and in a slight teardrop shape. He could still walk around without a top. But for how much longer? The nipples were starting to pout... Thank goodness the fine black hairs covered most of it up.

"Is this any indication of how big they're going to get?"

"No. It's more of a warning really. We won't know until the new moon. Why? What size would you like them?"

"Smaller than this."

She chuckled. "I thought you might say you wanted a pair like mine, you seem to like playing with them so much... But then that's the catch, isn't it? It's more of what someone else finds attractive that's important... That's hard to know."

What did he know? Would it freak his 'clients' out?

This wasn't as much fun as it had started out.

"I'm not comfortable with them."

"I understand. Don't fret. You won't feel that way for long. When you're a woman they fit. Of course... you might wake up next month like me not liking the inconvenience of large breasts if you have them." Andrea shrugged. "Someone could always come along and convince you how wrong you are."

Jimmy pinched her. "Well, if you ever start thinking different again, just stop by and I'll try to make you feel better."

"I will." She grinned and dragged a damp cloth over his brow. "But what you like about a woman could change too. If it does, I'll still be happy with them."

He cleared his throat. "What's the itinerary look like?"

"What do you want it to look like?"

He sighed. "I mean whose on the list?"

"You know good and well it's Amber's turn today."

"Yeah. I know. What number is she?"

"Three."

"Can you move her back?"

"Sure. The order in the day isn't important."

"And move the other three up."

"Up? How would I do that?"

"Cram them all into this morning or something..."

"Oh."

"I can do that can't I? It's not rude is it?"

"Not at all. I can set the whole afternoon aside if you'd like."

He'd definitely need a nap to recover. "Could you?"

"Sure. I know it gets boring without a little romance."

"You're not jealous are you?"

"Certainly not," she laughed. The rag landed with a wet plop in the wash basin. "If you want, you know you can spend more time with her... or any of us. Whether it's just friendship or something more. All you have to do is ask. It's up to you. None of us will question it... even a married girl. Of course she's not going to leave her wife but she'd enjoy pleasing you to pass the time if she caught your fancy-"

Andrea droned on while he smothered his face in one of the pillows. The light was still too harsh on his eyes.

"Who's helping tomorrow?" he interrupted.

"Melissa, I think. You want I should get Amber?"

"No. She's probably teaching or something... Can you ask Renee if she'd cook for us tonight?"

"Sure. But she's not the best in the village."

"She owes me a favor."

Andrea cackled hysterically. "We all owe you favors, darling." He peeked out and found her smirking at him. "Is that what counting numbers for a living does for you? You want to collect all your 'favors' at once?" She tickled him until he surrendered the cushion and sat up. "We've never had an orgy on the island before..."

He groaned. "Who'd look after the kids?"

She cracked up even more. "Family life changes everything, doesn't it?"

"Where are you taking me?" he asked. Wasn't this the path to the arts and crafts part of the village? Why were they going there?

The little curves and loops of hair flowing over Amber's shoulder blades seemed to smile back at him a hundred fold.

Jimmy yawned again and tried to shake off the last of his slumber.

He wished she'd slow down.

"It's just a nice way we can spend the afternoon together," she explained. "You'll see in a minute. But if you don't like it, we can leave."

"Leave what?"

"The play."

"Oh... That sounds nice." She tossed her head back as he pinched her and those sparkling emerald eyes caught the sun just right. "I thought maybe you were going to sit me on your knee and read me one of your stories."

She paused enough for him to catch up and lassoed an arm around his waist. "That would really hurt," she frowned. "You're too big." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and started walking again, this time slower as he swayed by her side. "No. I can do that too if you'd like. I don't know many stories for adults though. Hm. I can go get- "

"Ah, you can tell me one you read the children. I'm sure I'd like one of those too."

A young couple passed them on the right, neither of them much older than teenagers. Jimmy watched how they held hands over the little leather bag jingling between them. From the way their heads danced in unison and they sighed at one another's comments, the two young women were obviously smitten with each other.

The jingling faded as they passed out of earshot. Eventually they turned off the path and entered one of the metalworking huts.

"After dinner, did you want to go... sleep in the palace again or... would you like to be in your own home tonight?" Had she dreamed of one particular place making it special?

"It doesn't matter to me. Wherever you'd like."

"Why don't you decide? Did you, you know, have a special place in mind?" Was this something she'd dreamed of at all? "Is there somewhere you'd be more comfortable or enjoy more?"

"No" she said simply. "You're more than welcome in my home, of course. It's not much compared to the palace but at least it's someplace new."

"Do you want us to be together there?"

"Sure."

"OK, then."

"I'll tell Andrea and she can bring- "

"I gave Andrea the evening off."

"Oh." Amber stared at him blankly. "But I'm going to need help- "

"I'll help."

"OK."

They strolled on, arm in arm, until they reached a clearing.

He didn't remember the spot very well. The Queen had run through this whole section all too quickly, which wasn't surprising given her inclinations.

The amphitheater had to be the largest man-made (he chuckled) structure he'd seen on the island, sweeping out a full third of a circle, much wider than any normal arena. It looked big enough to hold a thousand people comfortably. Were there that many on the island?

Amber lead him down one of the two isles carved into the stone benches. There were thirty, maybe forty other patrons here this evening scattered around the huge space like buckshot.

Were they early? Unlit torches hung from spears every few feet. Amber remarked that they'd be lit at intermission as the sunlight fell.

"Why aren't there more people?" Was this show just for them?

"It's a dress rehearsal for next week," she whispered. "The whole island will turn out."

"Even me?"

"Of course."

"Is it in my honor or something?"

"No... It could be if you'd like."

He chuckled. "I've dropped my pants in public enough, don't you think?"

She returned the laugh and tickled him.

"And I'm not fond of running around naked," she added.

"Awwww... Andrea's not in the play is she?" He pinched the squinting beauty. Amber pursed her lips as she led him to front row center. "Of course I'd rather see you in the buff... Can I get you to run around tonight? Just for me?"

Her expression leveled out. Did she grin a little? "We'll see," she said, sitting and patting the portion of bench next to her. Amber cleared her throat and started sounding like a teacher again. "It's an ancient tragedy in Greek, composed even before the great shipwreck." Her hand drifted to his thigh. "I'll translate for you."

"They won't mind the chatter?"

"Certainly not."

"Most actors get disturbed- "

"Actors?"

"Actresses, then. Most of them get disturbed when- "

"Oh. You should hear the children when we all gather... such a lovely sound when you think about it... No. They won't mind us."

He placed an arm around her shoulder and relaxed as much as he could on the hard surface. Her lap really would be preferable even though he'd been joking earlier.

But then her legs would go to sleep. They couldn't have that, tonight of all nights.

"What?" she laughed.

"Nothing. Just waking up."

His face straighted as the first players appeared on stage. A woman carrying a spear and a very old, rusted helmet entered from the left side. Was that Linda? Her considerable breasts must be squished up. She turned toward the audience. It was her. Her hair was braided into a tight bun and hidden under some form of hat. She took a mask to her face, one painted with an angry expression.

Why was she doing this on stage? Shouldn't she don it-

Another player entered opposite her, wearing a helmet and a fake beard.

Guards appeared. They wore beards too. How did they make those? Wool or something?

"Women play all the male parts, huh?" he whispered.

Amber leaned closer. "Ironic isn't it? In Greece only men were allowed to act so they had to play all the female parts. Something about women being too hysterical and emotional to remember their lines. Now it's reversed."

He pinched the hand on his thigh and worked his own between the redhead's legs. "You're saying I'm too emotional to direct?"

"You have a mind of your own..." she smirked, "But I'm sure if you want, they'd let you play the male lead. You'd have to learn Greek, of course. And the king dies in a gory final scene. I never had much stomach for the pig's blood they use."

"Doesn't sound too hot."

"It's a lot of hard work... but if you'd like I'm sure the troop would enjoy having you. Authenticity like that's a rarity..."

"You weave much?"

"That?" Amber swept the half finished basket aside. "I promised Laura I'd have that thing finished yesterday. I've just been so busy..."

"I'm sure she understands." Amber frowned as he took hold of her hands and turned them over in the twilight of the torch. He rubbed the hairline cut the wicker had given his thumb and gently traced each of her palms. "The material's sharp and your skin's so soft... It doesn't cut you up?"

"We do a lot of hard work but Circe won't let us get calluses." She sighed. "We do all the men's old work but the curse won't let it have the same effect."

"You want rough hands?" She shrugged. "I like you beautiful."

"Thanks."

"So do you weave much?"

"Some. We all do."

"Is it something I'm going to have to do?"

"I'll teach you. It's not hard to learn." She sat on the edge of the small bed and caressed the leather mattress beside her until he joined her. Jimmy ran her silky auburn curls through his fingers. "Dinner was lovely," she commented.

"I'm glad... but I didn't think she'd bring Julius along," he chuckled.

"They gave us plenty of time alone." Amber smiled. "Anyway, I like him. He's one of my brightest students."

"Yeah... he is. Think he figured out what we were up to?"

"Probably," she smirked. "He's smart about other people like that."

"What do you say when he asks all those difficult questions?"

"The truth of course."

Jimmy laughed.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing..." he said soberly. "Just remembering why I like you so much."

Did she blush in the dim firelight?

The torch she'd cradled on their return from the play had almost burned down. Amber glanced at its holder on the table and reached for a box by her bed, pulling out a fresh wad of kindling.

"Let it go out," he whispered.

Jimmy tugged at the front of her toga while he kissed her neck. His fingers brushed the strands of hair from Amber's shoulder until she lolled back, offering up the milky nape of her neck.

"I should start a fire before I forget."

"I'll keep you warm."

"Oh." She moistened her lips. "I forgot. Yes you will."

"Sorry. You're always welcome in my bed."

"And you in mine." Her hand gently hugged his as he pulled at her sash. The smooth fabric snaked its way around her waist and she returned his kiss. "Have you been happy these last few days?"

"Yes. I am."

Amber smiled. "I'm glad," she sighed pleasantly. "I'd hoped there was something to please you in every woman..."

"Can we not talk about them?"

He pushed the toga from her creamy shoulders, nipping at the delicate tendons that rose out of them. Amber gently withdrew her arms from the folded sleeves.

"Afterwards..." he whispered as his lips moved on to her ear. "Can we go walk on the beach?" The roses in her hair were enchanting.

"I have to lie down, honey."

"Oh... How long?"

"We'll both be asleep."

He needed some sort of alarm. The distant roar of the surf was too tempting. "Well, wake me in the middle of the night and maybe- "

"I can't." She cupped his face and brought her soft emerald eyes to bear. The dark pupils were already so large. "It affects both of us. We'll sleep together until dawn. Nothing can wake us."

Yeah. Why hadn't he remembered that? He hadn't stirred in the middle of the night at all since he'd arrived.

"Would you like to go now?" Amber suggested.

She started to pull her robe back together.

"No." He nudged it down around her waist again. "Let's save something for another night."

"OK." She smiled at him in the shadows and tenderly undressed him.

Jimmy cupped one of her breasts and massaged its strawberry nipple to hardness.

Amber did the same with him, caressing his softening flesh under her thumb. The way she brushed the jutting areola illicited an odd tingle.

"Does it bother you if I touch your chest?... Is it sore? I know you're not used to feeling swollen here but I thought you should know how good it can be."

He blinked at her a moment.

Did she still like the way he looked?

It was all a bit strange.

"Do you like me?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Touch me where you want."

He kissed her shoulder again.

"The hairs should fall out in a few days."

"I know."

Amber moistened her lips. Again the silence was broken by brief wet whispers as she kissed her tongue.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Don't say that again."

Jimmy leaned slowly with her into the bed and the back of his hand made contact for the first time with the tanned hides of the mattress. They were just as smooth and tender to the touch as her own luxurious skin.

He broke the kiss off and smiled mischievously. "You've been hiding out on me."

"What?"

"This bed is much lovelier than the palace's."

Her eyebrow arched. "Really? It's a bit lumpy," she whispered. "There isn't much wool in it... though you're welcome to use it anytime if you'd- "

He snickered.

Amber relaxed as his chest heaved against her breasts. She let out a soft giggle of her own.

"It barely fits two," he teased, "much less three."

"Three? I don't see how."

"You wouldn't come with the bed?"

She blushed. "Not like that. But I thought we weren't going to talk- "

"Never mind," he sighed. "I guess it's not really that beautiful without you in it."

"Oh... OH. Well if you wanted I could- "

"Relax, would you?" He kissed her glistening lips. "I was just trying to compliment you on your furniture."

"Thank you. But I didn't make it. I traded some baskets for it... We could get you another just- "

He hushed her with two fingers on her delicate lips. "Don't you ever think of yourself?"

"What do you mean? How could I tonight?... Why? Are you?"

"No."

She was silent a moment.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"No. I just... I don't need more stuff. I loved being serenaded very much and you're very thoughtful-"

She pinched him. "Don't you want me to be a love slave? Wasn't that the first thing you said to me?"

"No," he chuckled. "Just a lover... You don't have to keep bringing me candy and flowers to win me over..."

"I understand."

But then her lips pursed.

"What?"

"What's 'candy'?" she asked.

"Uh... small little treats that taste sweet. Like fruit, only more... You know what honey is, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Kind of like that."

Kind of like her, he thought as he traced the outline of her chin.

"We have some honey but it's hard to make."

"Really? Why?"

"Too many queen bees," she giggled. His chest shook with hers. "Poor things..."

"Bet you have plenty of royal jelly," he laughed.

"Yes." He watched as the waves of gaiety slowly washed over Amber and seemed to pool by the bedposts on the floor. She sucked soberly on her lower lip while she caressed his neck. "I'm sorry I'm so talkative tonight. I guess I'm a little nervous."

"Me too." He kissed her. "But I always like talking with you. For some reason it's easier than with the others..."

"I feel it too. There's a strength hidden in you."

He squeezed her cheek. "You wait too long and it really will be hidden..." he teased.

She didn't grin. "Why do you make jokes about it?"

He shrugged. "There's nothing else to do."

"Do you look forward to it? It's said that on rare occasions a man actually rejoices when he hears about the curse."

"No. I really don't want it to happen. I'm happy right here."

"I hope you didn't take offense."

"No. I know how you meant it." He sighed. "I'd hoped tonight would be special."

Amber drew his face between her hands and leaned up to kiss him. "It is," she whispered. "Very."

"It's just- "

"I know it gets monotonous sometimes."

"Yeah. I'm not happy about that. I wanted our time together to be-"

"It will."

Without another word, Amber raised her hips to let him slide off the rest of her toga. She took his hand upon her breast while he gazed into his eyes.

"You're very beautiful," he whispered.

"Thank you."

He brushed the underside of her soft, white globes with the back of his hand, marveling at their fullness. She was more than his palms could handle, though it fit her smaller frame remarkably well.

He recalled the evening he'd first seen her naked, standing in the surf. Her spine had just enough curve, kindly tapering off to where it kissed her nicely rounded bottom... the one that bounced out so perkily as she darted after him into the sea. He'd always remember her like that.

The graceful proportions of her chest sloped and hugged her in all the right spots too. He hoped his comments hadn't hurt her. The only thing more beautiful than her breasts was her polite sensitivity. He could know her a thousand years and she would never make a peep about it.

Amber wet her fingers and, as he began to tweak her nipple, she reached over and repeated the motion on him. Jimmy was surprised at how fast his breathing changed as the pleasure grew under her scratching nail. It was just a tickle at first but now... he'd never felt anything like it... not there...

Did her strawberry nipples taste as delicious as they looked in the quiet moonlight? He bent closer to savor their salty flavor and her hands slipped into his hair to caress his neck while he nursed.

He licked at her slowly until she rose up into a fine point then he nipped at her stiff little prong while batting the other back and forth under his thumb. She gave out a sharp sigh and then moaned.

He let her slip through his teeth.

"Too hard?"

"No." She stroked his scalp and tugged him forward again.

Soon her hips writhed under him and she let out the most lovely low cry he'd ever heard. For an instant he saw her jaw quivering again in the dawn light under his window...

"Ow!" she yelped, smiling at him. "Too hard, sweety."

"Did I hurt you?"

"Not much..." She pulled his hand back to her bosom. "No. It's very nice... please go on... if you want..."

He switched and suckled her other breast, lapping leisurely at its long peak. Amber kneaded the teat he'd bitten until his timid hand rejoined her. She stroked and patted his arm reassuringly. Soon her smile straightened and passionate m's rolled off her lips again in sweet succession, encouraging him to become bolder.

Jimmy flicked his wet feeler over her prickled pink cup, making it gleam in the diffuse lunar light. He gripped her stiff tip in his mouth once more, cushioning it under his tongue before tugging at it to Amber's approving murmurs.

Convinced of her safety, he gnawed at her again with all the emotion flowing through him. Her soft fingers march through his tangled hair. He loved the way she stroked the side of his jaw...

Jimmy smiled at her.

Amber smiled back.

But then it was gone. Her mouth pouted open and air rushed through her nostrils. The tender mounds rose up under his hands with her curving back. Her gentle breathing grew deeper and her ivory hip shivered against his. Her neck arched once more, giving a hint of the delicate bands hidden in the flesh of her soft white throat.

His palms began to sweat at the warmth flooding through her.

He had to taste more.

Jimmy rose up on his elbow, gazing into her dark glassy orbs as she wiped the saliva from her bosom. She watched him keenly as he slid further down on the bed, then cocked an eyebrow as he hesitated with his chin above her crotch. He looked down at the dark curls that sprouted from her joined thighs.

"Can I?" he whispered.

"I'm ready, if that's what you..."

"No I... I want to do this for you... if you want me to."

She caressed his cheek. "Of course."

She was hard to read tonight. For some reason, she looked so serious. Was it just passion? Hadn't one woman joked about hiding something down here?

"Touch me where you want," she echoed.

He grinned. "If I don't..." He stroked her arm. "Can you help me please you?... Sorry. I've been... it's like it's all I do some days and yet I... I want to get it right for you. I don't want it to be another part of the routine. I know that sounds completely lame..."

"Not at all." Amber pulled his hand to her. "I know how hard it is to understand the other sex." She kissed his open palm. "I'll help," she whispered. "I'm touched you even asked. Some never do."

Really? "It's just... I'd hate to hear you go 'Ow!' again."

"It was a bit of surprise is all."

She turned his hand over and silently placed his fingers on her nipple, cupping the reddish cap with his forefinger and positioning his thumb over it. She delicately inched the nail down, scratching to the edge of her crisp point. She smiled politely at him as he repeated the motion. Her head lolled back while he learned the rhythm, then her face drew somber yet again and she nudged his wrist lower.

Jimmy took the hint and maneuvered even farther back. Amber parted her legs and suddenly the tang of her excitement was in the air.

He fell off the bed.

"Oh! Are you OK?" Her frowning face came into view like an angel above him. She offered a concerned hand and pulled him back into bed. "You do need advice."

"All I can get... but make it timely, huh?"

"OK," Amber said flatly. She scooted as far back as possible, rising up on her elbows.

Why wasn't she laughing at him? She'd turned so solemn this evening, as if some heaviness had descended on her soft white shoulders.

Jimmy put it aside and crouched at the joint of her splayed legs again, taking in the clear signs of her arousal. An enchanting sigh escaped as he ran a finger lightly through her velvet comforts, parting her fine hairs and stirring the moist stickiness within. He traced the outline of her lips, followed them up and marked their little wedge at top.

Amber sigh deeply.

He turned a leafy flap over in the deep shadows of her crotch, savoring the quiet, almost liquid, sound as it folded. Jimmy bent down, curving his back like an inchworm until his nose sank into her silky fluff and he tasted her for the first time. He sloshed into her satiny cavity, exploring and laying open her slick, warm creases.

Amber's hands fell about his head, massaging his scalp with prancing fingers.

His tongue dallied in her juicy ruffles, fluttering around and occasionally grazing her clitoris to tickle her desire for him. He could feel it building as she ground into his nose, nudging that hardening bud ever closer to his lips.

Finally he gave in and drew her stiff little tip into his mouth, flicking lightly over the smooth kernel and pushing back on the skin that encircled it.

Amber gasped.

"A little slower, honey... mmmmm... thanks..." Her soprano tones cracked and shuddered in a long, pleasant sigh as he lapped more gingerly around her nub.

Jimmy plucked at one of her sticky nipples while he reveled in her fishy musk. Something warm and wet greeted his finger tips and he looked up to find Amber kissing his knuckles.

Her head lolled back and he slipped a finger from his other hand into her warm, salty recesses. He worked his way in and out of her smooth walls, reveling at the squishy sounds gracing his ears. When her hips began to rise, he plunged into her, sucking forcefully on her tiny pea until he felt her fleshy ring contract around his digit, trying to draw more of him in.

Her rigid fingers clenched his head. The bottom of her jaw trembled as her lyric happiness poured into the night.

One of her short nails dug into his cheek.

"You have a wonderful singing voice."

She sighed and her eyes twinkled down at him. "You've never said that before. Thank you."

He rose again and they kissed. "You didn't know it when I kissed you at the window?"

"Of course." Her kisses moved to his chin, then under his neck. She pushed him to the side as her body stretched out beneath his. "You've told me many things that have warmed my heart, spoken or not." Her lips marched slowly downward, showering him with affection until she reached one of the puffy protrusions on his chest. She brushed his downy fur aside, gazed up into his eyes and nibbled gently at it.

Jimmy sank to the bed again. His erection stiffened and strained, etching further into her thigh as the tingle from her kisses surged through him. The little prong tensed between her lips and contracted into an impossibly fine point. The fine bumps ringing it came alive one by one and kissed her back.

Its twin, strangely enough, didn't respond. He watched keenly as her delicate fingers glided over to scratch at the soft, smooth skin. It too drew taut and collapsed in pimples under her expert attention.

His flesh glimmered under her beautiful lips, highlighting the wet forest of small hairs. The lightly nipping teeth sent an alien warmth flowing through his upper body. Something was growing... spreading in his blood...

"No it's... it's a little much." Jimmy pulled her up. "Give me some time to adjust." Amber cocked her head. "It felt nice." The crow's feet around her eyes vanished. "Thank you." Her tension melted away under his kiss and she floated back to the bed.

He stroked behind her ear in silence as his mind took its time returning from a far off place. Her soft, soothing hands drifted down his abdomen.

He knew what she'd say. Probably one of the many variations of "it's up to you" that he'd heard so often but he offered anyway.

"Would you like to be on top or bottom?"

Amber brushed the back of her hand tenderly across the side of his face.

"Bottom, please."

She returned his smile briefly as he caressed her face, then the wayward sailor lifted himself above her. Her leg moved to accommodate him and Jimmy descended on her, sinking into her caring grasp.

Her arms rose like shadows next to his. Fingers locked around his neck. She bent back and drew him in for a long kiss that never quite broke through those enduring minutes.

Her eyes closed. The pitch from her chest quickened. He felt her soft, feminine touch all around him, even under the arms he wrapped beneath her shoulders. Thanks to the leather of the bed it stretched down even to the legs sprawling out from beneath their union...

His hands stirred through her silky tresses and the sharp spike of rose filled his throat again.

Her face was so beautiful, even half-visible like this in the night air. He remembered the coy way she stood with her back to him, that evening in the freshwater stream as she washed herself off... that black tree limb falling across her shoulders... the way it hid her chin as she turned and laughed at the water he splashed on her...

He wanted to draw it out... another five minutes snapped from eternity... but he couldn't deny himself to her any longer. The warm longing in her called out for him, tugging at all his restraints, causing the surge to well up once more within him and spill over into her...

Her own contractions followed swiftly behind his and in that blinding moment of union, the soft breeze of Amber's voice floated to him.

"Thank you."

"Are you glad we did it here?"

"Made love, you mean?"

"Yes." She smiled. "Did you like it?" she asked again.

"Very much."

"I'm sorry the bed's not bigger. That's my fault."

"It brings us closer together. I like it."

"Thanks... You're always finding the best of something."

She took the pillow from her head and stuffed it under her hips.

"Here. Take mine."

Amber pushed it away. "You keep it."

Jimmy sighed. "Is my arm good enough for you?" he asked, working it under her.

"Yes," she laughed. "I'd like that."

"Can't talk you into sitting on your side, can I?"

"You'll drip out."

Jimmy chuckled. "I'm not going anywhere right now."

"OK, then. It will," she sighed.

He stared at her profile in silence.

She had a delightful little nose. Did she know that?

"Are you cold at all?" he asked.

"A bit. There's a quilt on the floor. Can you reach it?"

"Sure." He pulled it over their waists and spread it lower.

It did keep the cool breeze away.

Had the weather turned chillier since he got here? Maybe this part of the island was different.

Well if he couldn't get her to roll over and look at him, he'd meet her halfway.

Jimmy stretched his leg over hers and draped his free arm over her chest, lying half on her.

Her prominent hip gouged his stomach and his other foot still dangled off the bed. Oh well...

Close was better than comfortable right now.

She turned slightly and smiled tenderly at him.

"I'm not crushing you am I?"

"No." Amber ran a finger through his curly chest hairs. "You're much better than a blanket." She watched attentively as he scratched his navel. "I'm sorry Andrea's not here to give you a bath."

"I don't want to spend the night with Andrea."

"Oh." She digested his remark with more silence and thought than usual. Her eyes followed his in the dimming light, etching the question into his face even before she asked it. "Have you picked anyone?"

"What do you mean?"

"Has no one explained it yet?" He nodded. "Sometimes we're bad about that." Her nails dallied up and down his arm. "We get so excited about having a man, we forget all about him." Amber paused. The last thin ember in the torch finally died and he grinned back at her in the residual moonlight. "On the last night it's your right to choose any of the single women as your mate. It's our gift to you. You can of course decline..."

"Really?" He brushed her cheek with his knuckles. "There would be women still interested in me?"

"Of course," she said meekly. "We're all we have."

"Then why haven't any asked if they're interested."

Her eyes dropped. "It's not our right. You must choose."

"Do you want me to pick you?"

"Yes."

He sighed and sank back to his side of the bed.

"Did you go through the same thing?"

Jimmy flinched. Why of a million questions did he ask that stupid one? Here she was unattached and she'd just said a man could pick any- . Oh, he could also pass. Had she... he? passed?

Sigh. What to do about pronouns? They did speak of foreign language here.

Why was it even on his mind?

"Why do you want to know?"

"I'm just curious."

"If you find out one way or another, would it affect your decision?"

Jimmy fell silent. He honestly didn't know. It was hard enough imagining sex with women as a woman.

"Then I won't say."

"I could always ask someone."

Amber smiled. "They won't tell you." Her eyes paused a moment as they wandered across his face, then she drifted back down into a soft cushion of curls. "I'm not... I'm not fighting with you about it, so don't take it that way. And it's too early to make a decision... You should... take your time. Not feel any pressure." She caressed his hand in hers and turned again to kiss his cheek. "I know why you asked what you did and I... have a pretty good idea of who you are..." She sighed. "This is magic. You won't wake up a month from now and be a man in a woman's body. You'll be a woman. That's why it doesn't matter what I was in the past. I am who I am now. Some men come through the transformation only attracted to men. I hope it doesn't happen to you, but it's different for every man. Some have to learn to be attracted to their own sex. I'll help if you let me. I'll even tell you about my past... But not if it affects your decision. If it did I don't think... I don't think it would but if it did I'm not sure... we'd want to be together in that way."

Jimmy blinked at the long shadows formed by the thatch weaving in her roof.

"So I'm going to lose my mind?"

"You're going to lose your gender. Some of your mind will go with it... Not most of it, though. Maybe not any part you'll notice."

He sighed. How would he know if he didn't have it? Would he just feel a hole in his head? Or would it be like he'd never existed?

"Will I... Will I remember- "

"You'll remember everything, clear as a bell." Amber lifted their clasped hands into the fuzzy white wedge streaming through the window. "We'll never forget tonight."

"Good." He pulled her knuckles to his lips. "Is anyone ever picked who doesn't want to be?"

"It doesn't matter. It is your choice. I know you don't wish to spend your life with a companion who openly resents you. Why would you ever find that attractive? In any event... such a thing has not happened in living memory."

"But it has happened."

"It is your right to choose as you will. No one else may make that decision for you. You must respect the previous bonds of love, of course. And you can reserve your right to pick at a later time." She sighed and looked away to the window. "It is said sometimes that on the final night, the spirit sometimes changes with the body. Some cursed few... find their thoughts turning to men and the world they've just left. Others develop different tastes in their own gender and wish simply to choose a different woman." She shrugged. "Nothing can be done of it. It's why you wait until- "

Jimmy chuckled.

"What?" Amber's dark orbs flashed as her gaze returned to him.

"You'd pick me before you knew what I'd turn out like? I could be ugly as sin."

"Oh." She snickered and laughed lightly with him. "Have you looked around? Even the old women are quite handsome.... In any event, it would not matter. That's not why I like you, though you are handsome. Physical attraction of that sort isn't so important to most women. You'll see soon yourself. I mean I'm sure I would find you attractive, regardless... And if you still love me then whatever's you that I love..." She blushed. "Sorry." He stroked her cheek, slowly rubbing the red away. "Then whatever's you that I love will still be there. Don't you see?"

Jimmy turned and stared expressionless at the half-filled moon rising out of view. "Sorry."

"For what?"

"I'm ruining the mood."

"No you're not."

"I know you probably wanted to talk about something else... ask me about the outside world, visit, just fall asleep in my arms, I don't know... but I... I appreciate not having to ask first with you, you know, about what to expect. With all the other girls there's..." His voice trailed off.

"It's not always comfortable having to ask about it, is it?"

"No. They're very honest but... Don't they know- ?"

She put a finger to his lips.

"Yes. I'll tell you..." Amber stroked his hair while he rested on her shoulder. "When the moon goes dark again, your last nights are yours to spend with who you see fit. You'll be able to function as a male the first night. Perhaps even the second. You can try to father one last child if you wish, with whomever you wish..."

"Would... the others be mad if I didn't choose them... when I picked the woman who I- "

"What? Noooo. Of course not. You can't force love that way. Besides," she snickered. "There are plenty of pretty women on the island. They'll all find someone eventually."

He chuckled with her. "I forgot."

"Hm. What else?" she muttered to herself. "Pray to be tall. Sometimes it happens."

"Why?"

"You might get elected Queen. Height is power."

"I meant why would I get bigger? At the rate I'm shrinking I going to be- "

"Oh. Right now, yes. It feels so strange because you're becoming the woman you would have been had you been born that way, like your own sister. But you'll be someone completely different next month. Sometimes the change is quite remarkable. The way you're changing now... it's a bit like the way the water rolls back out to sea before a big wave hits. A kind of warning about what's to come..."

"So why is height power? I'd think it'd be the woman with the biggest tits."

"Andrea?" She laughed. "Why? Breasts are hardly powerful." He remembered her lumbering gait in the race. Well it did win... "They connect you to the world more than anything else. Like an anchor," she mused. "They're responsibility."

"You tell all your little students that?"

"Yes."

"It's just that... you would have figured the perverse way Circe is..."

"Oh." Amber chuckled. "That would be awful. I'm glad you didn't cast the spell... No. We pick our own leaders. We were started by a group of Athenian sailors who believed in equality and democracy."

"Horny sailors, huh? The kind with a skirt in every port... provided you aren't the one trapped in port."

"I think that was the exact origin of the curse."

"So you pick the tallest one?"

"One of the tall ones, yes... We haven't always been this way, either. The sailors forgot who they were... fell into the ways of the Amazons for a while. In our more barbaric days, we used to tie the men up and force them into sex. And then we'd humiliate them and treat them like second-class women. Make them slaves. Force them to work in the fields or... the Queen even used to have her own harem of sorts."

He snickered. "Pretty useless, huh?"

"Oh I know," Amber commiserated. "Why?" She frowned. "Why treat people like that? I wouldn't have liked it back then. They were angry people."

"It's easy to understand why."

"Are you angry?"

"Yeah..." he sighed. "Guess that's why I've got my own harem."

"Stop!" Amber pinched him. "You're always teasing me with that!"

He fought off her offended fingers and even ventured a nip of his own. "Wish you could tie me up don't you? Drag me off somewhere for yourself? That's it isn't it?"

"Yes," she giggled. His tickles faded to gentle pats again. Amber sighed and stroked a lock of her spread out hair. "It could all slip back in a generation. We could all be barbarians like that again."

"You're too nice to ever let it happen."

"I hope. The things washing out of the ocean now make our lives much easier... But we still can't let our guard down. Good leadership counts for something."

"I think Lucia does a fine job."

"Yes. She does. But she'll be getting too old in a few years. Moving to the council of elders....."

"So? I'm her age too."

"Not long."

"Really?"

"You'll be a young woman. Younger probably than me even."

"Shoot. An extra ten years? It's good to know there's a perk or two that comes with it."

"Being a woman isn't all bad." Amber caressed his neck. "A change like that should never be forced on someone... particularly when others care so much for them as they are..."

"Tall, huh. That's the way you want me?"

"Yes."

"You like a taller lover?"

"Of course... and we wouldn't have to marry. We could simply be lovers a while. If you want me to wait I would... and you could see how you... related to other women again..."

"You really aren't very jealous, are you?"

"When the time is right... only if you say... But any woman would let you do that. You may need time to adjust. It's delicate." Her fingers dawdled in the puffy flesh of his chest again. "You'll understand it better after the new moon. All this will feel like it fits."

Jimmy tracked the movement of her beautifully plain short nails.

And the jiggle they stirred.

"Would you... what size breasts would... What do you want me to look like?"

"Like Jimmy."

"But if you can't have that... what kind of woman would you like? I mean... if I wound up like Andrea or- "

"You'll be beautiful, I'm sure."

"But- "

"Do I want you tripping over your bosom?" she giggled. "Not really. But what I want doesn't matter, not that I want something like that. Circe doesn't listen to anyone but her own whims. But if you turned out that way, I'm sure we'd have fun together. Women don't- aren't as interested in physical appearance like that, I think. Not... well, maybe some but not the way you're thinking. You'll understand- "

"- understand after the new moon" he echoed.

"Yes. You know you... on that final night if you... If you feel like crying, you don't have to be a man about it. You can- "

Jimmy cracked up. "That's the whole point, isn't it?"

"Oh." Amber laughed lightly with him. "I suppose it is but I was just going to say it's your choice who to invite. You don't have to pick anyone at all, though most do. I was just saying it might be private for you and- "

"If I asked you, asked you in both senses... what would we do?"

"Share a bed for the night and wait. There's nothing special to the ceremony. We're preparing a house for you and we would move in there together... For the nights or possibly longer... It's-" She stammered a moment. "It's understood that if you ask someone... and you change your mind about them... nothing will be spoken of it."

"You said I could- How will I know I still want you?"

Her chin dimpled as she shrugged. "It's why you wait to ask until the last day. I wouldn't worry about it. Probably not much will happen to you. The spell is different for everyone. In any event, you won't be unhappy. Even if it's not with me."

"I would hate to do that to you. Back out like that, if I made a commitment."

"There's nothing hateful about it. If you change, you change. Love can't be forced."

Of all the million absurd things flying through his mind right now... "So if we marry, can I at least give you my last name? Make you a Baker?" he chuckled. "You do bake don't you?"

Amber blushed. "You take my clan name."

"Me? Why me?"

"Because. You will be my virgin bride." The color drained from his face as the enormity of it descended on him. "Oh. Not intact in that sense, if that concerns you. Legend says only boys who wandered off on the island and then were found changed months later ever had their virginity intact. Circe had an odd sense of humor. Every man who'd had sex beforehand... was reborn as if she'd had sex already as a woman... if you catch my meaning."

"I won't be... pregnant will I?"

"No," she sighed. "Not sex in that sense either, unfortunately... But one of the young boys will come of age within a few years. If you'd like to then, we could try... unless some other poor fellow washes up on shore. But it's up to you. You haven't changed yet so I don't know what you'll want. In any event, you'll have many years to decide. Not every woman knows right away. Or wants a child. But don't worry. Few woman who have wanted one have ever gone without... Yes, you'll probably want one at some point. For some reason almost all the transformed women end up giving birth. Put it out of your mind for now."

He'd be hopping in bed, acting shy about his wife just like Dahlia had? What a turn on that had been...

Ugh. But he'd be the one getting stuck between the legs.

She had fun, though, didn't he?

He shivered and drew the quilt closer, stopping on the way to pinch Amber's stomach with a grin.

"So I'd be Mrs. Jimmy- what?"

"Oh. You won't be Jimmy anymore. The Queen will consult the elders and give you a new name."

He sighed. "Guess I shouldn't have hit her with that spear. I won't be able to pronounce it..."

Amber smirked back at him. "She's not really mad at you for that. She's taken a shine to you in fact... managed to make Dahlia jealous for the first time... But don't worry. It's- oops."

Amber covered her mouth. Her light mood sank beneath the waves again.

"You've already picked me a new name?"

"Yes. Sorry. You're not supposed to know."

"Well what is it?"

"I can't tell you. It's easy to say, though."

"Why can't you?"

"You'd remember. I have to tell you when you're a woman or it's spoiled. It won't feel right."

"You have to?"

"Whoever you pick does. When you first awake."

"Well do you like the name?"

"It's quite lovely, as I'm sure you will be."

"So how do you usually decide who takes whose name in a marriage?"

"Each islander retains her clan name. It's not a real marriage. We're all aware it's just a substitute. In your case, though, you're new so you're sort of reborn into one of the established households... but no one really uses them, except for the birth records so I wouldn't worry."

"What's yours?"

Her lips pursed and she thought about it. "You know I haven't used it in years. I'd have to go look it up to make sure I can spell it correctly."

"You don't stay close to your family?"

"I stay close with everyone on the island. Would you like to hear my first name in Greek?"

"It's not Amber?"

"No. It's..." She uttered something he could never hope to repeat, much less remember.

"Sounds scientific."

"Really?"

"Can I stick with 'Amber'? I like the way it sounds better."

"Of course. I prefer Amber anyway. The other one doesn't mean quite the same."

"What's it mean then?"

"Oh." She laughed faintly. "Um. It's better in Greek than you think but the rough translation is flaming insect."

Flaming insect...? "Firefly?"

"Sort of. But we don't have them on the island often. The last was seen a hundred years ago."

"I like it."

"Please... please call me Amber. I'll teach you to say it in Greek if you like, but firefly sounds so silly. I hate flies when they visit the island."

"Ok... So what's Jimmy in Greek?"

"Mmm." She smiled coyly. "Jimmy," she responded.

"Just Jimmy?" he yawned.

"Just Jimmy."

Singing drifted across the windowsill from somewhere quite close, startling Jimmy from the warm crease they'd formed together. He looked down at Amber, half-expecting to see her mouth open wide again and her arms out stretched.

But she just returned his smile, putting a calm arm on his as he tried to rise from bed.

"She's just an old friend doing me a favor. I thought you might like to be sung to sleep. She won't bother us."

"She owes you a favor? It's not for me?"

"Of course it's for you." He was still anxious about it. "Don't worry. She won't intrude. And the neighbors won't mind. I asked."

"Neighbors?..." His brow knitted. "You mean... They heard us?"

"Of course. It's a small island. It's not unusual to hear those sounds at night. They're only natural... but don't worry. The children were sent elsewhere to sleep."

"Just for this occasion?"

"So mothers wouldn't have to explain the deeper voice... but it is a lovely music, don't you think? The music of love-making? The children hear it anyway when their mothers are alone together. No one speaks of it."

"Are people listening when I'm up in the palace?"

"A few, I suppose, if they're around... but what are you upset about? No one stays just for that. And we all enjoy it. It doesn't disturb- "

"You've heard me before with other- "

"Shh. Is that what you're worried about? It's not my place to be jealous. And we all try to give you as much privacy as we can but it's a small place." Amber yawned and pulled his arm tight under her bosom. "I'm tired, honey. Can we talk about it in the morning?"

He was getting sleepy too. Was it the low, mournful tones of the song? Or perhaps the spell was kicking in? How late was it?

"Yeah," he sighed. "Sorry for spoiling your night with all my questions. I feel like little Julius."

She giggled. "It wasn't spoiled. It's the kind of talk beds were built for."

"I suppose it is..." The melodious voice flowed through the air and through his ears in time with the faint surf. Who was the enchantress? Had he heard her before? "But yeah. I'll shut up. I'd like to enjoy the lovely music too." It was thoughtful of Amber. He kissed her goodnight. "Thank you."

For once he was the first to wake.

Bright light streamed into Amber's one room home, finally giving him a good look around. Calling it a home was being charitable. It was more of a hut of wooden planks strung together with rope. It wasn't ugly by any means but it was a far simpler abode than a woman of her charms deserved. Though strangely enough, it did match her sincerity.

She hadn't been embarrassed by any of it, not that she should be. She was quite comfortable here... indeed, she'd seemed pleased to invite him in last night.

Did all the islanders live so plainly?

It didn't have much stuff... but then what kind of stuff was there to have?

What kind of lives did they lead here? What kind of life would he have?

It certainly wasn't much compared to the palace. The floor was a mixture of dirt and sand. A black and silver pot hung over her hearth.

At the foot of the bed, there was a box lying with its lid half-ajar. Inside was a short white cylinder, sort of like the sawed-off plastic pipe they'd used for batons.

Hadn't she said she didn't race?

There were some shells beside it, polished like jewelry. He hadn't seen her wearing that long one yet. Was it her jewelry box? Two of the smaller shells dangled from her ears last night. When he first saw them at dinner he thought the loops of fishing wire should look sillier than they did. Instead he couldn't help thinking how beautiful the plain brown and white striped cups were as they swayed from her cheeks. Of all the strange contradictions- the modest adornments somehow made her look all the more sophisticated.

Next to her hearth hung a few togas, drying he assumed. In the darkness he'd mistaken them for curtains and bushes.

He spotted the basket she'd tossed aside last night, sitting in a pile of other half-finished projects lurking in the shadows.

The remains of the torch sat in a pile of ash on her table.

The room's one chair laid underneath it, turned on its side. Only one? He looked around but couldn't find any others. Did she ever have company? Maybe she borrowed one from her neighbors. Or went over there when she wanted to visit.

Did she visit? With friends like last night's invisible singer?

What was her life like?

There wasn't much stuff.

It wasn't the place he'd dreamed of his career culminating in.

What did he care? Health. Love. Long life. Maybe even family. And an easy living. The sort of simple beachcombing existence burned out businessmen dreamed about.

What price? What price for making this fantasy a reality?

He heard voices in the distance.

All those female voices. They drew closer along the path... then they faded away...

He was trapped at an estrogen convention. The only balance he struck was in bed.

Bed... This particular one was cramped. Parts of him still weren't awake.

Wasn't this the first night he'd spent away from the place?

But being forced into Amber's arms only made her all the more attractive.

She hadn't moved at all during the night. Her hips still thrust into the air, like an offering to the heavens.

Shafts of morning sunshine stabbed across the soft curves of her face, failing to find a single wrinkle in her fair skin.

What was going on under those gently fluttering eyelids? What was she dreaming about?

How could he have missed those freckles on her shoulders last night? Were they hard to see in the dark? They tapered off into almost imperceptible orange splotches that blended with her creamy bosom.

He slipped the pillow from her rear end. Her eyes twitched and she began to stir. In the fullness of time she blinked and smiled at him.

"Morning."

"Mmm. Morning."

"When did you get freckles?"

"Oh." Amber frowned as she strained to look down at herself. "I've been in the sun lately."

"I like them."

"You do? I can spend more time outside if you like. They disappear in a few days if I..." He grinned devilishly at her. "... don't." She cocked her head. Her lips curled on one side, returning half his smile. "What?"

She stretched her arms above her, sending auburn curls over the edge of the bed.

Jimmy kneed one of her legs aside and rose above her. A line formed under her chin. "I don't feel like talking just now." He winked and plunged into her tender freckled flesh.

Delicate hands clawed at his stomach.

"No, don't," she protested calmly. "You should be with the other girl if- "

"Shut up about it, would you?" He blinked. He sighed and quit his thrusting, sinking down on her warm breasts. "I'll stop if it's what you really want..." He kissed her. "But not if it's because you're thinking about another person. There are no other people right now." She bit her lower lip. "It's all my decision. Just tell me if you want me... Yes or no?"

Her eyes darted back and forth across his.

"Yes."

Amber giggled. "I do not have to lay down again. That was last night."

"I'll drip out," he teased.

"I've got enough in me already. Yuck." She made a face. "I was so messy down there to begin with. How could you stand it?"

"I like making a mess with you."

They embraced and pinched each other a moment. "Well you made it even worse."

His voice shot up in pitch. "Can I give you a bath before your next client?" he asked mockingly, with a limp wrist draped over the front of his toga.

"No," she smirked. "I like having some of Helen in me."

"You!"

"Don't mind do you?"

"I never mind... and I'd like to see Helen in you too."

"Ah!" she yelped in protest, breaking free of his arms. "She's married!"

He'd never seen her this playful.

"You suggested it..."

"You're confusing me with Linda!" she said sarcastically. She saw what he was getting ready to do and put a hand on his forearm. "Don't. We save that."

"Ashes?" She didn't want him to dump them out back?

"They make soap." She handed him a rusty can. "Put them in here."

Soap? He shrugged and brushed them into the container while she wandered over to the hearth. "Can't get rid of Helen without soap..." he mumbled. She had his back to him, doing her best to let that remark slip. He started humming to himself. "Can't pick a married woman, huh? Shoot, there goes Julia... poor old considerate Julia. And all those other chicks who ran out... Guess I'll have to settle- " Amber was finally cracking up. Over that?

"That was so funny." She put a shaking hand over her mouth. "Ooooh! Cornelia!"

Funny? Wasn't Amber usually hurt when someone did something like-

She winked at him. She was on to their little secret. How? "She told you?"

"Julia!?" She burst out laughing. "No! Gosh. She'll never tell another soul." Amber knelt at the foot of the bed to fold some of the linens, determined to hide the crushing damage he'd done to her hamper last night when his eagerness had sent him overboard. "I figured it out from talking to Melissa," she explained. "I'm not that thick, you know."

"Melissa?"

"Melissa?... Oh... no. I doubt she's even suspicious. She's just a kid. I asked her a few carefully worded questions. She doesn't know either of them very well anyway. But I have Cornelia's daughter in my class." Amber smirked. "Having her call out for 'Cornelia' after Ambrosia had seen you two... It was inspired." Amber giggled. "She must have been quite something in bed." She set the folded square aside and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. Melissa will never put it together... and I'll certainly never tell."

Jimmy just shook his head and grinned at her deductive skills. Did he have no privacy at all?

"But what I can't figure out," Amber continued, "is how you knew Melissa was such a gossip."

He cocked an eyebrow and simply hunched his shoulders. "I didn't. I figured she's a chick. She'll blab."

"We're not all like that," she growled, pinching his meaty thigh.

"Just enough of you." He pushed the grinning beauty away. "Besides, I dropped enough hints elsewhere. I knew it would get back. I bet- " He chuckled for a moment as he finally considered the implications of what he'd done. "I bet Cornelia gave her hell, then found out about it and begged for forgiveness. I really did that girl a favor. She's gonna owe me."

"'Owe' you, huh?... Well, it was sweet of you, nonetheless. You really shouldn't intrude like that... but in her case it was appropriate. If only Claudia could write a song about that..."

Amber's sobriety suddenly returned. She brushed the sand out of last night's toga and soaked it in a kettle of water.

"I still can't believe I called her Michelle half the morning."

"Who?"

"Melissa. I was really out of it."

"No kidding? Hm. She didn't say anything about that..." Amber set another sheet aside and mused on it a moment. "I think you intimidate her somehow... though she has become much more comfortable around you. In fact she talks of you quite fondly." Amber sighed and returned to straightening up. "She said you were very sweet to her that night."

"Um... I guess."

"Sorry. I don't mean to intrude. I didn't want you to worry that you had stepped on her toes. She's grateful to have someone older and more experienced taking an interest in her. She just may not show it well and I thought you should know. That's all I meant to say." She turned to him again. "Something wrong?"

He couldn't keep the bangs from tickling his eyebrows. Maybe a bath would help. Come to think of it, he'd been kind of shaggy to begin with when he set out on the high seas with that cooler full of beer.

The cooler. A shame they could salvage that...

"Time for a haircut," he announced, tracing the nearly healed scar on his jaw. "Would you do it? I'd, uh, rather not go back to Michelle any time soon."

Why wasn't she reacting to his joke? "Sorry Jimmy. You'll have to wait a few weeks. It'll just grow back tomorrow morning."

"I'll always have long hair?"

"Until you're a woman. Then you can cut it. But it won't get very long before then anyway. After the new moon you can do with it what you like. I don't know. You might like it long then. I suppose I could trim it for you now... but it would have to be every morning. Would you mind sitting still for that? I'll be happy to do it if you want, but... you may find better ways of spending your time."

He stared out the window and rubbed his stringy black strands together like prayer beads.

"Would you like some dates? I keep a few here... No?" She draped yet another quilt over her lump of a hamper.

Jimmy watched as she drew a small dark fruit from something next to the kettle. Auburn curls swirled about her as she stood and took a bite.

His attention returned to the chirping birds and bright green bushes outside. He looked at the brown wooden branches and drifted back a few short minutes to when he climaxed with her... and that moment of clarity when she confessed to him. "I hope it's your son."

"Jimmy?" Melissa's head popped between the ragged curtains of the doorway. "I thought I'd find you here. Hi Amber." Melissa stroked a lock of hair behind her ear and walked in.

"Sorry," he said.

"Oh. Don't be. I hope I'm not barging in. I heard voices down the path. I just wanted to know how you intend to spend your day. I'll wait for you at the palace if you'd like. I just thought I'd stop by and see if you needed anything or there was something I could do first..."

"Uh... I'd kind of like to bathe or go for a swim before breakfast. You think the first girl would mind waiting at all?"

"She doesn't mind," Melissa grinned.

"You asked her already?"

"Oh. Did you forget?" she asked meekly. "Oh. You did. I'm next." Her lovely bronzed head tilted and she curled back another lock of hair as it tried to escape from her demure smile.

"Oh." He'd forgotten. He hadn't thought much about today.

"It's OK. I know you're really busy all the time. If you'd like I can- "

"No. That's fine. I- "

"Thanks, Jimmy." Amber patted him on the back. "I can get the rest."

"Are you sure? We made quite a mess last night."

Amber's cheeks captured some of the fading rose color of the dawn. "Go on and enjoy yourself. It's always a mess around here." She saw the hesitation in his featureless expression and pulled him in for a farewell kiss. "Please?" she whispered, perking up and smiling. "Melissa's a sweet girl," she said, pinching his cheek like a grandmother. "I'm sure she won't treat you the way Julia did."

He finally grinned back.

Melissa's delicate shoulders relaxed. "Of course I won't," she said, snaking a thin arm around his waist. "You don't have a wife to worry about with me."

"Who'll chase after the young ones if they spy on us?"

"Oh. Andrea's helping for that part of the day."

"Good. I like watching Andrea run."

"I know you do."

Melissa tugged at his toga, dragging him eagerly to the door, bottom first. Jimmy waved good-bye sheepishly until Melissa grabbed that arm too.

Amber winked, chest heaving in surpressed laughter at the undignified way he vanished from her day.

"Sorry I forgot about you."

Melissa kicked a stone from the dirt path.

"Think nothing of it. We probably come and go like the wind to you."

"You're a very sweet smelling breeze." Jimmy kissed her tanned knuckles.

"Thank you." Melissa smiled and swung their joined hands back and forth with renewed energy.

Once or twice the giddiness broke out of its bottle and she tried to skip, but she got too far ahead and had to stop before their fingers slipped apart.

She was so thin and athletic. And so giggly-girlish this morning. Her anticipation and eagerness was giving him another hard on as they traveled.

Where exactly were they going? Wasn't this the trail to the beach?

"Would you like to do it in the ocean?" he asked.

"Do what?" she replied. "Oh," she said after a moment. "That." Her face got serious.

"Would you prefer the palace?" he ventured.

"Please? If it's not too much- "

"Absolutely. It'll be nice to get into a wider bed again. My back hurts."

"Not too much, I hope..."

He pecked her cheek. "After you give me a massage I'll be fine."

"Great. I love the way the muscles in your back feel..."

They were getting a bit soft, though.

After a few minutes of winding through the trees and sand, they came to a freshwater pool. Wasn't this the one Amber had taken him to that evening?

It was beautiful in the daylight.

"I'm a virgin."

"You mean you've never been with another... uh, person before?"

Melissa blushed. "Of course. It's just... I've been very careful about... penetration."

"Saving yourself for marriage?"

The poor girl turned crimson. "No," she sputtered, eyes downcast "Just... just you."

"Oh." He clasped her hand to his chest. "I'm very honored."

"Thanks..." She tossed her hair back and looked shyly at him. "I thought you might not understand."

"I understand perfectly."

"Some of the other girls didn't."

He kissed her flustered cheek. "I'm not one of the other girls. It's very special."

"Thanks."

"So how do you want- uh, is there some way you'd like to proceed?"

"I don't know. Whatever you usually do with virgins. Is it different?"

"You're my first, sweety." He kissed her again.

"Really?" The tan beauty smiled ear to ear.

"Absolutely... unless someone lied to me," he quipped.

"But you'd know, wouldn't you? Why would they do that?"

He snickered and tickled her until she giggled. "I don't know..." he replied. "So... would it be easier with you on top?"

"Right now? But I'm not..." She frowned and threw her gaze over the bed. "OK." She pushed on his chest with surprising strength and started to straddle his hips.

Jimmy held her off.

"No." He turned the tables and pinned her to the mattress. "We have to warm up first," he whispered with a kiss. "Don't we?" His feathery thumb rubbed on the soft part of her side until she squirmed. "Unless you're ready to go without me..."

"No..." Melissa giggled again as her legs spread wide for him. "I don't want to go anywhere without you."

She kissed his cheek. Her hands spread out on his abdomen, tugging at his hairs as they drifted upward to his face.

He chased her pinching fingers from his chest. "Please don't."

"Sure."

She locked her mitts around his neck and mixed her tongue with his, giggling yet again as his head slipped through her grip.

"Eeee! Eeee! A child! Save me!"

"What!?!" Melissa burst out laughing. She peered past the flat fur between her legs and followed his damp grin to an empty window.

Andrea's voice drifted through the bowels of the palace: "Nice try Jimmy."

"Just checking," he yelled.

He expected her to retort with something like "You don't need to see me running again. Melissa ought to be enough." or "If you want me to watch, all you have to do is ask."

But the hallways were silent.

Melissa sucked down half her lower lip, drowning her smile in anxiousness. "Please?" she asked. "I'd prefer if it was just us..."

He laid a sloppy wet one on her knee. "Only joking, honey." Jimmy wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, sending Melissa's longing arms up in the air. With a kind wink, he collapsed on her thin frame. "Sure you want the bottom?" he checked.

"Which way works better?"

He shrugged. "It's like eating crab one day and oysters the next. They're both good."

"Well I only get one meal..." Her big brown eyes sighed as they gazed at him. "What did Amber like?"

Jimmy cleared his throat. "Why don't you start on the top and... we'll have dessert on the bottom if you like."

"Really?" she squeaked in delight.

"For you? Sure..." He rolled over and patted his stomach. "Take your time and ease into it."

Melissa turned and hesitated as she watched his excited prick bob on his tummy. "Will it hurt?" she whispered, contemplating the hard veins she'd never touched before.

"I don't know. What do the other girls say?"

Her almond orbs pierced his own again. "They say it might."

The dark-haired girl mustered her courage and straddled him again, wetting the thin hairs of his navel with her humid tuft.

"I'm sorry."

"Oh no." Melissa leaned back on her haunches and cupped his cheeks. "Don't be. I want you to- I want it... Please. Have fun. I want you to enjoy me. I don't think I could..." Her face knotted up. "... if you felt guilty... You know what I mean?"

"I know." Jimmy squeezed her cheek back until her unpretentious smile reappeared. "But I want you to forget about me for a minute, OK?" She frowned at his request as he wrapped her hand around his throbbing erection. "Take it slow and do it as comfortable as you can? Promise?"

She swallowed as her awkward young hands fumbled with the shaft, rubbing him tantalizingly through her cleft as she searched for her vagina. Finally she found the bull's eye.

Was it a part of her she'd forgotten until now? he wondered.

She giggled coyly as he stiffened in her fingers.

"I really..." She glanced down at the small, high curves that graced her chest. "I really do all this to you? I excite you?"

"You're a very lovely woman."

He took a moment to drink in her slender form with her as she stared in wonder at herself.

Her thin lower ribs gently rose and fell with each breath, highlighting her lean form but revealing no hint at all of any emaciation. Their skin stretched tight as a drum down over her broad flat stomach, curving inward like a smile into her navel. Her modest B cups were broad and expansive, spilling out and covering her chest with their short pancake forms. They had small dark nipples that seemed to ride precociously high on her firm teenage bosom. Narrow, wide bones spread out from her hips delicately like a butterfly. Long, soft ovals filled her well-tapered rear and merged with fleshy but thin, long thighs.

Her large, dark pupils grew as they let her own form pass from sight and fell softly across his body. Her slender neck straightened. "And you're very handsome," she replied.

"Good... Now stop teasing me."

She tugged at his penis with added frustration, unable to get him where she wanted.

Jimmy smiled and let out a short laugh. "I can't go anywhere, honey. It's all up to you." The coy, questioning of her dark watery irises only made him throb harder in her palm, which compounded her frustration. "Lower yourself gently on me..." He caressed her face and brushed one of her nipples for encouragement. "You do most of the work in this position, honey. Relax. You have all of the control... that's it..."

The head of his organ slipped into her, slowly plying apart the walls of her slick cylinder. In a sudden motion she plunged down around him.

She was so deliciously tight.

"Does it hurt at all?"

"No." Melissa brightened and vigorously shook her head, sending up a storm of thick black hair as she bounced eagerly on him.

He felt something indescribable around his penis, something sudden he'd never before felt in a woman's care and then, like she'd snapped her fingers, her loins seemed even more receptive to him.

The joyous look on her face hadn't changed. Was it his imagination? He was just as warm and snug as a moment ago. Was he anticipating something that hadn't happened? Was that it?

She billowed with enthusiasm and pulled his hands to her athletic bosom.

Melissa bent forward and smothered him in kisses, bringing a brunette curtain down around their wet embrace.

"I guess I should wash up now. Where's the- "

"No. I'll get it." Melissa hopped out of bed and bounded naked across the marble floor.

"Aren't you supposed to lay back or something?"

"It doesn't matter to me. Either way I'd be happy, with or without a child."

"I thought the lottery's only for women who want one."

"Oh, I do. Maybe not immediately. But regardless, it's within my rights as a virgin. Or it was," she beamed slyly.

The vase sloshed under her arm as she returned to bed.

"In that case, do you have an extra sponge?"

"Hm. Why?" Melissa placed it at the foot of the bed and searched around for one.

"I thought I could give you a bath too."

"That's sweet," she sighed.

"Come on. Come over here. Let Andrea bring us one."

"Oh. Andrea's already left."

"She didn't stick around?"

"No... If any little children spy on us we can both run after them." Melissa tugged at some of her dark pubes and tried to comb them out. "Speaking of sticking around, you're not," she pouted. "What am I supposed to do when you drip out?"

"How should I know?"

"Oh. I guess you wouldn't know yet." She cocked her head. "Haven't you ever watched your lovers? What do they do?"

"Lately they've all been laying on their backs." He chuckled. "The other times we've just drifted off to sleep together." Actually, he'd been too drunk most of those other times to notice. The girl usually went in the bathroom and he heard the toilet flush. Sometimes he passed out before then. If he was lucky enough. Poor Melissa would probably get confused again if he mentioned any of that.

"Why don't we both go down to the pond for a bath?"

"The pond?" She blinked. "Oh there. It'll spill down my leg on the trip."

"Why don't you just lay back like all the others?"

"No. Then I won't be able to help you today."

"I can get- "

"No. I wanted to spend time with you. That's not selfish of me is it?"

"Not at all. Give me that cloth."

"This?" He dipped it in the water. "Oh. I guess I can use the other towel on the wall to dry you."

"Don't worry about it." He handed the damp rag to her but she pushed it back into his hands. "Don't you think you should learn to do it?"

"Why?" She shrugged. "For all I know it might be the only time I'm allowed."

"Sorry."

"I know." She sighed as he spread her legs back and dabbled at the inexperienced girl with the cloth. "I would have liked to get married. Do you think I would have made a good wife? Would I have made a man happy?"

"You made me happy."

"I know. But I'm too young for you probably. But when I'm older, if I were in the real world, I'd like to think I could have met someone and taken care of him."

"Sure you could. You're sweet and pretty and most men would fall all over themselves for a girl like you."

"Really?"

"Really. There'd be no shortage of fellows willing to take very good care of you."

"They do that?"

"Do what?"

"Take care of you? Men do?"

"Of course. It works both ways, doesn't it?"

"Oh."

Jimmy sat on his heals a moment and puzzled over her comments. He was being kind of lazy on the island. Was she referring to that? It was his vacation, but they didn't know that. Or did the men never have a chance to act like men around here?

She gasped. "I'm a little sensitive right there."

"Sorry... Didn't anyone tell you what to expect? How to do all this yourself?"

"They said lie down. I guess I should have asked but I didn't want to let anyone know."

"They'd be upset?"

"I don't know. You hear things." Melissa let her legs fall together and she pranced across the room for the other towel, rubbing herself between the thighs when she got ahold of it. She returned to him quickly, with a fresh, gleeful expression on her face.

It was the same look she'd had when he came. He could hear it in his ears again, the way she'd yelped happily when she sensed him going rigid above her. He must have had that lover's scowl on his face but her boundless, girlish charm just beamed back at him, showering affection on her first and perhaps only male lover. There was something about that look, that twinkle in her eye as her smile sucked down her lower lip... as if she wasn't only pleased with him and the time and attention he'd spent on her but also delighted with herself just as much, overjoyed with what her body had done for him and the pleasure she'd given in return. Some... confidence- perhaps? Pride in her eye?

Would he ever understand her emotions about it?

It took her so long to disrobe... those long arousing seconds while he coaxed her from her toga. Those shy, gangly long limbs that he encouraged with a soft touch...

And now she darted around him with such assurance as she stroked his privates clean. Had she changed so much in half an hour? Had he changed her so much?

"How does it feel to be a woman?"

"Wonderful. I'm so happy, even if it means I never have a chance to sleep with another man."

"Not going to go gossiping about it are you?"

Her face paled as she washed his thigh. "Never," she shuddered.

His penis snaked out another inch as the shift in conversation made her timid again... but she didn't notice with it tucked under her palm. "Your girlfriend's gonna know when she peeks between your legs," he teased.

"Oh that. Sure. That's nothing. It's just sex. I'll be happy to talk about that." Melissa kissed him on the cheek. "But I'll never say a word about you," she whispered. "It was too beautiful to put into words anyway."

He pinched her fleshy hip. "I wouldn't want you spreading word around town that I'm an easy lay. I have my standards..."

She giggled.

"Hi Clarissa. Nice to see you again. Your legs look lovely. Not falling down anymore I hope?"

"Not yet," she grinned. "Here. I brought you some flowers."

Jimmy laughed. Had he said something to Amber about that last night? It didn't take long for word to spread.

"Is something wrong?"

"No. You just surprised me. They're lovely. Are the same kind in your hair?"

"Yes." She pulled a stem out from the bunch and poked it at his ear.

"No, honey." He took the yellow bloom from her. "Men don't wear flowers."

"Oh. Sorry."

"But you'd look very beautiful with one more." He tucked it away in her equally golden mane. "Can I keep the rest? They smell wonderful."

"Absolutely. Let me put them in this vase and they'll keep longer. Just change the water every- "

"I know how to treat flowers," he quipped as he cupped her cheek.

"I bet you do," she purred, casually dropping them in his bath water. "I bet you do..."

Her dress fell just as quickly.

"Is the world round?"

They sounded just like Amber's class. Yeah, Amber thought so too from the way she smirked at him as she passed the bread.

"Yeah it's round," he replied.

"Really?" Linda asked, double-checking just to be safe. She glanced at the ground again with that mild fear of rolling off still in her eyes.

"Really," he assured her. "The country I'm from is on the other side of the globe. Or at least it was. I have no idea where the island is now." He dipped the morsel in honey and took a bite. "Come to think of it, I guess your world might as well be flat. You can't go around it."

"So does that mean your world is flat too now?"

"Flat? I wouldn't say flat so much though it's not round either." He grinned as his eyes drifted down Linda's chest. "More like filled with little hills. Lots of little hills."

Amber giggled and poked him in the ribs.

Linda choked and spit up part of an apple while Melissa hit her on the back. The half-dozen women at the table were red with laughter.

"Amber? Weren't you supposed to answer these questions for them last week? Honestly. You don't teach these kids anything, do you?"

"No," she sighed. "They all think they're too smart for a little school."

"You'd think they'd want to go. It's the only other place on the island to pick up boys."

Andrea spurted a little water through her nose but the other ladies fell silent.

Linda cleared her throat. "Can you believe Hope's gone and gotten engaged to Catherine? They only had their first date two weeks ago."

"It must be love at first sight."

"Huh?" Jimmy set his cup down and sighed. "Love at- No... I think I know exactly what it is. I'll go talk with her."

"Why?"

"But Jimmy. It's too late. You've lost rights over her."

"Not if she rescinds."

Amber sat silently and finished her meal, seemingly unaffected by the change in conversation.

"Maybe Catherine will let her stay on a while."

"Catherine?" someone snickered.

"We'll have to get him a new volunteer."

"Susan likes him."

"We all like him," the ladies giggled. Even Amber laughed lightly.

"She just misunderstood something I said," Jimmy told them. "I'll straighten it out." He stroked Amber's forearm. She took a little long, Jimmy thought, to look him in the eye. "I'll be back," he smiled. "Don't go making any plans without me."

He stood and walked over to the corridor but then stopped and just stared at the curtains.

"Want one of us to show you where she is?" Amber asked.

He heard giggling behind him.

"Yeah..." Jimmy turned. "Andrea? You finished yet?"

She shoved the remaining rump of bread between her lips. "Swurf," she sputtered along with a couple of crumbs.

"But I'm- " Somebody kicked Melissa under the table.

Andrea and her breasts waddled to the door. "I think she's picking flowers not far from here. If we can't find her, I'll go ask Catherine for you."

He waved good-bye. "I'll see you again in a bit so please stay and enjoy the rest of the meal. If you can't, then I enjoyed the conversation as always."

They departed and were soon in the sunshine again.

"So are they really in love?"

"Who?" Andrea gave him a puzzled look, her eyes stabbing deep into his for a moment.

"Hope and Catherine."

"Oh. Those two." Her attention turned to the path again. "I didn't think so. Not until I heard about it."

"What do you know about the pair?"

Andrea shrugged. "I don't know them well at all. They're both very young. Catherine's only come of age."

"Come of age?"

"She's seventeen. The age of consent."

"Consent? You mean sex?"

"Sex? She can do that whenever she wants. No. Consent is for marriage. We'd allow it earlier but the new girls sometimes need a chance to readjust. It wouldn't be fair otherwise."

"Is it unusual to get married so young?"

Andrea shrugged again and pointed in the distance. "There's the field. Should I come with you?"

"I think I remember what she looks like."

"OK," she laughed. "I like you. You're a funny one."

"Funny, huh? Do me a favor and ask Amber... uh, I'd like to talk to her... tonight if she's not too busy."

"You like her, don't you?" Jimmy cocked an eyebrow. "No. I'm happy for you two, if that's what it is."

"You wouldn't be jealous?"

Andrea grasped the front of his toga and tugged it up and down. "No. I like you very much. Whatever makes you happy makes me happy."

"I like you very much too. And I do find you quite attractive."

"I know." She kissed him. "But there wasn't that spark, was there? When we had sex?"

The wrinkles in his brow relaxed. "We could go looking for it again."

"I'd like to," she laughed. "It was the most fun I've ever had in bed." Her eyes dropped to the rich brown earth. "And if you picked me I'm sure we'd be very happy. But I'd be glad just to have you as a friend if that's how it turns out. Sex is just sex, you know? If you find that spark, grab on and see what it turns into."

He kissed her on the cheek. "You already have me as a friend..." He worked a hand between her large, yielding bosom. "You give all your friends such big erections?"

"Stop!" she giggled. She yanked his hand away and spun him around. "Now go on. Fix Hope's love life."

Andrea pushed him toward the multicolored fields and walked back toward the palace.

Jimmy wandered through the rows of lovely young women picking at the variety of herbs and flowers until he stumbled across Hope.

He touched her on the shoulder. "Hey, Hope."

"Oh!" She shot up at the sound of the deeper voice, spilling her basket over the tall grasses. "You scared me."

"I just heard the wonderful news. I thought I'd come and congratulate you."

"Thanks." She kissed him on each cheek. "You're invited of course. We plan a public ceremony and everything."

"Is Catherine around? Can I meet her?"

"No. I don't know where she is right now."

"Oh. Maybe later then." Jimmy spied the trail again in the distance. "I can't quite remember my way back." He scratched his smooth cheek. "The area's still unfamiliar. Could you do me one last favor as a volunteer and show me the way? I don't think it takes more than ten minutes."

"Sure." He bent down to help her re-collect her flowers. The other smiling girls looked on from the corners of their eyes.

"Huh?" Jimmy rolled over in the warm afternoon air. She'd finally said something besides "hello" and "lick it?".

"I hope you read the paper a lot," she repeated.

Read. Past tense. "Why?"

"Man, because after they pump you, they'll pump you again for everything going on in the outside world. They'll ask you about books, movies, songs, world events, you name it. The more you can remember... well, you can keep them entertained for years at dinner."

Them? "You sound like you know from personal experience. I know I'm not supposed to ask that- "

"Don't tell my wife I told you but yeah I used to be a guy like yourself."

"Really?"

He looked at the woman reclining beside him. Her beautiful fair skin was quite sexy for a lady nearing forty. For any lady.

And she'd been a he? Like him? Was that why she wanted to get out of the palace? Bad memories?

She reached out with her delicate, long nails and shook his hand.

"Doug. Doug from California. Didn't want to freak you out earlier and ruin a good fuck."

"Doug? The surfer?"

"The same. Or used to be. Got washed out on my board. Wound up here in the mid '70s. Call me Rachel now. It's my name... I know. You're thinking what the hell is all that about?" She sighed. "I really am a woman. I don't mind guys and I sure don't mind women... Yeah, the old Doug's still there and now there's something new. You... you just have to go through it to understand."

She hadn't been much for conversation until now, though she'd been quite enthusiastic about everything else. And now she was practically babbling like a beach bunny.

Her movements were so odd. They had a strange matronly grace about them, coupled together with a kind of casualness. She resembled one of those women in the old black and white films you wanted to light a cigarette for. In fact, she looked positively out of place without one in the hand she draped over the bed's edge.

And she was telling him yet again he wouldn't understand...

"Is it that bad?" Jimmy asked.

"Nah. Once you get past periods... It's kind of funny in my case, actually. I was an obgyn man myself. Or I was going to be. Was in my last year of medical school when this happened. They have me help around here a lot in deliveries. Never thought I'd be dilating myself, though." She laughed lightly and patted her tummy. "Wish I had the tools to do in vitro fertilization but it's not so bad." She sighed. "Buuuuuut even if I did it wouldn't really solve anything. Your pecker would be gone at the end of the month anyway. Might as well fuck his brains out to take his mind off it." She leaned forward and inspected her crotch. "Ah. You wouldn't get this much pussy in the course of a normal lifetime anyway," she said off-hand, pulling her short hairs up by the roots before she placed another pillow under her hips.

"I get the feeling I'm not supposed to ask what people used to be or how the curse affected them."

"I don't mind."

"And others?"

"Well... even after you're no longer an outsider, for some people it's still a bit personal." Her butt squirmed again as the cinematic beauty scratched herself. "Rule number one is that we're all women. Like we'd been born that way. In your case it will take some getting used to. Learning how to pee again and all that." Her hands waved in the air and she fell into a whisper. "God I'd like not to have to squat anymore. Or just have a commode, you know?" Her voice shot up again and she turned to look at him. "It'll feel normal, of course. You'll be a full woman... but it's sort of like you've got someone else's memories. Anyway, when you are a chick you'll be an islander and you can find out whatever's common knowledge about someone. You'll find there are lots of different women, just like men. Some prefer you don't ask and are private about it but, quite frankly, they'll let you and me get away with murder if we want." Her limp wrist fell across her full bosom again. "Strange... before the change Doug... I'd made... had all these ideas and then never wanted to take advantage of the situation. Oh well... not much to take advantage of on this island anyway. Funny enough... it was me who was uncomfortable with a threesome. Imagine that..." Her mind wandered off a moment. "It's funny, you know. At least you and I had a taste of the normal life. They're the ones who have it really bad. Straight sex maybe once or twice. And yet they're the ones most... They're quite embarrassed about it, I think. Like it's them doing something. Three thousand years and they still aren't comfortable approaching it." She sighed. "Boy. What a way to go cold turkey that was..."

"It doesn't seem like the most appealing way to spend the rest of your life."

"You kidding? Hell, it was a blessing for me. I was so high when I went out that night on the waves, I thought I'd drown for sure. The sex? Anh." She shrugged. "If I miss anything, it's surfing. These boobs are too big and the waves are never- "

"You were intoxicated too? Huh. I was drunk. You think it's got something to do with lonely, drunken sailors?"

"Not just sailors. Anyone at sea. You should go talk to the old woman on the hill." Rachel knitted her brow. "Maybe it's booze," she hummed to herself. "I never really thought about it. What good would figuring it out do? How would you warn people?"

"I don't know. Put a message in a bottle?"

"Why? We never pop up in the same place and once you see that fire- " she snapped her fingers- "that's it."

"I guess you're right."

He thought about the less than three weeks he had before the ax fell.

"Is it like Doug's dead? What exactly happened to you? Am I going to- ?"

"No. It's not like dying. It's kind of like another weird puberty. I don't know how else to put it..." She pulled a flower from her hair and began chewing on the stem. "It's not like I wasn't ever him. It's been more than fifteen years. Some of the women say that's just a natural feeling toward the past... but... he's a little more disconnected than that. Like a distant husband I once knew... I once was intimate with and shared my life... but he's gone now.... or I've been reborn... maybe I'm his sister? And yet he's still there and still me and I haven't changed at all.... I don't know how to put it into words. I've tried. I'm not him and yet I was. And large bits still are... It's like sharing a home with someone who's never there." She patted him on the wrist. "Don't worry. It doesn't haunt me and it won't haunt you. It's like a shadow that casts itself over your thoughts now and again.... I suspect the part that doesn't change you can't notice..."

"Is that what all the former men say?"

"Former? Oh. They aren't really former." She sighed. "I know. It's hard to understand... Sorry to pour it all out on you like that but I've spent years thinking about it. We all do."

"How many others are there?"

"How many? Let's see. Five years ago there was the Spaniard. I don't think you've met her yet. She has a child already. There was me ten or eleven years before her. I lose count. After that... no, she's dead. Before me it was thirty years. Usually the drought lasts quite a while. If they keep coming at this pace, some of the women might have to quit having sex just to keep the population in check."

"That would suck."

Rachel laughed heartily. "That's probably what they'd do." She turned the stem over in her mouth. "Jeez. They were so fucking hard to talk into a blow job. Are they still that way?"

He shrugged.

"I'll give you another if you like. Was it good?" Jimmy nodded. "Good. I can still sort of remember what it feels like if I concentrate. I'd like to think it gives me an edge over the other ladies in that department."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Jimmy." She spit the crumpled stem out and stole another from her hair.

"I think I asked a girl something that upset her. I'm not sure."

"You asked her in bed if she used to be a guy and she got pissed?" Rachel laughed. "Yeah. Been there done that." She sighed and inspected her sticky privates again. "You hate having to ask them stuff too but sometimes they just won't spit it out."

"Exactly. She was explaining about my right to choose and- "

"Oh. That's much different."

"Huh?"

"She wanted you to pick her?"

"Yes. She said as much when- "

"She must have liked you to let you do that. They're not supposed to bring it up... You like her too?"

"Very much."

"Well why did you ask her that, then? I mean sex is one thing... You think you'd be more attracted to her if she'd always been a real woman? I mean, how would you feel about your wife being attracted to another woman after the new moon? You think she's some kind of hidden man-hater? A lesbian who was just waiting to jump you in your new vulnerable state?... Or what if she'd been screwed over like me and washed up as some man on this fucking island? You think she's some pervert for taking advantage of you as a woman? Or if she'd been born a boy... you going to pity her for what she'd lost and never had?" Rachel put a soft hand on his shoulder. "Sorry. Now that I'm in the position it pisses me off too. Shit it can give you a headache if you let it." She sighed. "I know you don't necessarily think all that but it did rush through your head at that moment, didn't it? And she knew it. It does you credit you worry how she thinks about you and why... but I'll tell you this as a friend. You gotta give all that up. It has no meaning here. It'll give you nothing but pain... We're all women. We're all exactly what we look like. And it's not a terrible thing by itself. Most of us are happy and have managed to fall in love with one another." Rachel shrugged. "But some haven't. If you stumble on it, then treasure it. Don't question a gift like that in this kind of place." Jimmy sat up in bed. "Sorry. Don't mean to run you off."

"Nah. I liked talking to you."

"You like her, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do. I think I do." He sighed and searched for his sandals. "Why don't you come by the palace and visit sometime? You can meet her. Come to think of it, why didn't I meet you earlier?"

"What do you want me to do? Fawn all over you and suck your dick?" She pinched him. "Didn't I just do that?"

"No. I meant- "

"I'm getting on in years, babe. I guess I'm about thirty-eight or thirty-nine but I've got closer to fifty years of memories up here." She tapped her head. "I just don't get as excited about it as I used to. Been queer too long I guess." She turned and kissed him. "No, really. You were great, sweety. I'd love to chat sometime. I just didn't want to drop a heavy load on you all at once. That first week's the most fun. You get to be a kid again. And what a candy store. Pussy, pussy, pussy. Everywhere pussy." Her lips puckered and wandered around in some strange dance, like they were greeting invisible strangers. "Only after five or six days do you want to start doing other stuff. If I'd popped in earlier, you'd have caught my accent for sure and it would have spoiled things." She put her hands under her butt. "It's why I kept my mouth shut (or filled)"- she grinned, "when you came over." Rachel kicked her legs over her head and rested them against the mud-brick walls. "That won't work," she muttered, red-faced. She turned a half-circle on the bed and then worked her heels up the wall, flashing him an upside-down look of pride as her head filled with blood. "Much better." She wiggled her legs back and forth, in and out of a split.

It gave him a lovely view of certain parts. Could any of the other girls do that?

"What's that for?"

"You're little thing there didn't deposit your whole load very close to my cervix. I've got to stand on my head to get it all in... I hate it when it drips," she whispered. "Looks sexy as hell but it tickles you to death."

"Isn't there an easier way to do it?"

"Sorry. I'm a doctor, not a physicist... and I kinda like the rush."

Jimmy chuckled and yanked on his shrinking member. "They say I'll have to do that someday."

"Yeah. Maybe."

He sighed at the gleaming slit that held his attention like a hypnotist. "Pussy pussy pussy," he fired out, doing his best to imitate her enthusiasm. Rachel laughed. "You miss it being married?"

"If I were a guy I would...." She thought on it a moment. "Well maybe not. I don't know. I've never been married as a guy. I love my wife of course..." She smiled. "There's certainly no shortage of pussy in the bedroom," she laughed. "One to lick and two to run my fingers through." She pointed to his genitals. "I miss that. I'd like to have one sinking in me every night but, oh well." She shrugged. "I finally have a lifetime supply of pussy. That's marriage for you." Her cheeks were positively crimson now. "Ah!" she cracked. "Life changes when you get older, kid. Seeing the same one every night isn't such a bother. You won't miss the variety, I bet... but if you do, I'm sure whoever you pick'll let you run around on her. They're extra nice to us."

Her creamy breasts took on a wonderful glow in their interesting new shape. They pooled like two giant nose cones under her chin and quivered delicately while she breathed.

"Well.... as sexy as you look like that- you don't mind me saying that do you?"

"Not at all. I take it as a compliment."

"Well as sexy as you look, I'd better be going."

"Hey. Thanks again for the thorough screwing. You don't know how long it's been," she sighed. "I really needed a good, straight fuck. You were fantastic. Let me know if I can ever do you any favors... Oh. And if you've found someone special, spend as much time as you can with her. You'll treasure it." He gave her a sideways glance from the door, stopped and cocked his head. "Yeah. Even sex. I know she'll object but no one will know. Wait until everyone goes to bed."

"Was that how your wife got twins?"

Rachel winked.

"Um. Did you... you... Someone said you don't mind more than one woman at a time. Is that right?"

"Yeah. Why?" He pinched Melissa's bottom. "You want to join the next batch?"

"No. I have other arrangements for tonight... Unless you want me to change them."

"Not at all. It must be fun getting to have all that teenage sex whenever you want and not having to worry about getting pregnant."

"Fun?" The final word tripped her up.

"Uh never mind. So who's next?"

"That's what I wanted to ask you. Ellen is. She was wondering if her wife Lydia could come along for fun."

"Sure. I like an extra face. I haven't had that much fun since Francesca's."

"Oh they're a little different than that couple but I'll send them in."

"Thanks. You can skip off if you want."

"No. I'll hang around a bit." Melissa parted the curtains. "You can both come in." She disappeared between the pair as they emerged from the shadows.

Two brunettes, both naked. Both lovely as always.

Was he getting a bit jaded?

The one with the D cups stepped forward, with a gleam on her bald crotch. Her slightly less endowed companion remained near the door.

"We were warming up in the hall. We didn't know if you'd say yes or not."

"Well, yes."

"Huh?"

"I said yes. Come on in."

He waved at the other girl, but she just stood there as her girlfriend pulled him to bed.

"I'm guessing you're Ellen?"

"Mmm." She kissed him. "Yes."

"Is Lydia going to join us."

"Yes. She doesn't want a child of her own, though. Would you please not poke your thing in her? Just to be safe?"

"Sure." What could he do with her then? "Is she going to stand over there and watch or something?"

"No." Ellen waved her on. "So this is it, huh?" She stroked his semi-erect cock. "I just rub it until it goes off?"

"Something like that."

"So this is the big difference?"

"I guess."

"Can I look it over? Do you mind? I've never seen one before."

"Not even a little boy's?"

"Well sure," Lydia said. "But not... you know," she said, flustered.

"Want to suck on it?"

"Mmm. Not really."

Sigh. Rachel was right.

"Want me to suck on you?"

"No. Lydia will manage."

Lydia frowned. "You're not ready yet?"

"No. I only came once."

"You don't need to come at all."

"They said he likes watching it."

"I thought that's what I was for."

"Ladies, ladies. Can we... get down to some serious sex here or what? In the interests of diplomacy, why don't you both lick each other?"

"At the same time?" "Great."

"No. Ellen, you get on top."

"Why?"

He wagged his hardening erection at her. "Because you're easier to get to up there."

"Oh. I keep forgetting about that part. Yes of course. Whatever's better for you... can you see Lydia well from there? Should I move my head over more?..."

Her tongue flailed through her lover's parted snatch. Lydia's pink fin fluttered back and forth a moment before splitting in two and opening like petals.

"That's perfect," he replied.

"Ooo," she squeaked. "I guess I am ready."

"You're right honey." Lydia's breath tickled his balls. "It is a lovely view... Is it as good as they say?"

"Ssshleph. Yes dear, it is. But I... unh... can't talk right now and keep both of you... unh... pleased... unh... unh..."

"Sorry."

Amber scooped the flowers up and straightened them. The blue vase that she set in the window contrasted nicely with the setting sun.

"Someone brought them by this morning. She tried to put one in my hair."

"She didn't mean anything by it," Amber said, stroking one of the long stems. "It's just courting ritual."

"Didn't mean anything?" Jimmy laughed. "Anyway, they'd look much better on you..."

"Yellow's not my color."

"You don't like it? I think it's lovely."

"No. It's a pretty shade. I just don't wear it well."

"You're wrong," he said, pulling another green stem from the vase. "You wear every color well... What? Upset I'm cheap enough to pass off another girl's gift on you?"

"No."

She smiled as he worked one into her curls.

"Would you like to stay tonight?"

She clasped the hand stroking her cheek. "Are you ready to choose yet?"

"Choose...?"

"The one you want... I'm not asking you to. It's just that we spent so much time together yesterday and since you're not sure... You might want to visit with other women so you can find out. Andrea likes you very much. And so does Linda. All your volunteers."

"If I asked you to spend the night again, would you stay?"

"Of course."

"You want to?"

"Yes." She kissed him.

"I wouldn't have to choose?"

"Not at all. I just thought... it would, you know, help you make a decision... if you want to make one. The other girls really like you. You should enjoy your time with them." She slid a finger along the soft stem in her hair. "If you pick me we'll have the rest of our lives together. But if you want only me for tonight, I'd be honored, nonetheless. It's completely up to you. It's not like it's sex or something. We're just sharing a bed." She stuttered a moment and her eyes wobbled. "I'm not being this way because of what you asked earlier. I'm not mad at you about last night. In fact, it was very sweet. I'll always treasure it." Amber kissed his hand. "I just thought I'd mention it since we've been together so much. You shouldn't feel rushed and you should... well, get to know all the others better too." She sighed. "You know what I'm saying?"

"Sure." He cupped the back of her neck and watched the sun's final rays flicker in her equally red hair. "Stay the night."

"OK."

He kissed the fingers on his cheek. "Which bed do you like better? Yours or the palace's?"

"Oh. This one. It's the biggest on the island."

"And it's my mess to clean up." She smiled but didn't laugh. "You're so serious when we're alone together like this."

"I'm not," she protested mildly.

"What is it, then?"

"It's how I feel."

"How is that?"

Amber watched his face in silence a moment, then let out a sigh and turned her back to stare at the setting sun with him, pulling his arms around her waist and nuzzling his shoulder.

"Passionate."

He looked at the hints of distant angry sea with her.

"Not romantic?" he asked.

"All of it... mmmm." She was quiet again. "Don't tell anyone but I brought a calfskin blanket for us. They don't- Ow!" She jumped in his arms but kept her eyes glued to the sunset. "What was that for?"

"Your excuses are getting pretty flimsy. You planned for this..."

"I know," she snickered. "I know." She stroked the thinning hairs on his forearm. "I'm trying to be a good friend to everyone."

"You have to be true to yourself before you can be true to others."

She pinched him back. "I'm here, aren't I?"

Amber yawned and stretched her arms toward the dawn sky.

"What are you doing, love?"

"Looking for some fishing wire. I know I left it in here somewhere. Ah. There're the gloves. That'll help. And there's the spool."

"You could use a net if you'd like. One of the fisherwomen will loan you one I'm sure."

"No. I'd rather- There's a lure. I thought I'd lost that... I could use some bait, though." He was a bit curious to see if he could cast without a rod. And nets just weren't very sporting. "Why's this junk still under the bed anyway?"

"It's yours. Where would you like it?"

"Mine, huh? How generous. Do I give it up after the new moon too?"

"No. It's yours forever... well, what's left is."

"What's left?" Jimmy asked, looking over the crate again. There were some missing items. A lot, when he thought about what he'd had on his boat. What had they shown him that night, though? It was all so vague. And he wasn't in the mood to go fishing through his last tenuous threads to the outside world again. "What's gone? I can't remember."

"Some items were appropriated for the good of the village."

"Like what?"

"Well. If you don't miss them, why are you worried?"

"You say the same thing about next month," he huffed. "Come on, don't you think you've taken enough of my stuff?" He patted his crotch.

"Please. You're being well-compensated for your donations, don't you think? And I said they'd loan you a net." Amber yawned again. "Are you going out this early?"

"I don't know. Where's my little elf for the day?"

"Elf? I don't know that word."

"Santa's little helper. My knight in shining armor."

"Huh? Your volunteer?"

"Yeah."

"It's me, I think." She blinked at the shadows of night still lingering in the woods. "Yes. It is me. This is one morning I'm actually supposed to be here." Jimmy shoved the crate back under the bed with a clatter and chewed at the end of the clear wire like dental floss. "Is something wrong?"

"My chest is killing me. Can you do anything?"

"Wellll... I'd like to say I'm sorry but I can't. I'm not supposed to."

Jimmy looked over to find her grinning and returned the smile. "See? I knew you had a sense of humor about it somewhere in there." He put the twine down on the bed and sighed. "My hips hurt again too. I'm getting fucked up, aren't I?"

"I think you're still handsome."

"Yeah?" What did she know? He sighed again. They kept telling him not to look in any mirrors... "Am I going to be bitchy all morning too?"

"It goes with the tits..." she cracked. "Some wine or sex should clear it up. You'll feel it one or two mornings more then it'll be gone." She kissed him on the neck and began to massage his nipples. "There's an old dock out about half a mile from here. Nobody goes there but they say the fishing's good. I'll take you and leave you with a little wine. You'll feel better in an hour or two and you can come back up. Or I can send her down to you." She stroked his erection. "Unless you don't want to waste this. I can get her now..."

"You have an interesting way of casting a line. Did you catch much with it?"

"A sunburn." Jimmy rubbed the abused skin under his long sleeves, wishing he had taken Amber's fashion advice earlier. Her it gave freckles. Him it cooked.

Enough with the baking jokes, already. He should have said his name was Schwartz when he arrived. Let them fuck with a name like that. His Jewish officemate would get a kick out of it.

'Interesting,' huh? The queen thought his cast was 'interesting?' That's how she put it? He probably looked like a plastered cowboy trying to lasso his own foot...

"It will disappear tomorrow."

Huh? Oh she's still talking about the sunburn...

Lucia put up a protective hand to the afternoon sun and walked closer along the sandy shore. "Was it better from the other dock?"

Jimmy gazed at the three nondescript, rather smallish silver-scaled creatures by his knee and then at the bulging nets of the three boats still out near the reef. "It was for me," he said nonchalantly.

Maybe he should try her spear idea.

Once that popping noise quit in his hip socket...

The Queen stopped and watched the seagulls circling the boats. "Where's Amber?" she asked, eyes still off in the sky.

"She's around here somewhere. Poor girl promised to clean whatever I caught. I think that's why she's been scaring the fish off all day."

He heard a few giggles in the distance.

Jimmy pulled the line in and looped it up again, then tossed it out like an inept cat burglar trying to scale a building in the wrong direction.

Damn these hot gloves. It was either sweat up a storm or cut up his hands.

"I would offer you a spear but you can't seem to hit anything with it."

"Nothing important, anyway."

More laughter from the background.

He looked to see Lucia squinting back at him. The afternoon was turning out to be pretty enjoyable after all.

"I have some rocks here. Perhaps you could just stun them and jump in after them. I'm sure you would catch more."

He yanked the line back up. "Careful or I'll wrap you up in this crap along with me."

"I doubt you could even get it this far. Regardless, you would probably throw the wrong end again."

Jimmy sighed.

"Why is it none of the other ladies complained about my aim?" Snickering broke out all around him. "If I, uh, fished in the wrong hole I'll be happy to try again... but I must say that would be more your fault than mine."

Every woman within earshot collapsed in hilarity.

"We'll see," Lucia muttered with a hard smirk on her face. "You know," she shouted, "one would think you would have had your fill of fish by now."

"If I'd caught what you did, maybe I wouldn't be hanging around the docks looking for more." He reeled the twine back. "Why are you here? Watching my technique just in case?"

"Do you see any fish in my hands?"

"No. But then you're short a spear too."

That did it. Now she was scowling.

"I can get one," she threatened.

"Well no one would definitely complain about your aim."

"You're damned right."

"More like effectiveness, maybe." He looked for her reaction as he prepared to cast again. "Uh... pardon me, Lucia. I know the smokehouse is supposed to smoke but is the barn next to it?"

"What?"

She didn't get that one.

"Behind you," he pointed out. "It's not a joke."

"Alarm! Alarm! Fire!" "Find all the children!"

Jimmy dropped his line. Was there a bucket anywhere?

He looked at the long robe Amber had given him to cover his legs and then at the deep, rolling green washing by under foot. He ran for shore, pounding the rickety old boards in the pier, then swerved and hopped in with about twenty feet left.

He sloshed to dry land, making sure to keep hold of his sandals as he ran into the throng gathering around the source of panicked squeals. Amber stood close to the smoking doorway with a sash wrapped around her mouth.

"Is anyone inside?" he asked.

"Lucia's gone inside for the butcher. It's possible a child or two."

He ripped the fabric from her hands and pushed her back. "Get as much water up here as- "

"We're already starting."

Lucia's blackened face appeared coughing in the doorway. "I couldn't find anyone but I think there's someone in there."

Amber beat the sporadic flames out of her toga while Jimmy wrapped the fabric around his face and tied it in a knot. He took the first bucket of water to arrive, tossed half of it in the window and doused himself with the rest.

Hands immediately tore at his clothing.

"Noooo!" the crowd screamed. "Don't let him go!" "Stop him!" "Please don't!"

Somebody pulled them away and he crouched down in the smoke filled portal.

He could see about six inches from the ground but it didn't do much good. He hadn't been in this building before.

The damn women were still outside yelling at him and cursing. It was hard to hear anything.

He crawled toward the wall in front of him.

"Jimmy? Jimmy? Go to your left. That's probably where she'll be. The pens are on your right."

Left. OK. He turned and found a doorway.

Uf. Something knocked him over. Something with four legs.

There were pigs everywhere. The squeals filled his ears.

He pushed them as far toward the daylight as he could.

At least it looked like daylight. It was getting hard to think. It could be something else couldn't it?

What was that around the corner? He grabbed a leg. Did he hear a woman's voice? He saw spots.

It was hot.

He needed to leave.

He stumbled, coughing, back into the day. He yanked at the mask on his head until it slowly unraveled.

"Ugh. You saved half a pig."

"What?" He dropped the carcass. "Wrap me up again and douse me. I heard a voice."

He watched the all-to-surreal scene while hands soaked him down. If he could only laugh. Lucia darted about in the buff, breasts jiggling wildly as she chased after two of the flaming pigs with her ruined toga as a net.

"Just smash it with a rock..." "Use the wineskins..." "Is the butcher asleep again?" "I can't find her..."

The Queen managed to pin one of the poor sows and someone clubbed it until it stopped twitching. Blood splattered on her grimacing face.

Suddenly the image was gone.

The world disappeared in a narrow slit again. Someone was pushing him into the billowing black curtain. He had to find that voice.

A dead goat.

He'd come back for it.

There was that room again.

His hands and knees were getting hot. He heard more female voices this time. They were frantic.

There was nothing in this room. Unless she might be in that chair.

He knocked it over.

No.

The pens maybe?

He crept back toward the door and heard a dozen voices yelling, "Come out!"

Lucia was dressed again, down on the ground and pulling the dead goat away. "That's all," she said, waving him on.

He stood in the late afternoon sun again and felt a dozen hands beating at him. What were they so pissed about?

Shit. He was smoking.

He pulled the damn thing off and rolled around in the sand and salty mud.

Someone soaked him with a wayward bucket. The sea water stung. Fingers started brushing away the grime but he pushed them back. "I'm fine. Help someone else."

He sank back to the earth and stared at the figures towering over him who rushed by against the blue and white sky.

The Queen's charcoal-colored cheeks came into view.

"I was wondering when I'd get to see those- cough- wonderful breasts again."

Lucia chuckled. "You must like pork." She reclined next to him, quite naked once more.

"Who needs fish when you can have pork?"

"Indeed."

"They find everyone?"

Lucia pointed to a gray haired woman with a well-worn bosom.

"Yes. Someone fell asleep and we couldn't find her. All the children are fine. There's no one inside."

"You saved the goat, I see."

"Yes, thank Zeus. She was only passed out." The queen sighed and then her heavy breasts shuddered with coughing. She spit something up before turning again to Jimmy. "Aren't you a baker? Aren't you supposed wait until things are fully cooked?" He shrugged. "It was just swine. I could have seen to it."

"I didn't know. I though I heard a..." He rested his head on the ground and chuckled at her. "I like your new fashion."

"I have a lot of sewing to do," she sighed. "I hate sewing. I think I'll go without for the next few days."

Jimmy twisted his sunburned neck in its mushy cradle and noticed the crisp brown ends of her hair. "Changing your hair style too?"

Lucia smirked. "Lost the rest of yours I see." She patted his chest and the puffy nipples trembled sweetly.

"Huh?" He looked down.

It was gone.

He took a last deep gasp and peered at the gray sky.

"What a day..."

At least nothing was hurting right now. It would when the adrenaline wore off.

He tried to catch his breath and sit up again but before he knew it he was surrounded by beautiful, if grimy faces. For a moment they looked like the shell-shocked veterans of a Miss America bake-off gone awry.

His chuckles descended into dry hacks.

Amber threw a blanket over him. The hills of rumpled fabric still smoldered in parts like a prehistoric mountain range.

The women blinked several times, like judges contemplating his fate. And then they opened on him like floodgates.

"You shouldn't have gone in." "We could handle it." "Lucia would have been fine on her own." "What if you'd- " "That would be horrible- " "What would we do?"

"Gee, thanks."

The Queen just laughed and patted him on the thigh. Jimmy rose on his elbows.

A steady drizzle began to fall.

"Figures," he whispered.

The crowd broke up and Amber came into view again with Andrea at her side.

"Come on," Andrea said. "Let's get you out of here and take care of those burns."

Julia and some woman he didn't recognize stood in front of him with a giant plastic paint bucket, tipped and dripping in his direction.

He pointed a chiding finger at them. "No more salt water."

The pair turned and stumbled off toward the barn, shoulder to shoulder, sunken together by the weight of the liquid like two lovers meeting across a table.

He crawled upright and coughed, doing his best to fix the blanket around his waist. Amber and Andrea positioned themselves under each arm until he slumped down on them.

He felt more tired than he ought to. Was it the smoke?

"I guess that was pretty useless and stupid of me."

"No," Amber said. "It was brave." Two hands spread across his back and locked together. "Someone could have been trapped. It's what you were supposed to do, isn't it?" She paused a moment before starting him up the path.

"What do you think Andrea?"

Andrea just laughed like she usually did. "I think Dahlia doesn't know whether to bless or curse you. You keep showing her wife up." Amber joined her in laughter. "I bet the Queen wishes she'd waited much longer in the lottery."

"We all do," Amber sighed.

"They're almost gone. I didn't believe Lucia when she said it."

"I told you the medicine was powerful. We've had fires before."

"Is she still wandering the palace naked?"

Jimmy rubbed his neck. The sunburn was almost gone too. Was it the magic? The soreness in other places was definitely back. And his cough was still strong even though Lucia was fine.

"No. She's dressed now. Something happened this morning. I think she and Dahlia had an argument about it. I'm not sure, though. Dahlia was naked too and now they're both clothed again." Amber shrugged. "It's not unusual. You'll see more naked women in the coming months."

"Even more?!" His jaw dropped open.

"It won't have quite the same effect," she replied sarcastically. "That's why we restrain ourselves more when there are men around and boys of age. It's a tease."

"Really? And with Linda? It doesn't tease her?"

"Yes. But as I said, she isn't affected quite the same."

He put a finger up from his crotch, cocked his thumb back like a trigger and made a gun noise. Amber just giggled. She still didn't know what guns were but she understood everything else.

"Did you like meeting Rachel the other day?"

"Yeah, I did."

"She said you had a good talk."

"She's, uh, she's unique."

"She is. She wants to come over sometime and have dinner if you'd like. Just the two of you. And later with her wife and others if you want."

"Care to join us?"

"Sure. She's a bit outrageous at times but I guess you already know that." Amber frowned as several instances came to mind. "You know the Queen lets her look at every woman's private parts at least once?... but when she does then she pokes you and it's not any fun. Why? It's uncomfortable and kind of rude." Jimmy chuckled. "I guess it's OK. Doug did father thirty-three children. I wonder what her wife puts up with, though." She arched a curious eyebrow to her amused companion. "You won't ask to do that will you?"

"No, honey. She's a doctor. She does that to check on everyone's health."

"But it's always the same. We don't have those sorts of problems." Wrinkles formed in Amber's forehead. "She's an excellent midwife but... the other stuff's not appropriate. And with pregnant women I heard she sometimes... oh forget it."

"It's a normal part of being a woman on the outside."

"Women do that to each other?"

"No. It's how we look after their health. No one's protected by magic in the real world."

"Oh. She says that but it never really registered until I saw how much you coughed. And that sunburn. Is it better now?"

"Almost gone. Say... Rachel said something about an old woman living up on the hill. You know anything about that? It's the only place I haven't seen yet."

"Miranda? The poor woman. We should have given her a new name after she arrived... The view's lovely, though. It's easy to see why she stays up there. I'll send you with Hope. She sometimes takes provisions to her. It's her day anyway... such a shame about her engagement."

"Yeah. Terrible... What? Not going to ask what happened?"

"No."

"Aren't you curious?"

"I'm not that nosy. I know you and she had a mix up. I think it's probably her fault but for some reason you're doing your best so it doesn't look that way. I won't pry."

"If you want me to tell you," he smiled, "all you have to do is ask."

"Honestly. If you want to get something off your chest go right ahead. I'll listen and I won't blab."

He placed her fingers on his silver dollar nipple and tried to coaxed her into pulling on it. "You're not strong enough to get what I really want off my chest." Amber slapped his knuckles. "But since you twisted my arm so badly, I'll tell you. I had this dream- "

"I know. Linda told me about it."

"She did?"

"Yes. She thought it could be important."

"Huh. Well the long and short of it was, Hope figured I had this hidden desire to marry her so she went and got engaged." Jimmy chuckled. "Only... it wasn't that she didn't like me. She just figured it would discourage me. Poor Catherine didn't know a thing about it so now she's on her ass clueless."

"You told Hope you wanted to marry her?"

"No," he drawled. "She asked if I did in the dream so I said yeah, for a moment I did. And then she hinted at it in real life and I guess I laughed and didn't say no. I thought she was joking. I mean she was smiling about it... What do you think? Is it my fault?"

The redhead folded her legs in bed as she mulled it over. "A little bit. But mostly hers. I told you teenagers drive you crazy."

"How did you put up with yourself at that age?"

"I was nice. You would have liked me. I wouldn't have married you or run off either, but you would have liked me."

"I thought you didn't have the say? I thought it was all mine?"

"OK. So I might have run off with Andrea."

He laughed. "No you wouldn't... Let's see." He hummed to himself. "You would have set me up with Linda or something and that would have taken care of it."

"Yeah, you're right," Amber snickered. "Why didn't I think of that? It's neater... but Linda? She runs around too much... Now Andrea. She's got much bigger breasts. She'd land you."

He pinched her fleshy hip. "She still might," he teased. "But you're wrong. Linda's nipples are too pretty. You have to take size into account there too."

"Yes. They are nice."

He brushed a red curl from Amber's eye and kissed her. "So did I do the right thing with Hope? What would you have done to fix it?"

"I guess that's it... I don't see any real way though of keeping Catherine happy."

"Maybe one of us should marry her."

Amber chuckled. "I don't think she likes anyone living in the palace right now."

"Probably not."

"At least Hope's friendly with you again. I guess it's her job to patch up with Catherine anyway."

"I still think she'll try to push me over a cliff. Sure you don't want to go up with me?"

"No. I've been before. It's nothing special... Miranda's sweet. I think you'll like her. She's very sad though."

"Sad? Will I get that way?"

"Not if we can help it."

"So do you want to help out for one more day? Or are you going to leave me in the hands of Hope?" Jimmy chuckled. Did they ever make fun of her name that way?

Amber poked him with a nail. "Hope likes you."

"But do you want to help out more? It'll give us a chance to be together more."

"It's just sex," she said. She caught his reaction and frowned. "You're going to pinch me again, no matter what I say. I know it."

"No I won't.... well I will but not for that."

Her mouth curled in a grin. "What do you want me to tell you?"

"I don't know."

"I'd like to spend more time with you... but... doing other things, if you know what I mean."

"OK."

The trip up to the mountain took more than an hour and hope was more than eager to pass the time in conversation. Though the topic never drifted back to Catherine, Hope was all too happy to fill him in on the comings and goings of the rest of the village. There wasn't much to discuss other than what people were like and, like Melissa, the young girl was plenty happy to gossip about personalities.

The big events in the village which were rare and far between seemed to consist mostly of yesterday's fire and whatever washed up on the shore.

And the list of the later was impressive.

About six months ago, Melissa had found a box women's lingerie on the other side of the island. From what he could figure, she made regular trips around the island like many did just to see what had washed up. And it seemed the gods had a sense of humor about the whole thing. A box of mostly corroded condoms had washed up with the lingerie, plus a few cans of motor oil, which Melissa had stupidly assumed was some form of chocolate, tasted and thrown back into the sea. Apparently they were destined for the island, though. Lucia stumbled across the white containers again while on a boar hunt and put them to use dipping torches.

The children blew the condoms up to make what was only the second set of balloons the island had ever seen... until Rachel stumbled into class and told a redfaced one of Amber's colleagues that they weren't quite like that other batch of 'balloons' that had washed ashore in her youth. Before Rachel could snatch them up, the teacher popped the handful that still retained air and buried them in the sand. And such was the fate of the only prophylactics the island had ever seen. When Lucia found out what they really were for, she outlawed them and ordered any more burned on sight. Balloons too, just to be safe. Jimmy couldn't stop laughing.

The lingerie was another story.

The women giggled hysterically for a week and couldn't find an appropriate use for it. It looked silly in the daylight but they loved wearing it to work in, though the fabric ended up ruining too easily. Rachel and Antonia tried explaining the concept but to no avail.

Hm. Six months ago... He laughed as he worked out the dates in his head. It sounded like a Valentine's Day offering to the island. Useless rubbers, unheard of lingerie and bitter chocolate. It was all somehow appropriate.

Hope went on to describe some sort of electronic device that had made it to land. Rachel and Antonia must not have thought it was very important. They sent it floating back out to sea. But the packing material was another matter. A cat-fight broke out over who would get to pop the last of the plastic bubbles.

Then there was the shipment of fortune cookies that washed up. They loved breaking the seals on those too. And then laughing hysterically at the predictions therein. "You will marry a beautiful woman." "You will be rich beyond all dreams." "Things are looking up." (Hope blushed and giggled). "Every journey begins with a step." So many philosophical cliches that had taken a bizarre twist here... They still greeted one another using the lines as jokes. He realized now why one girl sent the dinner table into hysterics when she crouched down like a cat and eyeballed her plate from several different angles: "Watch what you eat."

And there were the cartons of spoiled eggs. The useless camera. The car batteries and license plates. The dead whale. The box of gift wrapping (little girls went around with the bows pinned to their hair for a year- Hope still had hers). The jock straps- Hope couldn't keep from turning red and sputtering in laughter when she mentioned them. She wanted to offer him one but they'd all been sewn into a hammock.

(Must be some hammock...)

There were wet matches. The rusting baseball bat. The flotilla of little plastic buckets that said 31 flavors. No one understood that find. Jimmy tried explaining but she still didn't get it. Ziplock bags. Tons of them, like a grocery store had exploded. A rusted stapler. A spool of telephone cord. Plastic pipes. More styrofoam than they knew what to do with. More plastic pipes. Dentures. Ice-chests out the ears. They loved those for carrying things. An anatomy skeleton, from the way she described it (it was like being in a bone of the month club. A different piece showed up each day). Rachel kept it to show students. Even part of an iceberg washed up once. It didn't last long, but the kids loved it while it did. Rachel turned it into another science lesson.

Anything that floated. (And some amazing stuff that didn't). You name it, they'd gotten a little of it at some time or another. Not much of it, of course, could be put to its original uses, but they made do with it. They turned everything from gaskets and screws to copper wire and shark's teeth into jewelry. When they couldn't make the fiberglass automotive shell sea worthy, they tacked on a few pipes, stuck it on the roof and that's where some of the palace's fresh water came from.

Nothing remotely compared to the story of the tampons Amber had first told him. Hatreds still lingered over that. They traded the things like cigarettes in jail. It was nice to hear Amber and the other younger women were smart enough to stay out of it.

Hm. Perhaps they just weren't old enough to have rights over it. He still couldn't figure out how they decided who got what. Sometimes the stuff stayed with whoever found it. Other times it went to the person who knew how to best use it, like Rachel or Antonia. Or him now. Hope wanted him to look at what sounded like a kite that had washed ashore.

By the time she got around to mentioning it, she'd already introduced him to Miranda and started lying out the fruit and strips of dried beef in the cave. Before he knew it he was watching her light brown hair flutter in the wind as she trekked back down the hill.

"Have you enjoyed your stay?"

"Yes, mam."

"Mam? Please don't call me that. No one else here does."

"Is there a special title or something that they- "

"No. Just call me Miranda. I know I probably remind you of your grandmother. We all go by first names here, except for the queen when she's being a queen."

"Did you know her when she was a little girl?"

"Who?"

"Lucia. The queen."

"No. I've gotten to where I stay up here most of the time. I try to keep busy making knickknacks and other things I can trade. God, paradise can be boring... Would you like some wine? I have my own vines."

"That would be lovely. Not too much, though. I have to get back down on my own."

"Of course." She handed him a small cup. "Is that plenty?"

"Thank you. So how long have you been stranded?"

"Stranded?" She looked around the cave. "I guess I am stranded, probably more than anyone else... After a while you have to call it home, though." She sighed and took a sip. "Forty... almost fifty years, now, I guess."

She was fairly handsome for a woman who must be retirement age.

Retirement? Did that apply here?

"So you grew up... during the Great Depression? Is that right?"

"Oh honey. I did more than grow up during it. I was in my thirties when I got here. I was lost at- well, I got here during the second world war. It added a whole fifteen years to this dull life." She sighed. "This is a hard existence for a flapper."

"I'm sorry you weren't able to, uh, fit in with the other women."

"Ah! Sorry!" she cracked. "I heard that word a lot." She poured the remainder of her burgundy drink on the dirt floor. "The thought of it still turns my stomach... though I suppose at my age just thinking about sex makes me a pervert." She pinched a fleshy wad of his cheek. "I'm glad you visited. You're still quite a looker, you know. I don't get to see many men."

"Will it... will it be like that for me? Will I not be able to- "

Miranda shivered. "I don't know. I hope not but I don't know much about it. Why don't you ask one of the islanders?"

"You never wanted to... I don't know, just hang out around the young children and help out there?"

"No. What the mothers do... disturbs me. And it's too painful to watch the little faces sometimes."

"So you did want children?"

"Yes. I tried four times but it never worked. They said I might be infertile. Something about real women intruding. Only the former men... I don't know. No one knows for sure. A few native women have rolled the dice more than I did and failed... at least their library said as much. Who knows why?"

"Only four?"

"I... I just couldn't do it to one of those poor lads like that. Seeing what was happening to them... I hate that place." The old woman cleared her throat. "I'm being a poor host. Please. Let's visit a while... and please, feel free to come up anytime you like. The view's lovely here. You can see forever."

"That's about how far I need to go..."

"Yeah. It's the damndest magic. You know I've never once seen a ship from up here? And my eyes are still quite sharp. Nothing but clear blue sea... Not any moving light at night, except for the occasional shooting star... but look. I... later, when you change... I enjoy visiting with other women very much too, though few ever make it up here. Rachel's been such a friend to me over the years. I've even visited her home once or twice whenever, uh, she's by herself..."

Jimmy finally sampled her brew and faced the crisp winds.

"So how has the world changed?" she asked.

"Which curse are you talking about? The curse of womanhood?"

"Yes."

"The age old curse?" She patted his knee. "It's not so bad. In some ways it's a friendly reminder. You'll know what I mean when you have your first one." Miranda sighed, then stood and looked out from her cave at the distant blue and green below. "It's a greater shock when it ends," she whispered. "It visits a little less and a little less each time. You skip a month or two. Finally you look down and there's just a little splotch..." Suddenly her eyes were farther off than any flock of birds. There was a long stretch of silence before she sighed. "There's nothing to describe it when you look between your legs and watch the spring of blood dry up... the last bit trickle from you and you know... you feel somewhere inside you that was the end of it. Your last chance to have a child. And you know... that chapter is closed." She turned to him and the wind caught her long silver hair, turning it white in the beams of sunlight. "Well, there are other things to life than being a mother... More tea?" she asked.

"No." He fidgeted on the pile of animal hides she called her sofa, the warmth of her wine finally spreading in his cheeks. Something in her words made his impending loss seem small in comparison. "I'm sorry," was all he could think to say.

"I'm sorry too. I hope at least you have... find your happiness, whatever it may be."

"If nothing else happens to me, I think I'll at least have that."

"Good. I'm sure you'll be happy with whomever you pick."

"I wish you could have had someone."

"I know," she sighed. "I know. Some days I... I wish I'd lost more of myself after the first new moon." She let out a half-hearted laugh. "I wish I could have fit in... When I was a young woman before I came here... briefly... once there was someone... I can still remember him, plain as the moon some days..." she mused. "I suppose a taste is all they ever have either..."

"I could be that someone again, if you'd let me. Though... though it would be brief again..."

The grayish wisps stirred about her waist like the grasses on the ridge below. His hand drifted up to her arm, caressing soft skin that, after all these years, had still retained its shape. She looked at least ten years younger now.

Something about this seemed so right. He'd rarely felt with this kind of clarity.

A smile crossed her lips. "I'd like to, sweetheart, but I just couldn't rob the other women."

"I've always dreamed someday, if I lived long enough I'd make love to an old woman who could still appreciate me... Right now you're my only shot." She laughed and looked away again. "We'll practice safe sex?"

The way she snickered reminded him she was one of the few on the island with the experience to understand such a joke... perhaps too well...

"You don't worry about pregnancy at sixty-seven years of age."

"I meant I wouldn't come. How's that for a first?" he chuckled. "You won't even know I'm faking." He reached up for her other hand. "I'd like to share what I have while I've still have it... with someone wise enough to appreciate it... it doesn't mean much if I can't... I'd like to mean something."

She clutched the waist of her dress and buried her eyes in the dirt floor. "I can't... I don't think I can get... anymore. Be..." She sighed. Was she crying?

"Sh. Come here..."

He closed his eyes and thought of Amber... just enough...

"It wasn't as much fun as I thought. He was kind of distracted."

"Well what do you expect. Four different women a day. He's only human. How would you like it?"

"It's just that... it didn't feel as good. I had to touch myself... and we didn't kiss enough. I mean I like him... He's so nice. I wish... It was just... kind of empty... rushed..."

"You're being rude." "Child, his heart's with another." "He must be sick of pussy by now."

"Shh, girls. He'll be here any minute."

"I wish we could talk in Greek and not have to worry- "

"I bet you'd do it around him too. You are so rude. Doesn't tradition..." "No wonder he was that way with you..." "He's been very caring with the women I know..."

"I just wanted it to be more..." "We all want that." "... be more for him..." "That's not what you meant."

"Please hush. I keep telling you he could get here at any time."

"You said that ten minutes ago."

Jimmy rattled a few limbs and turned to shout at the empty trail behind him. "Thanks, Miranda. I can find my way from here. Have a safe trip back. Go on. I'll be fine. It's just a little wine. Take a right at the junction? The one there? Got it. Thanks again." He straightened up and trudged through the fallen leaves. As he rounded the corner of bushes, he was taken aback. "Hello, ladies. What's this?"

"We thought you'd be hungry when you got back from the mountain," Hope explained.

"Yes. We thought we'd fix you lunch out here. Unless you mind?"

They were all bright, smiling faces, just as they always were, though Hope's was the only one he knew well at all.

"No no. It's lovely. You picked a great spot." Right where the woods parted to reveal the distant whitecaps. "It's very thoughtful of you."

"We thought we'd wait here where the path to the mountain joins the main road. We knew you had to pass this way." "Yes. We thought we'd surprise you."

"It's a lovely surprise."

And with that, the rains started again.

"Ah!"

He thought he'd have to run down each of them in the bone-chilling downpour to get them to stay, but every one of them kicked back on their heels, opened their mouths and savored it like delighted children.

"You had a surprise for us too!" Hope cried, as she spread a blanket for him on the bald, gleaming clay.

"I love the rain!" one of them shouted. She swept her wet hair back into a ponytail, closed her eyes and parted her lips to the sky.

Jimmy took a seat and watched as bits of the forest beneath them gradually clouded over and vanished in the mists. The ladies divided up the bread as quickly as they could and Jimmy hurried through his portion before it turned soggy.

The stringy tresses matting their necks and faces reminded him of every wet kitten he'd ever seen. He could almost hear the sorrowful, horrified mewing that accused the world of betrayal. And yet he'd never spied a happier group of women. The hazy rain had turned them into girls again, pouring thick rivulets over their cherubic cheeks in the gray afternoon.

What was it in the water that they loved so much?

It flattened their tunics, turning the cloth transparent where it clung to their tender flesh. He was fascinated with how the little ponds of pink and tan shifted as their thin limbs danced about to the soprano music of the conversation.

Then the girl beside him turned and asked his permission before disrobing.

Two others in their company followed suit.

A shaft of sunshine passed tantalizingly close and their faces lit up in wonder. One girl rose to meet it but it drifted out of reach, slowly sliding down the hill in its march to the sea.

By the time it passed from view into the gray veil, Jimmy had finished the last of his fruit. His hosts had reached such a fevered pitch in their giggling he expected them to jump up and start chasing one another in the mud, but it never happened.

Who was here to chase him? He knew he was being set up again, however sweetly, for something exotic by his staff of volunteers.

He'd only slept with three of them. That left five more, not counting Hope of course. He surveyed each of their faces. He didn't have the faintest idea who she'd be, not that any of them wouldn't keep him wonderfully warm in this weather. They were each beautiful in their own way.

He turned for Hope and whispered something in her ear. She pointed to the brunette dressed in white, seated at the far end. Her wide grin was oblivious to the attention, but she seemed gushing with anticipation as she chatted with her girlfriends.

Hope smiled at him. "That's a lovely idea..." she whispered back. "No. You'll have plenty of privacy. Go back up the mountain a bit just to be safe. I'll give you more blankets..."

One by one the other women turned and noticed as Hope pulled out the last two dry linens from the large ice chest. They stood, shaking the bits of mud from their bare bottoms and thighs. They kissed him good-bye on the cheek and helped clean up. Laura rose and watched from a distance as Jimmy took what looked more like two rugs and folded them under his arm.

The girls tossed away the inedible remnants of the picnic, then formed a soggy line behind Hope and made their way down the trail like a caravan of traders with the big red cooler slung between them.

Laura remained glued to the spot, admiring his every movement. Her soft eyes smiled agreeably. Jimmy stepped forward, charmed by the loyalty of her white dress and the way it lovingly hugged her shoulders in the drizzle.

"Thank you. I've always enjoyed the rain," she sighed.

She reached out to cup his check in appreciation, giving birth to tiny air bubbles under the translucent fabric. Suddenly the spell broke.

"Are you sure it's what you want? I'd hate to leave you stranded here."

"I'm sure there's a dry spot under a cliff. I can rest there before going home."

"Should I stay, just to keep you safe?"

"Safe? Thanks..." She smiled warmly at him. "My wife will find me."

"It's nice to know you're well-loved."

She blushed. "Thank you." She kissed him. "You'll be well loved," she whispered as she took one of the rolls from under his arm. "I know a grassy spot up the way."

She gingerly took two of his fingers and led him around the bend, back up the trail. The trees thinned away and she came to a stop.

"No. Over there." He pointed to a flat spot in the middle of the grassy hill. Something about its exposure to the rest of the field interested him.

"All right." She brushed the stringy hair from his eyes.

"What's your name again?"

"Laura."

"You don't mind being out in the open like that, do you Laura?"

"It's very sweet," she said. She let him walk ahead until their fingers hooked and the slack in their arms pulled tight. "The cattle won't bother us in the rain. In fact I don't think they've grazed this area in quite a while. You shouldn't have to watch your step."

The short grasses cleaned the mud from his sandals long before he stood on top of the hill with her. Arm in arm, they surveyed the gray, distant ocean. Spots of sunlight freckled the various hill and forests below them.

"It's beautiful," she sighed, caressing the small of his back.

Behind them rose the stone mountain. He turned and saw the path they'd just ventured from etched into its side. And her dry little spot there under one of the cliffs.

"No." He stilled her hands. "Let me." He kissed her throat and stood back, watching the ghostly fabric snap from her luscious skin. He carefully folded her dress and offered it to her as a pillow, then did the same with his soaked toga.

The droplets pelted his newly smooth skin, rolling down his body far quicker than any water ever had. It sent an erotic shiver over his soft flesh, stirring up goosebumps particularly on the inside of each thigh.

Laura squinted at him in the rain and smiled as she took his hand. "It's like being under a giant waterfall, isn't it?" She reclined and pulled him down with her. "Finally a little warmth," she sighed.

Her nipples were so deliciously tight against his smooth skin. So were his, come to think of it.

He felt paunchier in spots now that most of his body hair was gone. Indeed, the short fibers on his legs almost felt out of place. Should he take Michelle up on her offer again? She was probably fairly good at shaving a pair of legs.

He grinned at Laura as she bit gently into his ear a second time.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Thinking about you, in a way."

She kissed him and fluttered her tongue over his. "Well I'm right here," she reminded him.

Her hand drifted down his abdomen and her legs opened further.

"You sure you're ready?" he asked. "Should, uh, I lick you or something?"

"No," she giggled. "I'm wet enough. Aren't you?" Her blue eyes gazed into his. "Go ahead if you'd like. I just didn't want to be cold again."

"You are mighty warm."

"So are you."

He slipped into her eager cavity. "Ah. The warmest part of all..."

"Isn't it?"

Her arms covered his back from the watery chill and her breasts began to glow under him.

"I feel like a boy scout."

"Huh?"

"I'm starting a fire with a stick."

She snickered. "It's one way to do it."

The rain didn't stop for two days.

His feet itched, though no one else seemed particularly bothered. Were there certain intangible benefits to being an islander? If so, they didn't seem worth the trade.

Jimmy rubbed his toes against the bedpost and watched the black sky that never ended. He couldn't see the moon but he knew in his marrow it was there, round and almost full, lurking somewhere behind the liquid canopy.

It'd softened his voice just this morning. Amber reassured him he still sounded quite masculine, if a tad boyish. She said it would stay with him the two remaining weeks, not changing further until the night turned pitch black again.

Was she right? It was hard particularly now of all times to tell exactly how he did sound. A beautiful chorus filled the hallways as women crowded into every room of the palace, unable or unwilling to go home to their mud floors and dripping roofs. The love affair with the monsoon had been brief.

He wished there were children around, but the married couples lived in sturdier housing. The fifty or sixty young women were all single and lived on the outskirts of town in dwellings much like Amber's.

And now their voices drowned his thoughts once more, this time from the other side of the window.

"Does you hip hurt anymore?" Andrea asked as she rubbed his feet.

"No. I must be getting the hang of sleeping with three women."

She plucked at his big toe. "We're very grateful, just the same... Did you want some of us to clear out and give you some privacy?"

"No. I like the company. I come from a big family."

His family.

Had they made funeral arrangements? Would he ever know?

What would his mother and father say-

"Would you like to go to the beach again?"

"What?"

"The beach this morning? Yes?"

Oh.

The women headed indoors and oddly enough he wanted to be outside. There was something cleansing about the rain. And it kept away the prying eyes. It was the first time he felt comfortable enough to make love outdoors.

There was nothing quite like the sky's cool tears pelting his back and a warm body beneath him... another soaked towel spread out under the gray sky...

"Yeah. Why not... Want me to check on your baskets Amber?"

"No. I put everything on the bed. We'll all be fine. I just don't like the mud between my toes."

"Funny. I seem to be the only one bothered by it."

Linda massaged his shoulders. "I wouldn't worry too much Jimmy. In a few days it'll clear up and you won't have to worry about it ever again." Her fingers paused and he felt her hunch her own shoulders. "It does come with some perks..." she comforted him.

"Yeah." He scratched his chest and then tried to rub the tingle out of his puffy nipple before he remembered himself. "Feels like I'm getting your perks already."

Linda laughed. "They're big but they probably won't wind up as perky as mine. That's rare."

"You know," Andrea interrupted, "I think every available woman on the island's here today. We should all line up and have some sort of contest so Jimmy can have an easier time choosing."

The girls laughed nervously.

"Nah," he replied.

"Why not?" Andrea asked.

Amber cocked an eyebrow.

"Miranda's not here. It wouldn't be fair."

They giggled.

"What did you two 'talk' about for so long?" Linda asked.

"I'll never tell."

"Well I for one know it's true," she retorted.

"What's true?" asked Amber.

"What they say about older women," Linda replied. "They are more experienced... and more grateful."

The bed shook with laughter.

"That's how you got that side of beef!" Amber yelped.

"The butcher? Ugh. Even I have my standards."

"That rug!" "The quilt!" "No! That funny metal thing!" They took turns rattling off her personal belongings, making her sound like a common tart, but Linda's guffaws only got louder.

Jimmy climbed out of bed to stretch and left the girls to the remnants of their slumber party. He settled into one of the far chairs and stared out the window, savoring the cool mist blowing in on the breeze.

He rubbed his chin. It was kind of nice not having to shave every day.

Kind of.

Andrea and Linda eventually collected themselves and wandered off into the bowels of the mansion to round up breakfast. In a minute the women outside would become bolder and start trickling in to pass the day.

"You sure you don't mind having us here?" Amber sat on his lap and slung her arm over his shoulder.

"No. I like it. You don't mind sleeping with so many other women do you?"

"Mmmm." She stared into the gray drizzle with him. "No. It's like being a little girl again and having to share a bed."

"Really?" He thought a moment. "With your family or other boys or other girls?"

"Oh. Just other girls."

"They don't worry about you fooling around?"

She let out a sarcastic snicker. "I'll never tell..."

"Speaking of that... it's been several days. Why don't you pack a lunch for the two of us?"

"MMm. Sounds nice."

"Want to make love in the surf?"

"It might be bad for conception," she complained, as she caressed his neck.

"I've always wanted to do it in the sea."

"Hm," she sighed. "OK." She kissed him. "So have I."

"What? You're not going to protest? Twist my arm to take someone else?"

"No. I missed you." She kissed him again. "I know you'll take out someone else anyway... and I can't help it if you're stupid enough to waste your time with me, now, can I?"

"Stupid, huh? I'm not the one with a leaky roof."

"My roof doesn't leak..." She frowned. "It's the drainage that washes down the path... and under my bed that bothers me."

"Why didn't you put in a stone floor and- "

"I didn't plan to live there forever. It's hard work pulling stones from the field and hauling them all day."

"Well when were you?"

"Mmm. When I met someone I loved. Then we could live in a proper home of our own."

"That's why you're really sweet on me?"

She giggled. "Actually, it's all Melissa's plotting. She knows she can have mine and she hates still living at home."

"There's a housing shortage?"

"Unless she wants to build one there is. Or get married."

"So how often do you get rain like this?"

"Every few months. It's not so bad. It lasts a few days, replenishes the springs then it's gone."

"I saw one or two girls last night who looked like they'd been crying. Were they flooded out of their homes? Did they lose anything?"

"No, honey. They didn't lose anything."

"What was it?"

"Nothing at all, sweety." She kissed him. "You know how we women get."

"If I don't, I guess I soon will. Two weeks and counting."

"Two weeks, two days," she corrected him.

"Did I break it?"

"No, you didn't break it. I'll be fine in a moment."

"Should I lick it again?"

"No."

"I don't do it well? Maybe if you could- "

"That's not it."

"Why don't I play with your nipples? That always works for me."

He brushed her hand away.

"I guess I'm not in the mood. Maybe it's the moon again and more of its little curse."

"I don't understand. This hasn't happened before. It must be my fault. I'm terrible at this, I know..."

"No. It's not your fault."

"Oh. Then what should you do?"

"I don't know. I don't want to talk about it."

"Melissa," she called.

"Ugh." He pulled a pillow over his face. The mattress shifted as she rose from bed. He dragged a sheet over the rest of him as her toes tapped across the stones.

"His thing isn't working."

"What? Oh no!" Melissa was dumbstruck.

"Go get Rachel. Quick."

"Could you please leave me alone," he muttered. He wanted to crawl into the nearest cave and just die. Shit. Maybe if he just didn't think about it...

He heard Rachel's voice whispering in the halls.

That was fast. Had he fallen asleep? Yeah. He had. The brief bit of sunlight was gone again, replaced by the dull rain. He tossed the pillow away and sat up.

Maybe it was the heavy lunch. He burped. Yeah. That was it.

Didn't they know he could hear them?

Why could he hear them over the pattering water? Was his hearing getting better? Some sounds had seemed louder lately.

"No, honey. More women would make it a lot worse."

He groaned. Why couldn't they go away?

"He's not unhappy with you at all..."

Melissa said something.

"No. Andrea wouldn't do it either. You can't ask someone he's close to. Oh no... you're very attractive. Don't... Dry your eyes. No. He loves you very much or he wouldn't be doing this for you... And I should know. No, honey. It's not his fault either. Sometimes nature just needs a little help, you know? Nature does strange things to all of us, doesn't it?... That's better. Don't let him see you like that... It's a man's thing, sweetheart. There's nothing for you to understand about it... It's more frustrating to him, honey... Yes, really... I should go talk to him now..."

The curtains swished. Two squishy thighs delicately caressed one another as they approached. He could hear her toga dripping from here. Didn't they have umbrellas? Or did they all enjoy the rain that much?

"Hey, Jimmy."

"Hey, doc." He turned from the bedpost to look at her and found her giggling.

"I haven't been called that in ages."

"You got a shot for me or something? Isn't that how this works?"

She surpressed another giggle. "There's no, uh, shot for what you have..."

Or don't have. He frowned. "No? Then why are you even here?"

"A pep-talk, I guess."

"Well save the talk and give me the pep."

"I know how difficult it is for you to discuss this. Men don't talk about such things with each other." She giggled again. "And I guess you're not exactly talking about it with some clueless girl right now either."

He arched an eyebrow. "You had this problem?"

"Huh? Not on the island... but drugs do certain things, if you catch my drift."

"Well is it 'broken' like she said? Is there some sort of test you can run?"

Rachel struggled to keep a straight face at his mention of the word test.

"No honey. I don't think a man's ever 'broken' it or had a physical problem like that on the island. All your equipment's going to work that way."

"For a few more weeks at least."

"No. It'll work then too. It'll simply be designed for different things... Is that what this is about? Are you anxious about next month?"

"Yeah. I'm anxious about it. But it hasn't bothered me like this. It wasn't on my mind at the time."

"No? Well... are you just bored? Not in the mood for it?"

"I don't know."

"Well..." Rachel hummed to herself for several seconds. "Is there a particular fantasy she can fulfill? She'll do almost anything for you, you know."

"Ah..." he mused. "No. Not right now." He straightened up. "What do you mean 'almost'?" This sounded interesting.

"Nothing involving farm animals or- "

He winced. "That's disgusting..."

"Sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned it. There are stories about men with strange fetishes that they won't play to anymore. They've decided if it happens again they'll just... Hey! We could get you drugged and then just take your pants down. I know the herb. You want us to do that? You wouldn't remember it, either, if that's the problem. I mean if she reminds you of a cousin or something I understand... and that way everybody will be happy. I can show her what part of you to massage and you're sure to get hard, even if you pass out."

"No. I'd like to be there for it." It didn't sound like much fun. And he didn't want to start a trend.

"Oh." Rachel was clearly puzzled now. "You don't want to go out to the beach again either, huh?... Well, you want to talk to somebody else? Want I should get Amber?"

He paled. "No. Get her a million miles away from here."

"Spending a few hours with her wouldn't- "

"No!"

"I thought so. It's a heart problem."

"Listen! I'm only talking with you about this because... I know you used to not want to talk about this. You know?"

"Why don't we just take your mind off everything. You want to go play ball with the kids? Go fishing? Walk? What?"

In the rain? "I don't know."

Rachel sighed. "A blow job? I'll be more enthusiastic than she was, I bet."

"No. She was nice. I just... I got a little... bored is all. And then all the other crap set in."

"I understand."

"You sure this didn't happen to you?" It seemed a ridiculous question for a woman so clearly voluptuous, one he'd already had fantastic sex with. Of course she couldn't get it up... not anymore at least...

"Mmm. Not quite. I was a horny bastard... but I think I know what'll fix it. No fantasies, right now? You sure, dude?"

"I'm sure."

"And you want to stay in?"

"Yeah. My feet itch too much."

"You know the other women have cleared out for the day?"

"Yeah, I know. That's not the problem." His voice lowered to a whisper. "Hell I know Melissa's probably gotten a lot of jollies listening in over the last few days. Or somebody has. It doesn't bother me anymore."

Rachel laughed hysterically, pulling her soaked dress up around her knees. She finally calmed down and twisted out its remaining liquid in his wash basin. "You really can't blame us," she whispered back. "We don't get to hear those sounds very often... and that deep voice of yours is so sexy."

He stroked her forearm. "It's OK. It's never bothered me."

"Well I'm going to send her back in, then. Just don't be surprised by anything and go with the flow."

"You sure?" I'm cured? he wondered. It was him, right?

"I'm sure. We're going to solve the boredom problem for you."

Shouldn't his curiosity be piqued at her statement? He just didn't feel it. The thought of another woman coming in, doing a dance to some music while she undressed for him... even playing with herself... it all seemed so stupid right now.

"Pussy pussy pussy." Hadn't she rattled that off like a machine gun in bed with him? Now it felt so blah. One more pussy. Ho hum. Back to the office...

Rachel left and after a few seconds of unintelligible mumbling, Amanda parted the curtains and walked naked into the room again.

He wished he could get turned on by those wide, well-curved hips and the full, pert breasts that bounced enchantingly with her every step.

Was it his fault? He'd seen so much of it lately.

No. That wasn't it. What was, exactly? He had a feeling he didn't want to find out. He just wanted it to go away so he could enjoy things. Enjoy his last days...

Get away with Amber...

But how was that going to happen, if he didn't do his best to live up to his end of things?

Jimmy rose and met Amanda half-way for a kiss.

"Ow!" He shoved her back and rubbed the cut in his lip. "What was that for?" She grabbed his waist and leaned in for another bite. "Hey!" Her teeth sunk into his shoulder.

She growled and backed him into the bed until he fell over like a startled schoolboy. Those feline eyes flashed again and he felt her sharp touch on his neck. Her nails dug into his thigh.

"Stop that!"

He pushed away. She sat up on her haunches, her heavy breath straining, black pupils burning under her stringy, disheveled hair. He could smell her sweat and animal excitement.

She slapped him.

"Hey!" He grabbed her hand. "Stop! Why are you doing that!"

"Because I don't want to stop."

She slapped him with her free hand.

She kept slapping him.

It stung.

"Stop it!"

"No!"

"Damn you, bitch!"

She pulled him on top of her, rolling with him like a wrestler. Fingers tore the skin on his back and teeth sank into his neck again like a vampire. She was all over him, nipping and yanking at him like a trapped animal.

"Get your fucking hands off my chest."

"Your tits?" she teased, breaking off another kiss that left red scratches on his arm. "Your nipples? Women don't get erections. Is that what you are?" She grappled with him and flipped him over again on his back. A forceful knee parted his thighs. "What's wrong? Can't get me to keep my hands off you? Too weak?" she panted at Jimmy, tossing him over her again. "Fuck me good," she yowled with lust, rubbing her slick crotch on his thigh. "Teach me some manners."

He chuckled. So that's what this was about. This really wasn't him...

Wasn't it? Other parts of him were saying different.

Yeah... finally...

"Put me in my place," she groaned, spreading her hair out across the pillows and undulating her abdomen seductively against his. Her fingers dug into his ass for the umpteenth time and barely kept from drawing blood.

He slapped her and threw himself off the bed.

She caressed her jaw with the worse possible expression on her face. It disappeared in a flash as he commanded her to "Put your ass in the air!"

"Oooooooo," she purred. "Finally...." Amanda reared up and clawed enthusiastically at him.

Jimmy thrust her aside. "Fuck with me, bitch... huh!? huh?!... I'll teach you fucking..." He yanked on her long hair, forcing her to the mattress and twisting until she cried out. "Get down there I said!"

Amanda turned as best she could and kissed him.

"That was lovely," she sighed. "A bit like the time we found that bottle of tobasco in the sand..."

"Great."

"Could you do me just one more favor?"

"What?"

"Can you untie my hands?" she pouted. "I need to get up. You're starting to drip and I can't get to the door like this..."

He chuckled. She was so polite now. Anything to get fucked, he guessed. Just thinking about her determination was getting him harder again. With any luck he could stretch it into the next session. "Sure. Sorry about that."

"Oh no. Nothing to feel sorry about. That was fantastic. I think I'll get tied up every night. My lover too."

Then who'd do the fucking? he snickered. "Whatever... uh, listen. I'd... I'd regard it as a personal favor if you NEVER mentioned this to anybody."

"Of course." Amanda tilted her head coyly while she rubbed the red away in her wrists. "I'll tell people I had an accident... with a fishing net." She twinkled and gave his cheek a kiss. "I won't tell them what a tiger you are... I thought those animals were just legends but now I know better."

They were sitting around playing poker when it happened. A gambler who'd washed up a hundred years earlier had crafted a deck of cards from wood chips and explained the rules... which had been set down in the stringed volume the ladies kept referring to.

It would have been more amusing if they hadn't also mastered the poker face that went along with it. He couldn't tell what it meant as they flipped through the pages and swapped for more cards. Amber giggled gleefully only to fold what turned out to be a horrible hand. She'd found something funny about the series of numbers on the cards.

It turned out some of the ladies were even bluffing when they flipped through the pages and stuck with their bets, refusing new cards.

It was frustrating. They knew they didn't know the game and they knew playing with his mind was the only thing they had going for them. That they did very well.

Jimmy had a feeling he wouldn't be eating many palm nuts tonight.

Maybe Amber would share a few of hers. She was winning enough.

"Dahlia," he whispered. "You're not supposed to eat your chips."

"Oh... But they're not in the pot."

"All the same."

"It's because you always fold before you bet," Amber quipped.

"Well..." she lilted. "They're tasty."

"Linda will pick more tomorrow. She always does. Now stop being a silly girl and bet."

"Stop picking on me. I'm trying."

Jimmy leaned over and glanced at her hand. "Could you use some help?"

"Please," she sighed pleasantly.

He scooted closer, provoking more exasperation from Amber. "We could all use help," she gasped, "but we're not asking."

"Come on, now. Be nice." He folded his hand and pushed his cards back in the deck. This was the perfect excuse to avoid getting whipped. He was always a terrible card player. And he couldn't very well refer to a book... even if it wasn't written in ancient Greek. "Be nice about it and I'll work with each of you for a hand. How's that?"

How's that? They were already dividing up his chips with gleeful smiles.

"They never could keep their hands off my nuts," he whispered to Dahlia.

"Neither could I," she giggled back.

Lucia frowned at her while the rest of the table laughed politely.

"No. Keep the book out. I'll just help with the other stuff."

This was much more entertaining. He got to sit with each of the women and learn how they thought.

Lucia proved particularly sharp. That way she passed her queen back into the pot. He didn't understand it, but she went on to win the hand. Amber gave him another cross look... and then scribbled the totals down and politely redivided the nuts so everyone could have enough to bet with.

It was when he switched to Andrea, that Amber started bragging, "The only way you'll win this hand is if you get naked again."

Andrea patted him on the back and began to disrobe with a huge smirk on her face.

Then a strange woman burst into the room, panting and dripping with sweat and rain.

"What is it, Carol?"

"My Queen..." She took a moment to catch her breath.

Lucia rose and put a hand on her shoulder. "What, Carol?"

"I've just come from the mountain," she gasped. "I thought you should know. Here. She left this for you, Jimmy." Carol passed him an irregular piece of bark. His finger traced the scratchings carved inside it. "I found her body in the ravine."

He read her final words. "I died a happy woman."

"What!?"

He roared and threw it across the room. The message snapped in two as it hit the bedpost.

The women huddled together around Carol, cringing and whispering. He returned to their table and turned it over, scattering nuts and cards over the floor.

How could she do that? The bitch!

He ripped one of the chairs apart and kicked another into the corner.

He tore a post from the the bed, ripping away its hanging cover. With the raised stick, he huffed at the startled women still crowded around the door.

He eyeballed the room like a madman looking for anything else to strike... any escape... Finally he leapt through the window, landing in a crouch and stormed off for town.

He spotted the Queen on the path in front of him, enjoying the bright morning air.

Finally!

"You'll fight me."

She grinned and crouched. "Certainly. You will no doubt defeat me but I will give you a good contest."

She laid hands about his shoulders and tried to trip him but he threw her off. He slugged her and pinned her to the ground.

He held the sharpened stick to her throat.

"I yield," she rushed out.

A knot traveled down the soft, semicircular smiles of her windpipe. He drew his weapon high in the air and hesitated a second, dangling the point above her as he watched the mixture of calm, fear and shock in her stoic face.

He hammered it in the ground next to her ear.

He stormed off, slowly ripping the clothes from his body.

"I need a swim," he muttered.

He was exhausted. It was like spitting in the wind.

The sky was dark.

That light on the beach again...

He stood dripping over her.

"I'm sorry," Amber said.

He sloshed down on the towel spread beside her and glared at the white crescents reflecting off the waves.

She pushed weakly against his firm chest. "It's not our time."

He pinned her arms to the sand and spread her legs.

"Tell me what- "

"You tossed and turned a lot. Did Hope finally drag you to that cliff?"

"What?" The light was too bright again. He covered his eyes. "Did I drink something last night? More mushrooms?"

"No. Still sore? This should be the last day."

"Come here." Jimmy held his palm out for Amber until she sat at his side and he shared his dream with her.

She listened quietly to the images pouring out of him. When he finished, she simply stood up. "I'll call Claudia. She can interpret it for you."

"No. I don't want to share this with anyone else."

"Why? We may need to warn others."

"It's just a dream. Why are you so superstitious about it?"

"What's... 'superstitus'?"

"When you think magic and other things affect the world."

"Don't they?" Amber jabbed his squishy chest.

"Oh." So they did.

Andrea walked into the room, still working the cloth up around her chest.

"Would you fetch Claudia for us?"

She glanced up from corralling the girls. "Sure," she told the pair, straightening one of the straps on her shoulder. "Happy to." Andrea turned and disappeared back between the curtains, her long black hair swirling in the cool breeze.

The palace was strangely quiet.

"Where did everyone run off to?"

"The rains broke last night. They all went home."

Outside the sun was shining for the first time in days. How could he have missed it?

"And you?"

"I'll stay a minute," she told him, gently stroking his hairless arm. "But I have a few things to do the next couple of days."

"Sure. I can sympathize. The chicks around here keep you busy."

Amber smiled. "It's my class, actually. They keep asking for me.... and I have some baskets still to finish."

Jimmy propped himself up and kissed her. "You go do what you need to do. I'll be fine without you."

"You can... you can come over while I weave if you like. Or I can do it here tonight."

"Do you want to spend some time apart for a while?"

"If I could. I'd like to think on a few things. Oh I'd love to spend some time with you during the day though. I just don't... I don't want to be a distraction to you."

He cocked his eyebrow. "Why would you think that? You're my bright spot."

"And you mine." She kissed him and ran her fingers through his shaggy mane. Their lips snapped apart, prompting her to snicker and grin at him. "So why did you think you could beat Lucia? She's very skilled in combat, you know. And you're hardly as strong as you used to be."

"I know," he sighed. "I looked very different in the dream. I still don't think of myself like this..." He vented another frustrated groan. "Is it going to be this way later?"

"You're very manly," she stated. "But no. After the moon reappears... you'll recognize the person in the mirror."

"And the person in the dream?"

"You'll recognize him too. But he won't be the one in your dreams anymore. He'll be like your brother, only closer."

"Like a mask I wore at a party?"

"No," she smiled. "It doesn't change who you were. You'll still be him." He scowled. "It's hard to explain, I know. But you're still a very sexy man. Every woman in the village wants you. That won't always be true."

"And you?"

"I know I have to share... Hello Claudia."

The tall, lanky beauty sat on the bed next to Amber. She raised a long, graceful arm to him and ran her knuckles across his brow like a mother checking for fever.

"I was in the library writing. You had a dream again, yes?"

"How did you know?"

"Why else would you call me to your bed in the morning? I've had my child."

"I don't know. Maybe you want two?"

She smiled and caressed his cheek. "It is yours to give, of course. But tell me first about the dream. You said Miranda was in some danger, yes?"

"How did you know?"

"Andrea overheard a little." He didn't look happy. "She's your 'elf' for the day. It's her job."

"He said Miranda had an accident and was found dead in a ravine," Amber explained.

"No. She committed suicide," he corrected her.

"Suicide? What's that?" Amber asked.

"When a person takes their own life." Before she could ask, 'Take it where?', he added "Kills themself."

"How could she kill herself?"

"If she was very unhappy. She would just walk off the cliff."

"No woman has ever done that here. I don't think it's possible."

"No one's ever been so distraught they've committed suicide?"

"A few men over the years, but I think there's something about the change. None of us could do that."

"You wouldn't get someone else to do it for you if you were distraught enough?"

Amber's complexion turned ashen. "How could I ever ask that of someone? That would be a horrible thing to do to them."

Claudia finally spoke again. "It's all right, Amber. I don't think Miranda was the focus of the dream. She's not in any danger... You had a dream about Hope, didn't you? And in it someone also fell off a cliff?"

He nodded.

"I think it's about you Jimmy, but you're not in any danger either. As a man I don't think you can prophesy yet. The moon must have her monthly sacrifice first. And Rachel tells me such dreams are not uncommon. She had them once herself so it's probably part of your mind struggling with itself. But please. Why don't you tell me more about it?"

Dahlia sounded very formal this morning. She entered just as he was finishing breakfast, dressed in a long flowing robe and stared without emotion as if she'd memorized a message.

"The queen asks if you would like to attend a session of court. Today she will settle disputes and thought you might have some interest in observing our customs."

"Part of becoming an islander?"

She gave an elegant shrug. "As our guest, she thought you might wish to observe our society more closely. The moon is full and this is the day that court will be held. All are free to observe."

"I'd love to come. Any particular time?"

"Now, if you please. It will not last long. We will be done before lunch. There is only one case."

"What's the dispute about?"

"I cannot say. It is for the various parties to state."

OK. This sounded like he needed a coat and tie. "What do I wear?"

She shrugged again. "Go naked if you like," she said with a hint of a smile.

Not that again. Any excuse to see his nuts. "Uh... give me a minute to find my sandals."

He tried to listen to the two women. They argued endlessly about who had killed someone's farm animal.

Terry borrowed Olivia's goat for a week as payment for something but the goat had perhaps chewed through its leash, wandered away one night and died mysteriously. It was hard to pay attention. The whole thing was rather boring and the noon sun was warming up for its appearance. His eyes kept drifting to the window and the hot green outside.

The pair of women argued about whether it really escaped by accident, if a snake, which was rare on the island, really bit it or it died of old age or someone had fed it the wrong thing or it was going to die anyway.

Sigh. Didn't either know the value of goat warranties?

Lucia peppered the two with sharp and detailed questions but they still seemed to wind up back in the same old circle. A feeling snuck over him that something else was under it all. A lover's spat or something? Greed wasn't the only emotion involved. He'd slept with one of them too, which didn't make him a comfortable spectator.

"And Jimmy. What do you think of these problems... What to you would be an equitable solution?"

"Huh?"

"How would you proceed? I would like an outsider's view."

"What would island law normally dictate?"

"Ah. What is the real issue, yes? I can see how that would be hard to determine from your point of view. If I read it correctly, Olivia was promised a week's worth of milk in return for an item she had found on the beach. Terry loaned her the goat out of convenience. At issue is whose fault it is that the goat died."

"Was it an old goat?" He tried not to crack up.

"Yes."

"No arrangements were made beforehand about whose responsibility it was to look after the goat?"

"No," Olivia stammered, "I just assumed..."

Hm. What would one of those TV detectives do? "Did Rachel look at it to determine a cause of death?"

"What?"

"Well sometimes doctors can look at dead bodies and determine what killed them."

"We didn't think of that."

"So you don't know if Terry killed the goat for some reason?"

"Why would I do that?" "I'm not saying that."

"But you think it's her actions that lead to its death?"

"Yes... I guess so..." Olivia suddenly seemed less than pleased with herself.

"It seems to me a question of whose fault it was that it got away. Whose leash was it?"

"Mine," Olivia said. "But she could have done something to it."

"I did not!" Terry protested.

"How do I know?"

"Ladies," Dahlia chided them. "Remember your manners. You are here to argue before the Queen, not with each other."

"Go on, Jimmy."

"Well. I guess Rachel should look at the leash as well as the dead goat. That's not hard to do is it?"

"It's been dead two weeks. She won't be very happy with us."

"I still have the leash. Here. I brought it with me. It has tooth marks on it."

"Was it just wandering around when it died or was it trying to get home?"

"We found it far away from both our homes."

"That rules out homesickness, so it might have chewed the leash off if it had stayed with Olivia anyway and escaped at either home. Hm. Well, if the goat got away on its own and it turns out it died of natural causes, I'd have to say it's a question of the plastic crate not being paid for. If something else got her goat," again he had to bite his lip, "then I'm not quite sure what to do."

"And how should she make restitution for the remaining five days of milk? Olivia does not own any more goats or cows."

"She could buy it from someone else."

"I will not. I already gave the crate away and I don't have anything else to trade. She was my only animal."

"I want my milk," Terry demanded. "You shouldn't have given it to Ashley before you'd finished paying me!"

Jimmy sighed and shrugged yet again. "If she wants her milk that badly... I mean the goat was female, they're both female." He gestured at the petitioners. "I don't know. I did sleep with Olivia. Maybe in nine months she'll be making her own, you know?"

Olivia's jaw dropped open.

"I can wait that long," Terry snickered.

"I am not a cow!" she yelled.

"Did I propose something illegal or something?" he asked Lucia.

"Not at all," Lucia assured him with a professional air. "It is unusual but as you say, more facts need to be gathered. The two of you find Rachel, dig up the goat and bring it to me and we will hear further evidence." She turned calmly to Jimmy again. "An interesting approach. I will consider it, as I will all sides. Go. I must now consult the law. Do this and you shall have a ruling in the morning."

The bickering pair departed leaving Jimmy alone for the first time with the royal couple. Dahlia brought forward an ancient tome for the two of them to squint over and silence descended on the marble hall, save for the occassional crinkling of parchment as the pages turned. Jimmy shuffled uneasily, sliding his toes in and out of the leather straps.

Was he supposed to go too? Maybe this was part of what he was supposed to watch.

"I've got a magnifying glass if that would help," he offered.

"Yes, I know. It is being put to better uses at the moment."

"Oh." Was that one of the items missing from the crate? The ones Amber alluded to earlier? "Should I leave too?"

"Do as you wish."

"My eyes are a little stronger if- "

"It hardly matters. You do not read Greek."

"Really? I guess I should learn."

"When time permits of course."

"How do you know English?"

"Dahlia?" the Queen asked, arching a thick eyebrow to her lover before burying herself in the volume again.

Dahlia looked up at him and smiled, kissing the desk with her soft bottom. Her hands folded over her lap, highlighting the graceful kink in her spine. "Most of us speak several languages. We've had to learn from the castaways over the years... Tell me? Do they still speak Latin today?"

"Not that I know of."

"See I told you- "

The Queen waved her off. "It is part of our heritage. We will pass it down like all the others. Some of the books are best read that way. You know that."

"If you speak all these different languages, how come I hear English everywhere? Even from the children?"

"It is the rule. We speak only English for the month."

"Really? What if someone washes up speaking something you've never- "

"We learn," she said flatly. "Sex is fairly universal, you'll find."

He chuckled. It was at that.

Then it dawned on him.

"But I don't speak Greek like you guys. Next month- "

"Don't worry. Amber will teach you." The Queen glanced up from the dusty book. The wrinkles smoothed out on the bridge of her nose as her eyes relaxed. "Or whomever you chose," she added. She turned again to her companion. "Dahlia? Would you mind, dear? Just this once?"

"Sure. Jimmy? Would you like to see our archives?"

"Oh. Listen if I'm keeping either of you- the last thing I want to do is be a bother."

"Nonsense." Dahlia tugged suggestively at his sleeve until he found himself in one of the corridors being led along.

"Really," he continued. "I can see you two have work to do."

"She's just looking for the pertinent histories. It's no big deal."

"Doesn't she consult you for the decisions? I saw you whispering in her ear during the testimony."

"Yes. Something like that."

"So you share it?"

"Not quite. We almost always agree though."

"When you don't?"

"It's her decision. It's why she was chosen."

"You don't get mad?"

"Of course not. I'm just her wife. I'm only helping."

"Huh. I thought it- "

"I'm not one of those people who tries to take over when someone asks my advice."

Why did she jump to that? "Does she ever do that to you?" The blonde was silent as they came into a cool, dimly lit room. "I'm sorry. It's none of my business."

"No. She never does that to me. Not with anything important."

"But she irritates you sometimes?"

"I love her very much. No one's perfect." Dahlia sighed as she slouched against the pink, veined marble column. She could tell he wasn't ready to give up the topic. "I irritate her too."

"Really? How?"

"She says... she says I don't always stand up for myself."

"No kidding?" Jimmy pinched her. "You got me to stand up pretty well for you."

The smiling blonde left the support of the cool pillar and with a flick of her neck, swept her long ponytail from her bosom. She gave him a kiss that seemed unusually frisky, letting her hand wander over his back. "Are you just flirting," she whispered, "or are you after something more?"

"Which do you want?"

Dahlia blinked as her soft breath caressed his nose. "I just said I love her very much... but if you want me to make you happy again I will." Her long nails pinched him back. "I enjoyed it."

"Nah," Jimmy replied, shaking his head at himself. "It was rude of me."

"No it wasn't. I'd really- "

"You guys are too sweet to me. I can see you need to get back to work so, show me what you're going to show me and I'll let you two get on with things."

"All right." Was she faking disappointment too? Dahlia turned and pushed back on a tall stone door. Dark shadows seemed to creep into the hall. "Here is the great archive. This is everything we are. Everything we know. In it is everyone who has been before or is here now... No. Leave the torch outside. No spark or ember is allowed past the door."

"Hm." He peered inside at the dusty shelves. "So how many languages do you speak?"

"There are records of more than two dozen here, including Egyptian. Personally, I speak seven. Oh. I'm forgetting Greek again. Eight, I suppose. Yes that's right. Some of the words I forget, though. For some reason language has always come easily to us, particularly around men. I think Circe wanted us to appeal to the castaways that way. So we'd be more enchanting."

"That's amazing."

She clucked her tongue. "Not really. There isn't much else to do than talk and tell stories here. And make love, of course." She traced the outline of his smooth chin with a nail and gave him a smile in the dusty gray light. "We were a bit disappointed to find out you were an English speaker. It's understandable since it's so common these days. We were hoping we'd get to work on a new language since it provides us with something to do. I did enjoy practicing my Spanish with Antonia." Dahlia cleared her throat and her stately bearing returned. "Now this book here is..."

"Ah! I love you!" Andrea hugged Jimmy with two affectionate arms and her enthusiastic breasts took to him like life presevers to a drowning sailor. "I know I'm not supposed to but..." Her smile flew open. "I'm having your baby! Thank you so much!" Sloppy kisses pelted his face.

"You're pregnant? Great."

"I know! I can be a nurse now. Isn't it wonderful? No more rotten jobs."

"Too bad you weren't a nurse before. We'd have had that fire out in no time."

A cherry glow tinged her cheeks and Andrea gushed in little giggles, clutching up and down at the front of his robe. "I got so happy I wanted to share a bottle of wine to celebrate... but then I remembered I'm pregnant! I can't!" she snickered merrily.

She was doing fine without the alcohol, he thought.

But something still confused him. "How do you know that fast?" Had Rachel cooked up some sort of test?

"I was due two days ago. Missed it completely."

"That's the only possible reason?"

"Of course. We're never late. The moon is a clock on the island. I had to run over here as soon as I woke- what?"

His dear eyes had wandered off into the distance somewhere.

Jimmy sat down on the deserted picnic table, softly murmuring to himself. "Hey... Hey. I'm gonna be a daddy."

He guessed he always sort of knew that, just from the odds alone. You couldn't screw a hundred women and get away scott free. But now it was real to him, driven home by Andrea's overabundant bounciness.

"Not quite," she replied, sitting beside him and draping a tender arm around his shoulder.

"Oh. I don't...?" He frowned. "I can't see the kid?"

"Well of course you can," she said, pinching his cheek with a strand of her own black hair trapped in her fingers.

"I wouldn't want to... to feel like I was neglecting my responsibility or anything. I'd like to help."

"That's fine."

"What... what can I do to help?"

"Why don't you think about it. You've got... oh, eight months or more to figure it out." She perked up as her hands drifted to his hips. "Tell you what. You talk to me again in a few weeks, OK?" Andrea wet her lips and smiled again. "Whatever you'll be comfortable with will make me happy."

A few weeks...?

Oh.

It took that from him too?

"I won't feel the same?"

"No, Jimmy. I'm sorry... but you can feel that way now." She stood and pulled at his tunic with renewed vigor like a clawing child. "Come on. I sent Hope away. Let's celebrate. At least you can be a daddy tonight."

"So you're the first? Who else knows?"

"Don't," she said, putting a discrete finger to his lips. "Don't say anything, will you? We're not supposed to say."

"What? To me?"

"To anyone."

"Why?"

"It's uh... it's a jinx."

But she'd just told him. "So I won't feel like I have to sleep with someone a second time?"

She looked at each corner of the forest warily before gaving him a tiny nod. "Please. Give everyone a fair chance, Jimmy. Don't ask them- "

"Sure." But... no wine, huh? Keep it a secret, huh? His suspicions were growing. "How exactly did you want to celebrate?"

"Rats. I can't figure out how now. I just wanted to share it with you because you've been such a good friend and I wanted you to be happy about it."

"I am happy."

"Good." Then with a gleam in her eye, Andrea pounced. "Well..." she trilled. A soft hand slipped into his lapel and her knuckles brushed against his supple chest. "I have been meaning to ask you something but I was going to wait."

"What?"

"Could I ask just a little favor?... As a friend?" Her grin curved wickedly to the left side. "I could do something personal to thank you..." she crooned in his ear. "I wouldn't even ask if I didn't know I had such an effect on you..."

"What's that, Andrea?"

"Could we have a little intercourse one more time? Just for the hell of it? I promise to show my gratitude," she purred. "I know you're pressed for time and you've got others to consider but... You know I don't want it for the child," she giggled. "You wouldn't have to come at all, so I wouldn't be wasting- Oh that sounds so rotten of me, doesn't it? I just- men are so hard to- "

Her brief scheme collapsed and she fumed at herself.

"I really do think you're sexy," Jimmy said with a reassuring kiss. "And I'd love to one last time. Uh..." He thought a moment. "I could..." He sighed. "Why don't you ask around and find a girl who wouldn't mind sharing?" Would she be happy with that? "Would that work?"

Her eyes brightened. "I'd love it. I could put on quite a show for you," she dripped devilishly. Jimmy started to say something. "Oh. I know you'd rather be alone with me again but this is a smart compromise for both of us. I wouldn't be taking anything."

"Good... I guess I need to squeeze it all in for a farewell tour."

And he'd only just met them all. Short cruises weren't supposed involve farewells. Why had his turned into a funeral dirge?

"Oh I wouldn't say that. I'm fairly good with a pussy." Her long tongue poked between her cheeks, waving seductively from side to side like kelp in the ocean current. "I'd love to get together with you later, if you'd have me. To show my appreciation, you know..."

"We'll see."

"I know it's uncomfortable to think about now. That part of the curse always makes it that way, but things will be different. It'll get better.... and I'd make you very happy." She backed away and winked at him, smoothing the airy folds in her dress. "Well... I'll just go and find a young lady I can prove my skills on."

Jimmy chuckled. "Why don't you grab Hope?" He'd like to see that. "She wanted a taste but didn't want me to come either."

"My you do have a big appetite. Three of us, huh?"

Three?

"I'm... I'm, um... you may find me a bit, uh, dry in that department." Her palm drifted to his arm and she looked shyly in his eye, nervous and childlike. "It's not that I don't like you," she rushed out in her soft, silky voice. "I really do and I'm looking forward to it." Her cheeks turned a rosy pink. "It's just that sometimes- "

He kissed her. "I've... worked around the problem before. We'll take care of it."

"I'm sorry. It's the one thing I have to do to make it work and- "

"Hey. You should try getting hard like this all day."

She giggled. Then the shadows fell across her dear face again. "I know. I've got so little to do and I- "

"Hey." He scratched her chin until she gazed up at him. "When your belly's out to here, you'll remember just how small my part was."

It would be small, wouldn't it?

"I hope," she whispered.

"I'll do my best," he promised. "Now prop your legs up darling and let's give the natural way a shot."

"You're too kind..." A soft moan formed in her throat as he dragged his tongue up one labia. "But please," she sighed, "don't exhaust yourself..."

He snorted as he worked himself inside her.

She wasn't kidding. Dry as toast.

That wouldn't last long.

He gave her pussy a moment to stop flinching from the rough touch, then put a thumb above her clit and began a gentle massage. The rest of his fingers pressed side to side above her forest of black curls. He hooked his pinky into her navel, just for fun and pulled down on it.

Her smell was strengthening. She seemed a little oilier.

Linda's advice was paying off.

Or was it- ? Who's was it? Linda hadn't shown him that. It must have been Sara or Deborah.

He rolled a globule of spittle onto his tongue for good measure and worked it over her, hoping she wouldn't notice. Her hips leaned into him, heartening his resolve as her probed her opening. Jimmy slobbered as noisily as possible, smacking his lips and nibbling on the sides of her pink souffle until her steamy snatch was coated in a shiny webbing of saliva.

He pulled back a bit and finally plunged a finger deep into her, kissing spit onto it until she frothed up like a dog foaming at the mouth.

Yeah... she was ready all right. This was kind of fun for once. It was nice to have a challenge

The docile woman squealed in delight, her red palms quivering helplessly at her side.

He'd completely forgotten about the thumb. She obviously couldn't. The ribbons of flesh contracted around him.

She lassoed his neck and yanked hard, until she reeled him in for a kiss. He slipped his member effortlessly between her folds.

Their lips smacked loudly as he broke away.

"See. Squishy enough for you? You did fine."

"Some of it's yours," she smirked.

He winked at her. "Wait a month. It'll be more authentic."

"Awwww..." she crooned. "Well when you have a problem like that, just call... Come on, hon. It won't last long. Let's not waste- good... ooooohhh... gooooNNNd...."

"I don't know where they are. They're always running off on me like that. Why don't you sit down and share some breakfast." He scooted his chair over to make room for Dahlia. "So whatever happened to the goat?"

"It stank."

Milk sputtered all over the table.

"Did I say something funny?"

"Yeah." He wiped his chin. "So what happened at the great trial?"

"Trial? No one was on trial. We haven't had to do that since I can't remember."

"What happened between Terry and Olivia?"

"Oh. Why didn't you just ask that?" He sighed. "Well, they were right. Rachel was most unhappy with them."

"What did she find?"

"Which 'she'?"

"Rachel. What did Rachel decide after looking at the leash and the carcass?"

"Oh. It wasn't her- never mind. She thinks it died of, uh, nature?" Her head tilted as if the earth was yanking on her long blonde hair. "I mean what else would it die of?" she complained in a whisper. She straightened up again and flipped her ponytail back. "Either that or a snake. She didn't think anyone beat it." Dahlia paused. "Why would anyone do that?" she wondered out loud.

"So what did the Queen say?"

The blonde frowned. "She didn't have a chance."

"Why not?"

"They withdrew their complaint."

"What's so bad about that? You look like they did something wrong?"

"Well she very rarely gets to sit in judgement anyway... You shouldn't do that to a person, you know."

"Why did they withdraw?"

"They knew Lucia was going to say payment wasn't delivered."

"Hah. So I gave her good advice after all?"

"Hm. I don't know if she would have recommended that," she smirked. "Nine months is a long wait."

"So what was decided?"

"Lucia didn't say. They withdrew right before. I think when they heard how drastic the decision might be they decided to kiss and make up. They worked out something a little less harsh to the each of them, I think." She smiled. "I think Terry realized she could wind up pregnant too after next week and I doubt she'd want to be a milk-cow either. That's probably why she volunteered to help Olivia trap one of the wild goats on the far side of the island."

"Are they- " He stopped himself from saying 'boyfriend-girlfriend.'

"Lovers? Yes. I think so. At one point at least. Perhaps again. Many disputes relate to that. You'd expect people to be able to settle such things themselves but sometimes their hearts run away with them."

"Well, they eventually came to their senses and realized how much trouble they'd put people through and how they'd embarrassed themselves. That's all that counts."

"Embarrassed?" She clucked her tongue. "If it was love, then there's nothing embarrassing when you need someone else's help to work out your feelings for another person."

"Oh." Spoken like a true woman. Oh well... He winked at her. "Care for a little of my own milk?" He nudged his glass in her direction as she chuckled.

"If it's one thing the island has in abundance, it's milk."

"Eggs?" He offered her the plate.

"Eggs too," she laughed. "No thank you, but I've eaten already. Ugh. And you had to go and remind me about that goat..."

"That was fast."

"It took a day to find someone, actually." Andrea's eyes narrowed. "Rose wouldn't share this morning."

"Rose had good reason not to. Don't pick on her."

"I know. But I like Marla better," she said, pecking the grinning blonde on the cheek.

Jimmy stroked Hope's shoulder until she turned and looked up with her friendly eyes.

"You realize Hope you could get pregnant from this."

She curled a lock of hair sweetly around his fingers. "It's a very small chance... but I know. Don't worry. It's about the worst time for it."

"Worst time?"

"Of my month."

"Famous last words."

"Last words?"

"I don't want you to end up barefoot and pregnant with no one to care for you."

Her warm hands crept under his toga as he kissed her on the forehead. "There's always someone," she sighed. "I'm sure I'd find her."

He caressed her neck as she nuzzled him quietly.

He turned to Marla, getting strangely excited by the headache of absorbing three seperate sets of emotions in the bedroom.

"Sure you won't be disappointed?" he asked the blonde. "Three's a bit much, don't you think?"

"You suggested it."

A chuckle stumbled out of his mouth. "Andrea suggested it."

"You want me to leave?" Andrea asked, a bit puzzled.

"No, honey." He drew Andrea's hand up for a kiss. "I'm just not sure with three women... I could spend enough time with each to be fair."

"Oh. I only wanted a little bit," she said.

"Well I wanted a little more," he replied, pinching her plump bottom. Andrea giggled shamelessly and cupped his face for a kiss. Her other hand roamed light as a feather over his spine. He could feel Hope slipping through his arms as the big beauty drew closer. "But it wouldn't be fair to the others..." he reminded her.

"I know," Andrea whispered. "Maybe one of us should come back?" Her ebony eyebrow curled. "Me?"

"Nooo," he protested. Marla and Hope sat diplomatically out of range, kissing together on the bed. Their light stroking provided a feast for his growing passion. "Please stay." His eyes felt like they would split apart. "I'd love to... maybe... if..."

His earlobe slipped from Andrea's teeth. "I'll give you a good show..." she trilled, "give you something to look forward to..."

"You sure there's another girl who- ?"

"I know just the one." She cupped his ear. "And Marla really likes me. I'll keep her busy tonight when you don't... Or maybe when you do..."

"Devil!" He pinched her and giggled at her boldness with her. He leaned in and added his own twist to her designs: "No more Hope for Marla, huh?"

"No!" she sputtered.

"Ladies!" Jimmy announced. "We have a compromise!" The girls turned and smiled from their sweet embrace as he approached with Andrea wrapped on an arm. JimmyÕs wink almost divided a line down their middle. "I hope you enjoyed that kiss... because it's the last we're going to let you two steal from each other..."

Marla smiled as Andrea pealed away from him. She rose from Hope's soft hands, folded herself around him and leapt on his hips, dragging him into bed and down on her warm, plush form.

"Oh." Hope's blushing voice wafted over almost immediately. "Goodness they're big."

The lovely thing was inundated with boobs. Her delicate fingers fumbled with Andrea's out of control bosom like that cup of juice at the schoolyard table. Only these she couldn't spill or drive away. Marla peppered his chin with kisses while he watched Hope push futily at the giant mammaries. It was no use. She was trapped. Every little brushing movement only piqued Andrea's passion for her more.

With a charming sigh, the cute teen resigned herself to fate, caressing and cuddling the large puddles of flesh. An eye finally peaked out from between the sisters, its lash fluttering in disbelief at his lewd smile. "These give you a big prick?" Hope asked sheepishly, as she wrestled with the two heavy tentacles.

Andrea's eyes rolled back in delight from the struggling fingers.

"Oh yeah," he groaned.

"Umph." Hope spit more tit flesh out. "Well what good is it, if I can't see it?"

Jimmy chuckled. "Erections are better felt and not seen."

"Oooh." Now Marla let out that delightful sound of feminine surprise.

"Wouldn't you agree Marla?"

"Absolutely," she sighed. "Slow- slowly, please." A hand floated to his chest and she grinned politely in her struggle past the initial discomfort. "You're so big."

"Thank you."

"Oh?" She seemed puzzled at his response. "You're welcome, I guess."

He and Andrea chuckled at her. "It's fun being big, isn't it Andrea?"

"Yeahssss," she moaned. The mother-to-be stroked Hope's sandy hair back while the teen lapped at her broad saucers. "Squeeze a little more, cutey." She yelped suddenly as Hope yanked a dark spike between her teeth. "Ooo... you know how to get a girl wet..."

Hope gurgled in laughter, tugging the warm columns back and forth over themselves.

His eyes fell on Marla again, now grinding pleasantly against his pubic bone. "Don't you like watching?" he teased.

She drowned him in a kiss.

Jimmy pushed her knees back farther and shoved her across the bed until her back started to rise against one of the posts. Her lungs grabbed at the used air in his. Their quickening breath refused to release his lips. Underneath, lurking in the soft vibrations of her throat he could feel the trapped moans slowly building to a crescent.

With a loud, wet smacking he turned and broke it off.

"Oh... Jimmy?" Andrea crooned. The raven haired Venus crooked her finger, drawing in his gaze to her pouting mouth. Her ruby lips moistened mere inches from Hope's splayed legs. The wonderfully long tongue unfurled and went to work in the girl's paltry bush, licking and munching through her valley.

She was indeed skillful, judging from the passionate groans and whines filling the room. Hope writhed and lunged at that luscious mouth while she tweaked her delicate nipples, fingers turning her chest red with their plucking. Her eyes clouded over.

The girl was gone.

And what a sexy snatch it was getting twiddled. He'd never seen a girl with such sparse hair down there.

How old was she truly? Her bosom was plainy full and ripe but the little beige hairs hugging her crotch were only thick enough to be visible in the middle where they merged like vines into a line that blended with her fatty slit.

Andrea parted her open again, revealing her pink and tasty treat.

And again it disappeared buried in a loud slurping.

"Andrea's doing an lot of hard work to keep your playmate there happy."

"I know," Marla purred. "She's a wonderful lay."

Andrea glanced back with narrow eyes. Was she blushing? That embarrassed her.

"Oo." Marla stroked his cheek.

"You know she'll be doing that on you in a minute, don't you?"

"Yeah," she sighed wonderfully. "Not toooo soon I hope."

"Don't you think you should work on repaying her? Maybe in advance..." he hinted.

"Mm. Yeah... she is fun to chew on at that."

Her legs locked with expert precision around his waist while he lifted her to a better angle. Andrea, not needing any prompting, wiggled her plump derriere into position and buried Marla in a rich tuft of dark curls. The view of her shadowy slit vanished as Marla covered it with the pink underside of her tongue.

He slapped Andrea's fanny, sending wonderful ripples through her thighs. With both hands, he steadied himself on her and kneaded each luscious cheek... but the rocking in her hips seemed to call for a little more. Jimmy leaned on one arm, careful not to crush the woman under him, and worked a finger into her warm muff, letting her eagerly hump his hand along with Marla's chin.

He loved watching a woman do that. And Andrea did it with such zeal.

His elbow soon tired and her fragrance became overwhelming. He pulled out of her snug tunnel and bent forward over Marla's juicy face, replacing his knuckles with his tongue. Together they kissed her bottom and wrestled over her moist prize. Then Marla moved lower, finally nursing at the sweet pearl of their sex. Andrea gasped in muffled harmony with Hope.

The quivering cushions of Andrea's body were wonderful in their own right, as was her bedroom song but the acrobatics got the better of him. Jimmy pulled out of Marla and slumped back on the bed, waiting to see how the girls would take the initiative.

One by one he felt pairs of hands slinking up his thighs.

Marla grabbed hold of his cock and jealously took back her juices, tilting her head to the side and wrapping her lips around him like a hotdog bun.

Andrea tapped her shoulder politely. "Let me show you."

"She does it better?" Marla asked.

"So far..." he teased. "Who knows? Maybe you'll surpass your teacher..."

Marla giggled and observed intently as Andrea clamped down and sucked him into her lungs. She had the rhythm just right too... had since their first encounter...

His mind wandered off as his hands played in her silky long hair.

"Not too much of that," Hope chided as she caressed one of Andrea's massive globes. Worry of wasting 'it' was written clearly on her face.

'It.'

He chuckled.

They suddenly looked like a bunch of coeds trying to get enough money together for one last ticket on the roller coaster. But who would go...?

"Yeah," he breathed mischievously. "Hope wants her chance to practice too."

"That's not what I- " Hope's sexual flush deepened as the grinning blonde pushed her face first into his glistening pole.

Marla shifted lower to lick at his balls while Hope tentatively worked her lips around the tip of his organ. She obviously wasn't going to take him all the way in, but the slender hand she wrapped around his shaft was quite adorable.

But her other one was getting rude.

Somehow Andrea knew enough to try to pry it away but Hope wouldn't retreat.

"Please don't, girls." He brushed away all their fingers, well-meaning or otherwise. But Hope wouldn't let it go. He folded his arms over his hairless chest and blushed at the small but uncomfortable amount of cleavage that appeared. "I said stop it," he ordered.

Hope let him slip from her mouth and backed away.

Jimmy wanted to throw her on her belly and punch it to her mercilessly like Amanda in heat.

But there was no wicked grin on her lovely face.

She didn't even twirl her hair.

Andrea whispered something in her ear.

"Sorry," she said.

He grabbed a wrist and plucked the limp girl up for a kiss. "Climb on, honey."

"But Marla hasn't had her practice yet."

"Marla's busy."

She turned to see Andrea climbing on top of her, battering the older woman's hips with her huge breasts as they split apart each other pussies and happily licked away.

"Marla was right," Hope whispered in his ear. "She does have a good tongue."

"I know." He kissed her. "So do you."

"Sorry," she said again innocently, as he felt her warm walls embrace him. "I thought you were playing."

"It's fine."

Time to screw Hope, chuckled Jimmy quietly to himself.

It was the part of evening when things got quiet in the village but right before they got busy again. Though there was still light in the sky, the children had all gone home. The shepherdesses and fisherwomen were packing it in. The fresh catch of the day had been distributed and now the women were preparing dinner.

He wandered down the street poking his head in some of the houses just to say hello. He knew most of the children by name now and they were always glad to see him, but he tried to be careful of distracting them from their chores.

He still didn't know quite what to do with the adolescent girls. Some of them had such stunned expressions when they laid eyes on him. He could see the fear and lust fighting inside their eyes. And the obvious embarrassment they felt about the strange new feelings they had.

Island law wouldn't allow them to join the 'list' until they were at least Melissa's age, but even then most, like Hope, waited and pined away, fearful of having a child so young.

But it didn't stop some from suggesting it. One mother, when he asked for clarification, emphasized that his rules only applied to women old enough to conceive and that if a young girl caught his fancy to simply ask her mother if she'd had her first period. Donatella then went on to remark, rather proudly (and somewhat suggestively), that her own daughter had indeed started just a few months ago.

How did she put it exactly? "Became a woman," she said.

But then she kept referring to her "little girl."

The girl, barely fourteen, stood like a beanstalk beside her, looking at him with such eager brown eyes.

For some reason he just couldn't bring himself. And he felt guilty for it too.

Should he think of the woman as a pervert? What did that mean here? Was she just looking out for her daughter's happiness?

Amber simply shrugged it off when he told her about it, like it was just another fact of life and not her business. Like it was a matter of taste.

And to think... that beanstalk could have been a boy just last year...

Why was he thinking back to that now? Was that why he was avoiding all the older families? They liked greeting him, just the same, even if sex was off the table.

Was it fair of him not to say hello too?

If the old boys really were new girls, wasn't he depriving them of something too?

The family section faded in the distance and for some reason he found himself on the road to the schoolhouse. It would be empty this time of the afternoon, but still his mind (and feet) drifted to it.

He hadn't seen much of Amber for almost two days. She was always anxious to be with him when they ran across one another and she clearly enjoyed his company. But then, after a few minutes she wandered off to work on some unnamed task, drifting away in her daily stream of duties.

Well. So what? So did all the other girls in his circle if it wasn't their day.

He was a bit surprised to catch her sitting alone at one of the lunch tables in the school yard, doing nothing in particular besides enjoying the sun's warmth. Part of a date rested in her slack hand. She chewed slowly on its other half, savoring the fruit she liked so much, then swallowed and looked off into the shadows of the forest.

"What are you so down about?"

"Oh. Hello." Amber smoothed out her dress. "Nothing," she said, frowning at the fabric as she remembered the juices still on her hand.

The half-finished fruit plopped to the ground as Jimmy sauntered up behind her, rubbing her soft ivory shoulders until the stress of the day disappeared from her limp neck.

"How about I sneak away for half an hour and cheer you up?"

"Mmmm," she moaned pleasantly, head lolling about and sweeping her warm satin tresses over his arm. "I can't. I'm having my- " Her eyes snapped opened and her delicate bones stiffened again.

"Period?"

"Yes."

"Well that doesn't mean we can't... oh. Oh. I'm so sorry." He freed her from his grip neck and sat beside her, drawing her hand in his.

"No. It's OK. Really. I'm young. I have plenty of chances. It's not like it's your fault."

"Sure it is."

"Huh?"

"I should have never put a little Helen in you. She's a jealous one I bet."

The back of her hand rubbed across her cheek but he couldn't see tears on her face. He couldn't tell at all if she'd been crying.

"I wonder if she's pregnant," Amber whispered.

"Why don't you ask her?"

"No. It's, um... She's married."

"Is there some reason nobody wants to say?"

"Yeah. It's a... We usually wait until the new moon."

"I'd like to know now."

"It... it puts pressure on you. No one wants to do that. We want you to enjoy yourself. Oh listen. I'm sorry I said anything to you about it."

"Hey. We've still got some time. I'll wait until the end of the month and we'll try again, OK?"

"Thanks. I've had my chance, though. You don't have to if you- "

"Nonsense. We are going to make love again sometime... aren't we?"

"Yes." She laughed and sniffled. "I'd hoped we were. It's all up to you, of course."

"No it's not."

She smiled but looked away at the fine pebbles on the ground.

"Hey. I just realized something. We can both get drunk now. Come on. Let's go have us some drinks and a good old time. You want to?"

"I can't... I can't be with you in that way tonight. I'm on my- "

"Hell, I know that. Let's just go get us a bottle of wine and howl at the moon." Amber laughed. "I've been wanting to do that since I got here." She flicked her crimson mane back and smiled again at him. "Let's get some of the girls together and just have some fun. Come on, you've probably got plenty of friends we can go do that with. Let's round them up and have a party."

"But what about your, uh, girl tonight?"

"Ah, fuck her," he laughed. "What do I care?"

"Please? For me?" Her emerald eyes sparkled. "We can have a drink afterwards."

"All right," he sighed. "Don't have too much fun without me."

"I don't know who I could get besides you," Amber frowned. "I mean if it's just for me. It's not a festival and most people have to be up at dawn... Maybe some of your volunteers are free. Did you want I should- "

"It'll just be the two of us, then."

"Thanks."

"All you had to do was ask."

She finally snorted something back in her throat. "I know. I thought... I wanted to just let it pass by." Her clear nails brushed the airy belly of the dress. "It's bothering me more than usual."

"Oh..." That. He winced. "Are yours bad?"

"No. Not usually. I just didn't want to be around you and feel this way. The wine should help, though. I was thinking of getting drunk tonight anyway."

"Good." He glanced around the bare woods and sat up, brushing the dirt from his rear end. "Well I know you're just going to tell me you've got to run off and do something else now- "

"Yes," she laughed lightly.

"Why don't you stop by for dinner later?"

"When are you eating?"

"Whenever you show up."

"Oh... How about sunset?"

"Sunset? That soon?" He leapt up with a smirk on his face. "Better hurry up and round up Gail then... Sorry... gotta get to work..."

Amber chuckled as she watched him jog off.

"For someone who doesn't play cards very well, you do like the game."

"Yeah. You gonna give me any of my chips back?"

"No. I gave them to Dahlia. I think she's already eaten them."

"Ho hum. I'd like to keep at least two of my nuts." Amber giggled and then stumbled over a large root in the path. "I'll have to introduce you to strip poker. That's a game I'd try to win."

"You mean you let me win?" she pouted. "I thought you were genuinely rotten... What kind of a gift is palm nuts to give someone you like?"

"Dahlia liked them."

"You like Dahlia?" She reached over and tickled him the dumb expression from his face.

"The Queen's looking for any excuse to run me in... Say. You think I could coax her into bed again? I'd like to just screw it to her one last time. Rachel said I could with married women."

"Yes, you can."

"Oh. Sorry. I shouldn't talk about other women around you."

"No... I was just..." Her feet came to a halt and she turned to him. "What's 'strip' poker?"

"Oh. It's where you bet the clothes you're wearing instead of poker chips. The winner winds up with everyone's clothes."

"I bet you'd lose at that game too." She sighed. "But then who wouldn't?"

He laughed and sat on a log. His legs were getting too rubbery. Amber wavered in the air above him a moment, regained her composure and then took her place beside him.

"You didn't mind the extra faces at dinner?" he asked.

"No. Not at all. Penelope's been a good friend to me over the years. So have the others. Thanks for inviting them."

"I liked listening to their stories about you."

She pinched him. "It's no fair. You don't have any friends around who can embarrass you that way."

"You could." He landed an uncoordinated kiss on her jaw. "So if you were having so much fun, why'd you suddenly drag me out here?"

"It's getting late. We're going to fall asleep soon."

"Oh." Somehow that explanation made perfect sense under the moonlight of the empty field.

He took another drink and passed the calfskin to her.

"Out under the night sky..." Amber hummed to herself. Was it part of some song? He listened to the sloshing as she took a swig. "I just wanted some time together," she explained.

"So did I."

He gazed up at the milky lunar orb as it hung large in the sky. The way it sat on top of them reminded him of a chadelier- another one of those things he'd never see again.

He flipped it a bird.

'It'? Flipped 'it'?

Was 'it' an 'it'? Maybe it was a 'she'-

"What's this?" Amber held her middle finger up to the moon and closed one eye, then the other as she peered around her digit at the white disk. She looked like she was taking one of those driver's license tests.

"It's an american symbol," he explained. "I'm telling the moon to go fuck itself."

She laughed hysterically until she slid off the log.

"Why would you want to do anything so nice for her?"

"Nice?"

"The moon is jealous. She doesn't have any lovers. That's why she chases the sun."

"Telling someone to go fuck themselves is considered a rude insult where I'm from."

"Oh."

"It implies nobody else would love them. And they have to do it themselves."

"Oh."

Right? What exactly did it mean? "Don't you have... don't you refer to sex and misfortune that way? Tell someone to go screw themselves or say 'I hope you get screwed'?"

"No." She stroked his shin. "I like getting screwed."

Jimmy chuckled. "Well I was certainly screwed when I got here."

"No. You won't get screwed for a long time."

"Huh?"

"You need a man for that, don't you?... Sorry to bring it up."

He pinched her check. "I can still screw you..."

He finally fell into the dewy grass with her.

"Stop," she protested. "I said I can't."

"You don't want to kiss just a little?"

"That's all?"

"Honey, my dick is so tired, trust me... It got so small it's inside me now."

Amber laughed. "Really? I'd like to see that." Jimmy fumbled with his belt. "No," she chuckled. "I'll take your word."

"Good," he sighed. He blinked hard and turned to her again. "Now where were we?"

As she returned his kiss, Jimmy slowly leaned over until they were both on their sides, each with an arm slung over the log. Her soothing hands caressed his neck and ran playfully along his spine... then to the small of his back...

Suddenly it wasn't inside him anymore.

He prodded around the unfathomable layers of fabric that wrapped her waist, searching for a piece of warm flesh. He followed the curve in her hip to the wiry little forest and from there to the prized pea of her sex where he began circling her... calling her out...

"Don't," she moaned.

"It hurts?"

"No. I like it." She sighed. "Ok. Go ahead then."

Her thighs stayed welded together but she slowly rocked her hips forward until more of her slit greeted his hand. He could feel a fleshy part of each lip now, leading away into that incomprehensible void all women carried between their legs.

Her glassy green eyes closed, hiding away the two white circles trapped in them. Her exhausted head sank into his elbow and the rotting wood beneath. He put his lips on hers and she kissed him weakly, parting her mouth and allowing his tongue to explore while her hands limply massaged the tendons tugging in his arm.

"A bit faster," she whispered. "Lighter too..."

Amber bit her lower lip as he complied.

She whimpered in his ear while he kissed her up stretched neck.

Her waist jerked and her clit pulled away from him, ever so subtly.

It returned from its hiding place.

She took a deep breath. Her eyes opened. Two little bits of moon smiled at him from her dark orbs and the couple kissed a little longer, now with more enthusiasm.

Her breathing became labored.

She turned on her back to rest, and he did the same.

They watched the night sky in silence.

"How do you do it again?"

She pointed her middle finger at the moon.

"No. Hold it like this. Vertical... no. Horizontal, then... or whatever. Yeah... Now say 'Fuck off!'"

"Fuck off!" She fell into giggling again.

That just ruined it.

Her smile slowly faded.

Amber clutched the bag she'd brought and sat up.

"Hey! Where you going with the wine?"

"Sorry. Got to be alone a minute."

"Oh."

She waddled off to the woods.

"Take a torch with you! Don't want you getting bit like that goat..." he mumbled. Shoot. They hadn't brought any, had they? Well the moonlight was enough.

He sighed and draped his head against the log.

Scattered rain drops fell on the dry leaves. Soon they crinkled underfoot again.

Amber laid down next to him.

Was she staring at him? He couldn't take his eyes off that bright globe. He knew from the pictures brought back by men who walked on it just how cold and lifeless it was- despite island superstitions. There was nothing feminine about it.

Maybe that's why it was jealous...

She muttered something.

"Huh?"

"I said you're handsome. Are you deaf too?"

"You said it in Greek."

"Oh." She turned up to the sky. "I can't help it. It's what I think in."

"Does talking to me make your head hurt?"

"No. We learn English early. I can think in that too. They say it's what everyone speaks outside."

"Have to be prepared, huh?"

"Yes. The curse might lift. Who knows?"

"Great," he groaned. "Just my luck. I'll grow tits and then we'll all get rescued. I'll spend the rest of my life some topless dancer getting groped when she goes shopping."

"Huh?"

"Strippers. They're, uh- "

"I know what strippers are. Some of the men ask for it, like on your first night- "

"Hey I didn't- "

"But what's 'shopping'?"

"Oh. You need money for that. Then again, you need money for stripping too. No. Maybe that's just to watch. Yeah." He stole another taste from the calf- skin. "That's how it works."

"Oh... You mean we haven't been doing it right?"

"You do it too well..." He wiped his purple chin on his sleeve. "Hey. Am I gonna have to do that?"

"Do what?"

"Strut my stuff to those flutes?" Did women actually want to do any of that? Would he? Yuck... But then it looked sexy as hell. Especially that little fluttering number they did with the long scarves...

"I don't know," Amber replied. "Depends on who you pick, I guess. I don't do it."

"You don't like to dance?"

"Of course I do. I like to keep my clothes on, though."

Jimmy stood up, staggered for a moment until he regained his balance, and held out a hand.

"Is this where we howl at the moon?"

"This is where we dance." He steadied her as she rose into his arms. "Then we'll howl at the moon."

"Keep me awake for that part."

"Hi, Jimmy."

Huh?

What was Melissa doing way out here in the middle of a field?

Come to think of it, why was his bed in the middle of a field too?

Or was it just him?

No. Amber stirred under his arm, letting out one of the most heart-warming moans a man could ever hear.

Ow. Maybe not. It rang through his ear. That and Melissa's endless prattling made his head throb.

"You were hard to find," she informed him. "One of the cowgirls spotted you on the way to grazing the herds."

Cows?

"Urp. I need to go to the bathroom." Why was the world spinning?

"Didn't anyone tell you not to get drunk? It'll spoil your day." Melissa knelt and shook Amber awake while Jimmy wandered off for a tree of the appropriate width.

Melissa's olive-skinned frown came into focus for her. "I know you like him but how could you let him talk you into it, Amber?"

"Huh?" She burped up a foul smelling odor. "I feel fine. What's wrong?"

"You let him talk you into drinking. You know men can't handle their wine."

"Huh? He out-drank me last night... Oh dear. I forgot. How is he feeling?"

"See for yourself." Amber followed her long finger to Jimmy leaning against a tall oak. He waved politely and nearly fell over. "Now he'll be sick all morning," she complained.

"I am not," he yelled, surprising Amber. "I'll be fine. Ow. And stop shouting."

"At least his hearing's getting better," Amber sighed.

"Yeah. You know why that is." Melissa propped a hand under her elbow to lift her. "How do you feel?"

"A little headache. Nothing bad."

Jimmy glanced at his hand. Had he cut himself when he scraped the bark?

No. The blood was dried.

He spit on his finger and rubbed away the tiny red smudge. Some stick or something must have poked him during the night.

"It was his idea, not mine," Amber whispered to Melissa.

"You told him, didn't you? You could get in trouble."

"He wanted to make love. What was I supposed to tell him? I lost my vagina? I'll find it tomorrow?" Melissa frowned. "He just wanted a friend last night... So did I." Amber sighed. "O!"

"Sneak up on you?"

"Yes."

Jimmy embraced her waist and rested his chin on her head, taking a deep breath of the rosy aroma still in her auburn curls. "It's true. I twisted her arm." He turned, eyed Melissa and gave Amber a peck on the cheek. "I'll still be with her again... and last night if she would have had me." His brow arched. "So is she screwed? You going to put her on trial?" he asked, triggering funny smirking noises in both girls. "Do I gotta sleep with the judge to get her out of the pokey? The jury? Tell me what I gotta do."

"I think you already have," Amber chuckled.

"No," Melissa said faintly. "I'll be discrete."

"Or at least sympathetic," he reminded her.

"I am." It was hard to tell when her dark skin blushed, but the young woman's eyes glanced down a moment as she batted her lashes. "I didn't mean to..." She straightened up. "I hope you feel better. I'll return to the palace and get breakfast ready."

"Thanks."

They watched her short skirt ride up in the wind as she trotted back to the path.

He spun Amber around in his arms. "How about it? Join me for a bite?"

"OK."

He clutched his head, now that Melissa was out of sight.

"Feeling bad?"

"Yeah. It's the moon's turn to howl back," he chuckled. "How come you aren't all queasy?"

"I am a little... but we don't get sick like that, remember?"

"Must be handy for all the Roman orgies."

"We don't have orgies in Latin anymore. Why? You want one?"

"Not right now. I'd settle for an aspirin."

"I can't, unfortunately."

"I know." Jimmy took a deep breath, which drew more of Amber's concern. "It's just a hangover. I'll live."

"Sorry."

"Hell, I knew I'd have one. It's no big deal." He kissed her forehead. "I can convince everyone I'm fine. I used to do it at work all the time."

She smiled weakly. "I had fun last night."

"Good. You going to keep avoiding me?"

"No," she laughed. "I'll stay by your side as long as you want."

"You have to teach this morning?"

"Yes."

He patted her bottom. "Why don't you run off then?" She shot him a funny look. "Ironic, huh? I'm the one with the headache now."

"Oh. Yours will clear up. It'll just take longer."

"I know."

"So am I screwed?" she whispered.

"You know it."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Good." She grinned. "The pokey, huh?" She pinched his cheek. "I think I might like the pokey. Let me stay in it a while longer?"

"What happened to Melissa? You're not helping today, are you?"

"Oh. Did you forget?" Linda nodded discretely at the girl in front of her. "You know Susan, of course. You two have been very friendly with one another."

"Of course I know Susan... OH." The one Linda had mentioned. "It's your turn today, is it? Sorry but Melissa didn't tell me anything this morning."

"She said you might be... uh, a little out of it," Susan replied timidly.

Linda grinned wickedly at him. Her girlfriend was so coy. A perfect match for such an aggressive woman. She reminded him of Dahlia in a way but without as much self-confidence. Was it her shorter height?

Then Linda did something which surprised him. She stepped forward and kissed Susan on the side of her cheek. Looking first at Jimmy, then into Susan's hazel eyes, she said, "I'll let you two get to know each other a moment... I'll be right outside, OK?"

"OK." Susan's voice wavered. "Thank you," she whispered.

Jimmy took the small brunette's hand and led her to bed as Linda disappeared between the curtains. "Why don't you sit a minute and get comfortable?"

"All right."

"You've been very sweet to me during my time here. I really liked those flowers you picked for me."

"Thank you. Amber said you would like them."

"I did." He pulled her hand up and kissed her knuckles. "I've been looking forward to this. You're a very beautiful woman."

Susan smiled, but didn't have much luck acknowledging his compliment. "Linda..." she started. The poor girl was terminally shy. She brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. "Linda," she whispered, "suggested you might like her here with me?"

"She did?" He kissed her again. "What do you suggest?"

"Do you... do you like Linda a lot? In that way I mean?"

"In what way?"

"Does she excite you?" The girl's eyes fell to the floor.

Jimmy pulled her chin back to him. "All the lovely women excite me." He kissed her. "You most of all right now."

"Oh."ÊShe smiled again. "They say... they say you like her... um, the ways she looks a bit. A bit more... I mean," she stuttered, "you're partial to..."

"Would you like to be alone with me?"

"Oh no. I like her too much."

"You want her to be here?"

"Yes. If it's no trouble."

"Of course not."

She smiled meekly. "I like her nipples too." Jimmy pecked her cheek. "I said... I promised I'd share you."

"You must like the rest of her very much."

Susan turned rosy. "I do."

"You know they say she...." He looked at her, inviting the bashful thing to complete his thought.

"She runs around?" she asked, eyes perking up. "I know. She said I'm different. She does want to change."

"Has she told other girls that?"

She shrugged. "She has to mean it sometime. And if she has a child she will."

"Well your charity is admirable. I hope she takes good care of you."

"She will."

"I want you to know I would if I- "

"I know." Susan stroked his hand. "You're a good man. I'm sorry our joy turned out to be your misery."

"I'm not miserable."

"Good." She fell silent, questioning him further with her doe-like eyes.

"How much of me did you want to share?"

"It's... uh, it's up to you. All if you want..."

"What do you want?"

She thought a moment. "I want us to enjoy one another. I want very much to have a child... and I want one for her too."

"Is her time right?"

"It's still good for it."

They were intimate. "How long have you been together with her?"

"Since you got here."

"Has she fooled around on you?"

"Only with you," she grinned softly. "No. Not that I know of... but I really don't care to know if she did. It's not important to me."

"You're awfully understanding."

"Some of us are," she shrugged. "It's just sex. She comes home and keeps me warm at night. That's all that counts."

He pinched her cheek. "Sure you haven't been cheating on her?"

"Only with you." Susan ventured a pinch of her own, in a more intimate spot. "And not enough..." she hinted.

Linda's wavy yellow crest poked back in. "How are things?"

"We were just talking about you." He waved her through the curtains. "It seems Susan and I have the same tastes."

"Yeah?" Linda's robe opened and fell to the floor in one fluid motion. "Please... do taste..."

The white pink mounds capping her breasts twinkled in the sunlight. Even before his tongue touched them, they gleamed like oil on water.

She cradled Susan's head in her arms first, smothering the girl in her delightful globes. Her lips curled into a wanton smile, flashing her clenched pearly teeth as she forcefully seized her neck. The broad, puffy areola vanished under Susan's gentle sucking lips.

Jimmy rose and tackled its ignored twin bringing Linda's fingers to a halt in her lover's brown hair. Her white neck stretched forward sending short blonde hair falling around her ears. She moaned and gracefully sank to the bed as his teeth nipped at her puckering nipple. He turned and caught a glimpse of Susan's raised eyebrows as she nipped at the hard point. Her eyes widened, trying to read the change in mood that had overtaken her lover.

Linda reclined softly on the sheets, throwing her hands to the side. Her neck twisted coyly, inviting him to have his way with the statuesque angel.

Susan smiled shyly at Jimmy and gently nudged him aside. Her nursing quickly brought back Linda's cat-like scowl. Her fingers flexed and resumed their vigorous massage of her tan skin.

Susan shot him a strange, but priceless look as Linda drew her up for a suffocating kiss.

The tall woman suddenly relaxed under him as his lips touched her teat again. Susan broke off and winked at him. Her lip curled upward as she took advantage of the lull and buried Linda in pent-up affection, licking and nipping at every inch of her neck and face. The blonde woman lay helpless to respond, enraptured by his masculine touch.

Jimmy's tongue slipped lower, piquing her desire and exciting the back of her throat while he lingered over her belly.

She moaned as he slipped a finger into her slick canal, but Susan quickly muffled it. He pressed her knee back and chewed on the sparse yellow fuzz wiggling away from him. Susan kissed the nape of her arched neck and pushed her head farther back with her palm. Jimmy took a few last licks of her glistening pink flower before sitting up and plungomg into her.

Susan looked back and straddled Linda's waist, offering her own set of cushions to his hard working hips. He fell on top of her, sandwiching the smaller woman and smiling as she cupped Linda's face and wrestled with her accommodating tongue. Linda did her best to smile back but her confused eyes fluttered between the pair above her.

He cupped Susan's hip and fingered her clit until her bottom moistened and arced rhythmically against him. When she humped his hand vigorously, he switched girls.

Linda was all over her the instant he slipped out, bathing her in forceful wet caresses. The slack disappeared from her jaw. Limp hands danced to new life on Susan's back and worked their way under her to tug at her nipples. Before Jimmy could change his mind, Linda scooted strategically far away, grinding her pelvis into Susan's face.

"Eat me, honey. Give me some of that sweet tongue... mmmmm... yeah..." she growled in satisfaction. Then Linda winked at Jimmy like a condescending office manager. "Isn't she sweet?"

"Yeah. She's got a sweet little pussy." He kissed her shoulder. "You're all so tight."

"That's no surprise," Linda laughed.

Susan slurped in agreement.

Linda kicked her head back with abandon and twisted the brunette strands around her fingers.

Yeah, baby, he thought to himself. I'll take care of that grin again in a minute...

Susan sprawled on her side, legs spread wide as her hand flew faster than a hummingbird's wings over her clit, playing its floppy lips like a rubber band. Her eyes burned into Linda's loose form.

She sat up on her elbows, aiming her crotch squarely at Linda to tease her with its slinging juices.

The flush on both girls deepened.

Linda gasped.

The more he made her whimper in delight and lose control, the faster Susan's pinky fluttered.

"Come in her Jimmy... ghunh... please come in her..."

"Ahem."

There it was again.

Did dreams clear their throats?

He rubbed his eyes and squinted until the blur turned into Dahlia.

She stood before him dressed in a long white gown. Lucia was behind her, flanked by his five volunteers.

Five? He was alone again in bed? No. Susan was supposed to be... She was gone to. He felt around the empty sheets and pulled them to his chest. She'd slipped out on him, that rat. After how nice he was to her? Disarming Linda like that?

There were more female faces poking up through the far window- children supported on someone's shoulders, he imagined. He turned. Women were at the window behind him. They lined the walls of the room and spilled out of the corridors.

How had they all snuck up on him like that?

It was the first morning all over again.

Wasn't this where Lucia knocked him over the head and fucked his brains out? Was that what was happening again? Reruns, already? Or was it an ending? He hadn't run out of pussy had he? No. Something like... hm. Maybe forty more. A few less.

He sat up and tried to comb his disheveled hair into place. The sheets wrapped tighter around his bare rear end and he heard an ever-so-slight groan of disappointment escape from the window behind him.

Dahlia cleared her golden throat once more and stepped forward with a long scroll stretched between her hands.

"For acts of bravery toward unconscious goats and roasting sows, for acts of charity towards fish," Dahlia struggled to keep a straight face, "for his great strength both of character and physique, for gracing us with his keen mind and wit and, above all, for his generosity of spirit and kindness toward the Island, the Queen has ordained that Jim Bob of the Bakers be given a day of rest and reflection to do with as he pleases. No one shall make demands of him this day, nor shall they turn down his any reasonable request. This says our Queen. This say we all." She crumpled the rods together and dropped them by her side. Jimmy looked at her a bit puzzled. "You can go, do what you want with whomever you want,"Êshe declared in a whisper. "Or just take the time to be by yourself. It's up to you." Dahlia curtsied and stepped backwards into the arms of the queen.

He yawned, rubbed his eyes and took another look at everyone as he stretched. "Too bad I couldn't have saved the goat that did die," he cracked. "I'd get an extra day for sure."

The Queen and her consort chuckled.

But he could feel the hearts stopping in several of the women surrounding him. About four, to be exact. All when he mentioned the 'extra day'...

"What about the, uh, ladies for today?"

"They have all agreed to pass," Lucia explained. "They think you are very sweet and would like to do you this favor."

He surveyed the crowd. He could guess the ones for tomorrow. What about the four for today? "They're willing to pass on a child?"

"There is no guarantee." She simply hunched her shoulders. "They thought you might like to spend the day alone with someone. They are all young. There will be other chances for them."

"That's very nice of them. I would like to spend time with someone. Perhaps we... could make accommodations for them later in the evening."

For the only time in his life he heard the sound of a hundred hearts breaking.

Amber smiled at him most of all.

"They would of course be grateful and it is very kind of you. There is no pressure should your disposition change."

His eye stayed on the redhead and he held out his hand for her. The Queen said something and the crowd began to disburse. Amber walked over gracefully, the folds in her long white dress waving at him in the breeze.

"No singing this time?" he asked as he took her hand and she sat beside him.

"No. No singing."

"Nothing else for you to do?"

"No. No other place to be."

"What would you like to do?" he asked, bracing for the inevitable return volley of "Well, what do you want to do?"

"I know a special place on the island," she said surprisingly. "A beach on the other side. No one lives near it. There's a waterfall inland that's easy to get to. With all the recent rains it should be quite full." She kissed his cheek. "What would you like to do?"

"Learn the way."

"I thought it was my first morning all over again. I thought Lucia for sure was going to knock me over the head and fuck my brains out."

"No," Amber laughed. "She'd never do that to you again. Dahlia might."

He laughed back but she wasn't smiling. "What?"

"Oh. I thought you would say... you were expecting us to sing again or something. I forgot about that other time we all gathered together. It must have been a shock first seeing all of us."

"A dream, really."

Amber hopped into the surf, causing his end of the boat to bob unstably.

"How long did you want to stay?" she asked as she hauled the skiff ashore.

His arms were still sore from paddling. He got out beside her as the craft hit bottom. "I don't know. What else do you want to show me today?"

She thought a moment as they dragged it into the sand. "Just myself." With a wicked grin she pulled up her dress and threw it in the boat.

Her creamy bottom turned and flashed a hint of the red curls nestled between her thighs before dashing off down the beach and jiggling for all its worth.

She made a sudden right angle and he watched her breasts shimmy like cafeteria jello until she was gone, swallowed up by the greenery.

He sat there a little stunned.

Her head poked back out. "You have to pass off your baton before you can stop running, silly..."

"What about all this stuff?" he shouted.

"Leave it." She disappeared again and the forest echoed with her voice. "Honestly. Don't you ever think about yourself?"

That did it. He took off after her, feet sliding in the hot sands.

Damn. The crap on his chest bounced too.

He followed the narrow beach path straight back, occasionally tripping on the roots.

He lost her around one of the bends, but quickly came to a large inland lagoon. A crystal clear waterfall poured over low rocky cliffs at the far side. The deep pond had a white sandy bottom like the beach still underfoot. It was quite wide but surrounded by trees high enough so that direct sunlight wouldn't reach in for several more hours.

It was all very beautiful, but where was Amber? It didn't seem like there was anywhere else to run. The waterfall perhaps? She couldn't have doubled back.

"Yah!" she screamed as she threw them headlong into the cool waters.

Jimmy's toga floated up uselessly around his ears as Amber spit a narrow, teasing stream on him.

"Finally. You're getting slow in your old age," she joked as she rubbed noses with him.

"Things jiggle too much," he complained.

"I know."

The playful redhead backed away, battering his softening form with fluttering currents.

"Technically you haven't caught me yet," she complained.

Amber rose, dripping wet on the shore and scooped her heavy hair back. The sand caked to her feet as she ran for the waterfall and dove in.

He jerked the soggy fabric off and swam over to grab her shoulders before she could surface.

"Got you now." He kissed her.

"Can you keep me?" She paddled away and crawled up on the beach again. It was fascinating to watch her breasts drift this way and that... then the way they sunk down further, almost sticking to the water itself as she pulled herself up.

He swam over and sighed as he felt it ripple through the tight nipples on his own chest. "I bet Andrea likes the water."

"Andrea doesn't like the water," she informed him.

"Why not?"

"She says she feels like seaweed." Amber's hands flailed out in front of her like a blind woman searching for a wall. "She'd rather have them hanging... but I do," she grinned impishly, splashing back in on the other side.

He stood on shore, sopping wet and just as depressed as a drenched puppy.

"Are you going to keep running around all day?"

"Maybe. But it doesn't seem to be doing much good." She gestured at his crotch. "How come your thing isn't pointing up like with Andrea now that I'm running around?"

"Maybe you should help it along..."

"Oh yeah?... What do you suggest? I grow bigger floaters?"

"Floaters?"

"Boobs."

"Oh. No," he chuckled. "Yours are my favorite set." He shook his limp weenie at her. "Why don't you talk to him? He really is being rude, don't you think? Maybe you can teach him some manners."

"'Punish' him, huh?" she grinned. "Or maybe just reason with him?"

"Try a little of both."

Amber sloshed back out and knelt down in front of him, sinking her knees into the warm sand.

"Hmmm." Her lips pursed.

He made it twitch a little with his groin muscle and her emerald eyes got big. She giggled at him, blowing a soft breeze over his wet pubic hair that made him rise a little higher. Soon he filled out like a child blowing a balloon. She kept giggling, even when he stood rigid in front of her, almost poking her eye.

She sucked on her lower lip, spit in her hand and began stroking him with a mischievous gleam.

Thank goodness she was going along. He half-expected to hear 'don't waste it,' today of all days.

"Ooooo," he snickered. "Teacher kissed it."

Amber smirked and continued to polish his shaft.

"You know Clara's been much better," she said. "Why don't you come back and visit?"

"Yeah?" He nodded at his crotch. "Give me some incentive there and I might." Her hand dropped away to tickle his tight balls. She kissed his head again but then hesitated. "Would you mind sucking on it?" She hadn't done that yet. "Does that bother you? I know it's not as big as it was."

"I'd like to very much. Help me out if I get it wrong."

"Sure." He swept her auburn tresses out of the way for her.

She looked up at him again. "It's still very big, you know. It's only an inch or two shorter since you got here."

"How small will it get?" She frowned at such an obviously dumb question. "As a man, I mean."

"An inch more maybe." Amber shrugged. "It'll still be enough to please me. Does it bother you?"

"Yes."

"Let me take your mind off it." She smiled again and pulled it against his stomach to lick the bottom of the shaft. "But please don't let me waste it."

He chuckled. "Of course," he said, running his fingers over her neck.

"You sure you want to do this standing?"

"Absolutely. Is it bad for you?"

"It's quite comfortable.... OK. Like this?" She raised an eyebrow and swallowed him whole.

"Perfect... Hide your teeth from me, honey. Great... that's it, sweety." He stroked her chin. "That's it... suck just like that... faster..."

He gripped the back of her head to help her along. His second hand moved in behind it for reinforcement. Her own fingers plucked and nipped at his ass while the dripping saliva started tickling his balls.

He could hear the birds in the trees singing around them. They seemed to chirp most of all in those innocent green eyes that gazed up at him. Her cheeks were curved in such a happy, loving expression.

The hot scratchy tongue curled around his pole moved faster. He felt himself harden.

A wonderful look of surprise crossed her face.

"No..." she gurgled. He gripped her tight and plunged himself down as far as he could to silence her.

She coughed and something white dribbled from her nose, though she kept moving on him until it was over.

Amber sniffled and pulled away. "It's so precious..." She eyed a blot sitting on the tip of her tongue. "You said- "

"Please. Just swallow it... For me?" His thumb rubbed her cheek.

Amber closed her mouth and made a few tiny gulps. She brushed the rest off her chin and tried to get rid of it in the sand without much luck. She took one look at the droplet dangling from his penis and licked it away.

"Thank you."

He knelt down beside her and gave her a kiss.

"Why did you want me to swallow it?"

"I wanted very much for you to."

"Oh. I would have enjoyed it more if you said... But why?"

He pressed his forehead to hers and smile. "What? Why is it a waste? You'll have all you can handle today, anywhere you want it."

"Oh."

"Want to, uh- " how had he put it to Lucia?- "go fishing in the wrong hole?"

She blushed. "If you want."

"No?"

Her fingernail and her gaze trailed down his chest. "I hadn't really thought about it."

"What do you want?"

"We have to wait a few hours now?"

"No," he laughed, sinking back on his heals. "I don't have to stick." She giggled. "Just a few minutes is all." He tried cleaning the sand from his hands but like her quickly gave up and crawled into the water. "We need some blankets," he observed.

"I know. Let's grab the stuff from the boat. Sorry to run off like that but I got a little enthusiastic."

"You weren't the only one." He moved closer, sending ripples out around them as he kissed her. "But can we eat a little first? I'm hungry."

Jimmy rescued his drowning toga from its slow journey to the bottom and started to wring it out.

"Would you... mmmm, stay like that with me today? Please?"

"Sure." He tossed it aside. "I'll help you work on your freckles."

"Great." She giggled and pulled him into the forest again, making her way back to the ocean. "Did you-... Could I tell you what I really want?"

"Sure."

"I mean... I'll do anything I can to please you. Just ask."

He pulled her to a stop and kissed her. "I know... All I want to be is here with you."

She smiled and returned his tender peck. "Could I ask you a favor?"

"Sure," he whispered.

"Could you be forceful like that with me?"

"Forceful?"

"Like with Amanda?"

"Amanda? OH." He flinched. "Word gets around, huh?"

"Oh I- I don't mean to... I mean I know it's private..."

"Hey. Hey." He hugged her shoulder. "Ask me anything. I'll talk about it with you if you want."

"Could you be like that with me?"

"You want that?"

"Just be rough once. No rope, though."

"You think I want to beat you up?"

"No. Just be, um, vigorous... Aggressive? Aggressive. Yes. Nothing else. How could I ask that?"

He mulled it over, squinting as a ray of sunlight stabbed his face. Amber thoughtfully put her hand up and took care of the gap in the branches.

"OK. But... there's a price."

"What?"

"I want to see you giggling and smiling tomorrow night in bed. Just once."

"I can be light about it."

"Why aren't you?"

"It's not how I usually feel."

"See," he huffed. "You spoiled it."

She frowned at him. "You asked."

"That's it. I gotta punish you for that. I never make you happy enough to giggle, do I?" He slapped her fanny. "Do I?"

She squealed and ran for the boat with Jimmy in close tow.

"Ah!" He pinched her as she pulled out the towels. "I'm not giggling enough right now?" She spread them out on the ground as she fought off his hands.

He searched through the stuff in the boat. "Where's the rope?" he growled.

The laughter behind him died down. He turned to catch Amber sitting soberly on the towel. Her eyes rose to meet his. "Please don't." She held up her bare, crossed wrists, palms outstretched. "I promise not to break away..." she whispered. "I just meant aggressively. I don't want us to hurt each other or-"

"I'd never hurt you."

She flipped over on her stomach and cocked her head back at him, holding her wrists locked together in the air. "Please?" Her curvaceous thighs spread out, exposing her thick red bush and dividing it enough for a hint of the shiny pink within.

She rested her chin on one arm and continued to bat her long, sad lashes at him.

Was that her he smelled or the rush of the surf? He looked out at the vast expanse of ocean.

No one to ever watch them...

He did love her.

He knew it now.

So did the rest of him. She sighed in approval as his affection for her grew again.

"Say stop if I- "

"No," she interrupted softly, furrowing her brow. "Just don't do anything that hurts you."

He looked her face over, thoroughly mystified.

She pulled her hands up behind her and crossed them again over the two dimples in her spine- the ones that seemed to almost smile at him, like the remnants of some Cheshire cat grin that hovered over her rear.

Her hips ground into the thick towels, digging a frustratingly large hole under the place she least wanted it.

He fell on top of her.

"Thank you," she blurted in a gust of air.

"Me, huh? Put your hands underneath you."

"What?"

He rolled over and sat up.

"Don't ask questions. Just do it. You wanted to play this game."

"OK."

"And stop talking back." He grinned devilishly. "Andrea says you talk to much."

"Andrea?!"

He wagged a finger at her. "Shut up, I said..." He scooted to the edge of the blanket and trapped her thigh underneath him. "Now play with yourself." She tossed her head back, slinging her red mane over one shoulder and raised a meek eyebrow to him. "Don't act dumb. You heard what I said." He slapped her luscious bottom. "Don't make me spank you." Her lips pursed but then gradually relaxed into something more indecent. "Don't smile at me," he chuckled. "That's tomorrow night." Amber giggled. "Shut your eyes and stop that." She turned away and rested her head on the other side. "That's the spirit... Now play with yourself, I said... No. Keep your legs spread... farther..." He kneaded her buttocks. "I love that nice white skin... get it good and red for me."

Her fingers formed a V, parting the furr away. Her other hand dipped into herself for moisture, smearing it along her slit. Slowly she stabbed at the fleshy stub of her sex and he watched in fascination as her lips gracefully unfolded.

"Faster," he commanded. "Come on... This is for me, not you." He slapped her fanny. "Move those hands faster!"

She snorted.

But her hands sped up.

The palm pulled back until her finger tips just barely yanked on the top of her mound. Her breathing finally broke into ragged gasps and her plump tush jerked back and forth, buns quaking together.

He couldn't see anything happening in her genitals, though. Was her vagina contracting?

"I think you faked that."

Amber snickered.

"Laugh at me, huh?" He seized her hips, bore down and trapped her hands. "I was going to give you another chance, but forget it."

Amber sputtered again.

He rubbed his prick into her back for several long seconds tormenting her. Amber tickled his balls as she tried in vain to grab at his shaft. Finally he rose up, letting her chase empty air for a few seconds before allowing himself to fall into her tender grip.

Then she started yanking on him, frustrated that she couldn't get him to go anywhere.

The redhead chuckled again and tried to wiggle closer, only digging a deeper hole in the sand. She finally relented and as she let him go, in he flew like a crossbow.

She gasped and her torso twisted further to the left. She managed with one gentle eye to look up at him. Jimmy snaked his arms around her shoulders and hugged her tightly, kissing the side of her cheek and moving in and out of her as quickly as he could.

"Is this what you want?"

She nodded slightly.

He kissed her glowing cheek again.

With a frisky bite on her neck, he bore down harder. Her hands finally escaped, slipping down around her knees and pulling her thighs further back for him.

He smoothed out the sand beneath her head to give her a better pillow.

He rested first one hand, then the second on her back. "Cross your wrists again," he asked. "No. Above."

Amber complied, folding her arms together over her spine.

He frowned, realizing his hand almost wasn't large enough anymore to hold them both.

He probed her puckered anus with a finger from his other hand, please to find her clean down there.

She tensed up as she figured out what was coming.

Jimmy smiled.

No... It had to be more of a surprise.

He waited several minutes, patiently pounding at her until he felt the orgasm surge through her again.

Jimmy brushed the hair away from her cheeks to give her another kiss, breathing in her sweaty tang. Then without warning, he failed to return from one particularly deep thrust and went knocking on her backdoor.

Her hands were still crossed together, but they rose up like two butterflies and fluttered against him.

Amber bit her lip as his head slipped suddenly into her ass. Her eyes squeezed shut.

Then just as quickly her nails scratched him forward. He pushed in a little more. With a slight pop, he was all the way inside her.

He waited for another signal from her fingers but she just sighed deeply and lazily turned her head again, burying her snorting chin in the sand.

Jimmy picked up his thrusting again, marveling at her tightness and the delighted whimpers escaping her puffed up mouth. Each time his balls tickled her vagina, a dainty little gasp floated out of her nostrils.

He collapsed on her, burying himself the rosy scent of her hair.

He let her hands slip from his sweaty palm and pulled her up with an arm slung around her midriff. Her knees dragged the towels together and split them in the middle, spilling sand everywhere.

She steadied herself on wobbly limbs as he pounded her yielding bottom ever more forcefully. She moaned and sighed like a woman in labor, ample breasts making loud slaps against her arms.

"Am I hurting you?"

"No." Her fair face was bright red. "It's wonderful," she whimpered. "Never... ghun... felt like this..." Her shoulders fell to the ground again, leaving her prominent ass in the air and he picked up the pace.

He could feel fingers moving between her legs again. He gave her a few seconds to relax and then sat up, pulling her with him by her beautiful red hair. Her moist hands slipped from her pussy, smearing his back with her juices as she clung desperately to him in her struggle to stay vertical.

Jimmy wrapped an arm around her neck while his other hand slipped between her slick but now ignored vaginal lips. He pumped two, then three fingers inside her warm canal, letting the fluids trickle down where they would do her more good.

"Play with your nipples," he whispered. "It'll help... I won't let you go," he promised.

His palm cupped her mound and danced lazily over her hard, delicate kernel. He could feel it retreating from him again as she loosened even more to his dual penetrations.

He watched as she tweaked and tugged at her tender strawberry teats, which stood out now as fine points between her fingers. Her milky breasts shook back and forth as she repeatedly cupped them into an impressive line of impressive cleavage before abandoning them to the mercy of gravity.

"You're wonderful," he sighed, as she contracted around his fingers. Her body shuddered momentarily, she cried out and then kissed the arm under her neck.

Though his rhythm had slowed like this, he felt the inevitable surge building in him again. Before it could spoil, he threw them both to the ground. Her hands lashed out at the sand in above her as his elbows dug into her shoulders.

"I'm gonna waste it again... grunt... I'm gonna put it up where it won't do you any good," he said chewing her neck."What do you think about that?"

Her mouth dropped open as the blood continued to rush to her face. Her arms tried to flip around in the sand and get behind her but he reached out and pinned them, pressing her face to the towel just enough to force her to turn for a kiss.

"You're wasting it again," he teased as she moaned into his throat.

Her clouded emerald eyes closed. Amber gritted her teeth as he pounded her harder than ever now. Her bowels grabbed at him once more as the tickle in his balls exploded, filling her warm depths with hot fluids. She gasped. The popping from her anus turned to slush as the burning ecstasy twitched through his rigid organ.

Her semen coated insides soon started feeling a little raw. With several long, slow strokes, Jimmy brought things to a halt, never quite letting her up from the kiss.

"Was it what you wanted?"

Amber blinked at him and caught her breath as focus labored to return to her eyes. She spoke with some difficulty, still crushed under his weight.

"I think... I felt- " Fingers brushed his cheek. "I wanted to give myself to you... to be taken. I... I didn't expect... but... I was so happy... some place in me I didn't know before..."

"Does your bottom hurt?"

"Some. It will go away." She cleared her throat. "Could you, um... If you want, of course," she added shyly.

"Sure."

He popped out of her tight orifice and rolled over on the sand.

Amber sat up and stretched her red, creased limbs. She turned over with him on the crumpled, sandy towels and peered with fascination between her legs, dabbling a disbelieving finger on the violated area she couldn't quite see.

"I never thought to use it for that," she said.

"How did it feel?"

"A bit like childbirth, I suppose."

"How do you mean?" Jimmy asked, intrigued.

"Painful and delightful."

"Sorry."

"No. Don't be." She rested a sticky hand on his shoulder and giggled. "I had the most fabulous orgasm when you told me I was wasting it. It felt so naughty."

He smiled. "I thought you might." He loved the way it reddened her cheeks until they matched her curly hair.

"What am I supposed to do now? I'm not supposed to let you stick in there. I don't think..."

He offered his hand as he sat up on his knee. "Let's go for a bath in the ocean."

"I think salt water will sting now."

"You feel raw?"

"Yes."

"Let's go back to the lagoon then."

"It still feels so big. I didn't rip anything did I?"

"No honey. Let's wait here a few minutes. Some women say they walk a little funny afterwards."

"Oh. I've never seen that."

He chuckled. "I don't think many women do to each other what we just did."

"No. I suppose not."

"Why didn't you say something if it hurt that much?"

"It didn't really. And if something's broken it'll be fine in a few days. I'm just glad you... we enjoyed it together."

"Was it what you wanted?"

"Yes... I promise to giggle for you next time."

"Don't worry about it. Do what I make you feel like doing." He laid back on the beach and took in the sun's rays with her. It looked close to ten o'clock now. Jimmy turned toward her again, dragging his unusually long hair through the sand. "I want you to know, I... I never have that kind of problem around you."

"What problem?"

"Getting it up."

"What?"

"I couldn't get it up with Amanda. So Rachel... had her do things a bit differently to take my mind off it."

"Oh. No one said anything about it."

"They wouldn't. It's very private for a man. No one but Rachel understood."

"What's to understand? Sometimes you just aren't in the mood. That's all. I get like that."

"That's not what it's like." Should he even be telling her this?"

"You mean you were in the mood and couldn't- ? Oh that's terrible. That can happen?"

"Yeah."

"It's like... a girl not getting wet, I suppose?"

"Sort of. But, uh... there's nothing you can do to work around it."

"I'm so sorry." She rested her head on his chest. "I hope I wasn't the cause."

He patted her red hair. "What makes you say that?"

"It wasn't because you didn't like her?"

He sighed. "No. It was nervousness, I think. Or a little boredom."

"Could it happen to us?"

"I don't think so." He shrugged. "It hasn't yet... I don't think we have enough time."

"Would you? If we could spend our lives together? Would you get bored with me?"

"That's not it," he groaned. "Listen. Just pretend like it never happened."

"But why?"

"Because it's the only way to avoid it. Just promise, OK?"

"OK. But why did you tell me then?"

"Because I- I wanted you to know why I was... That being rough with her was her idea, not mine. I didn't... I don't feel that way around you."

"I'm sorry I asked."

"No. If it made you happy, that's all that counts. I liked doing it for you."

"Let's eat," she suggested. "And wash off."

"Yeah. I will need an hour or two now."

Amber laughed.

And she did walk funny.

"Tell me again the one about the frenchman who built a balloon and tried to float out to sea."

"The winds kept him in the same spot all night long. He even threw a grapple on the reef but it snapped off. I think... I think on the first night of transformation he tossed a heavy anchor out to sea and began inching out... but then he threw it over the reef and the rope snapped in two when he pulled on it."

She reached into one of the leather bags.

"What are those?" He chuckled as the slabs made it into the daylight. "You brought the cards?"

"Yeah. I did. I thought you might like to play again."

She shuffled the wooden boards awkwardly and then began tossing them out. He suddenly realized the bits of bark on each were so unique that if he studied them long enough he could probably get pretty good at this. That must be why they always played at night.

"We've not got any nuts," Amber said with a spry grin, "except your pair which I'm not letting you bet, so the game will be strip poker with a twist. Every hand you lose, I put a piece of clothing back on. And vice-versa," she smirked. "Let's see you let me win now."

She took another bite of dried beef, placed two pairs of sandals in the pot and collected her cards.

She smiled as they fanned out in her hand.

What did that mean?

"Would you like to make love again?"

"In a minute. I feel like talking now."

"That's good too."

Jimmy watched the afternoon shadows slowly overtake their feet and gazed out at the empty blue sky over the ocean.

It had no end. It would never have any end, as long as he lived.

Amber's silky voice finally dove into the long silence, shattering its glassy surface like the rocks he'd been tossing into the tidal pool.

"What's it like, being a man?" she asked him.

He smiled. "What's it like being a woman?" he shot back.

She thought a moment, then shrugged. "It's mostly enjoyable."

"You have your answer."

"You mean it depends on the man?" she asked.

"Yeah..." he realized. "I guess it does." He mussed up her hair. "Or the woman..."

"Do you like being a man?" she asked, hugging his chest tightly.

"More today than ever."

She sighed pleasantly, folded her hands under her head and rested her soft curls on his shoulder. Jimmy stroked her far arm.

"I want to apologize for what I asked our first night together. I know it upset you."

"Huh?... Oh." She giggled. "You know I- I only really remember one thing from that night. I mean I remember it all but... You told me how beautiful I was and for the first time of the evening you made me warm all over... It was... I liked being appreciated. It was the first time of my life, really... though I think I knew it when we stood in the pond together that first day."

"Yeah," he chuckled. "I like that pond. I liked the way you were honest with me and didn't take it personally that I didn't trust you." He took a few deep breaths.

"You said 'first night' and what I really think about was when we first slept together at the palace. I remember seeing you covered in shadows and you asked me to stay the night with you..."

"Yeah... you floated over like a dream." Her chest fell in a delightful sigh. "You know what I remember clear as a bell? You said 'Thank you' our first night. And then in the morning, you finally relented and said yes to me. I remember that. Especially the way you looked at me when you said it. And then later, in the heat of passion when you said you wanted my son. That stuck with me all day... Mmm. I'd heard the same words a million different times since I got here but for some reason it was the first time I ever knew what someone was saying. You know?"

"It's sweet you remember. And I also loved what happened in your eyes each time I said those things. You have very expressive eyes."

"I do? No one's told me that before."

"It's true."

"Maybe you just read me better than the rest."

"That's true too.... Does it bother you that we're rushing into this?"

"I don't feel rushed," he said. "Strangely I don't. Do you?"

"No."

"You could say yes if you want. I wouldn't be hurt."

"But I don't feel that way... Besides," she smirked. "I'd never be that dishonest about something to protect you."

He pinched her cheek. "I can't think of anyone else but you all day."

"Me too."

"Good. You're learning to think of yourself, finally."

"No, silly- "

"I know." He patted her hip. "I know." He spotted a sail somewhere off in the distance, up the coast.

"It's Melissa. She won't come any closer. She told me she might have to check her traps today."

"She's a sweet girl."

"They all are," she sighed. "They all are in their own way."

"I guess you're right... Even Lucia has a sweet side."

"Then you know?"

"Know what?"

"It was her idea to grant us this time together. The night of the fire, I think. It took her a while to settle on the day." Amber pulled herself up and looked into his eyes. "Dahlia told me she heard her crying that night."

Two fingers went to his lips before he could ask why and Amber settled back into the warm groove she'd made on his side.

"Can I ask you something else?"

"Sure," she replied.

"I'd like you to share your past with me, when you're ready. You know I'm not particularly interested in the thing you were worried about... I realize now it doesn't matter one way or the other. My mind's made up." His voice cracked a moment and Jimmy swallowed. "I was still in shock when you first brought it up. It won't affect my decision. I just want to know more about you."

"I know you're going to pick me," she said quietly. "I'm sorry I didn't have the courage to tell you that night." Her nail traced out a circle around his navel. "I was born a woman on the island, twenty-three years ago." She rose and placed a firm hand between his forming breasts. "You're the only man I've ever slept with. I have been with a few women, but I never found any of them... satisfying." She frowned. "You know?" She kissed him on the mouth. "I'll tell you their names if you want."

Satisfying?

What had she said out on the throwing range, that only time he'd invited her to share in his exploits?

His eyes widened. "You told me before... you said there wasn't another woman you liked in that way- "

"Oh no." She kissed him again. "I'll be fine with you after the change. That wasn't what I meant. I'm sure I won't have a problem being together with you in that way. I love you too much."

"But that... then that wasn't what upset you."

"I, um... didn't have a brother, but... I did... I was close to one of the boys I grew up with."

"Childhood sweetheart?"

"Yes. Our mothers discouraged it as best they could. She wanted me to get closer to one of the other girls instead. They're less affected by puberty that way and... sure enough, when he changed... the magic was gone. It broke my heart."

"I'm sorry. I hope it doesn't happen to us."

"Don't worry." She leaned back on the long trunk of driftwood with him. "It's fairly rare with grown men. And it might have just been adolescence. It happens between girls too when they grow up. People change so much at that time of life."

"Who was it?"

"Who?"

"Your heartbreaker."

"It hardly matters now. She is who she is."

"I understand. You can share it, though, can't you?"

"Monica."

"Monica?" The one who'd married the tall blonde? "Does it bother you I had sex with her?"

"No. In fact..." She cast her eyes at the sand and then out to the horizon. "I'm quite happy she finally has a chance to have a child of her own."

He thought how strange the change must have been for Monica. How odd to make love to what you once were... but there was no loss on her face. She acted just like all the other women, shy at first about her wife but then she enjoyed it immensely. He couldn't have told the difference. Just like Dahlia.

Was that what they'd been warning him about? There was no difference?

He looked sidelong into Amber's eyes. There was the difference. It had mattered to her.

Those green irises that stared into the distance.

"Did you have sex with... Monica?... before she- he? changed?"

"We tried, yes."

"Good."

"Why do you say good?" She blinked and turned to him. "It didn't work."

"So? Sex isn't just conception. And you wouldn't have had me if it had worked."

"True."

"Did you both enjoy it?"

"I suppose. He'd changed so much by then. I was low on the list, almost last... and, well... it wasn't like those times we'd spend on the beach playing around. He was irritable... which I more than understood. The initiation...."

"I'm sorry your first experience was like that." Jimmy took her finger and doodled a heart with it in the wet sand. "Would you like to hear about my first?"

"No."

No, he didn't have to share something so private with her or no, she didn't care to hear about any other women?

She pulled their hands from the ground. "What's that symbol?"

"It's a heart. Doesn't it look like one?"

She chuckled. "I wouldn't know. I've never seen a human heart."

"I have." He basked in the radiance of her smile as he placed their hands over her sternum. "Don't you know what a human heart looks like?"

She blushed. Did she think he was picking on her?

"We don't have much need of doctors so... none of us ever studied anatomy. I suppose the old butcher-woman has some idea... but no one cares to know much about her job. Rachel probably knows."

"Take my word for it. It's a very beautiful thing."

"I believe you."

"They say it's where love resides."

"They say it here as well." She put her other hand on his chest. "You have a beautiful heart too... metaphorically speaking."

"Not gonna cut me up to find out?"

"What?" she laughed. "No... but..." The young woman paused, sucking on her lip. "If you ever want to tell me about... about another, I don't mind listening. I know how you want to sometimes when you think about the past."

"Ask me what you want to know."

"I will."

"Not interested?"

She patted his chest. "Here's all I need to know right now."

Her palm shook his puffy, sagging flesh, filling its vibrations with an unusual electricity. Jimmy craned his neck and looked down uncomfortably at the alien intruders on his chest.

"What you know is changing."

"No it's not."

He sighed and was quiet a while.

"Do I remind you of her? Of Monica, before...?"

"I've never known a man in that way. Martin was just a boy then."

"Of what you might have had with her then, had your lives been different?"

"You remind every woman of that."

"I'm sorry."

"No. Don't be. It's a great gift to us all, however brief."

"Did you stay with him those three nights?"

"No. He was too young to marry. Seventeen is the age of consent."

"I thought we get to pick."

"You do. But it's not for islanders. Half the children are boys. They can't all choose like that."

"Oh... That's sad."

She shrugged. "They grow up mostly as girls. They fill out with the others, learn to be young women with the rest, learn to fall in love. It's only those brief months they get something special. Then it's rarely spoken of again."

"Well I hope I've given you more than a taste of it. I hope I've made a real woman of you."

"You've given me something very special." She caught herself. "Of course I'll always feel like a woman around you..."

"Later?"

"Yes" she sighed, casting a soft breeze over him. "Does it trouble you that you'll change, but I won't? That'll I'll still be able to love you? Does it... make you jealous now?"

"No. It makes me very happy."

She reached out and pulled his head to her ample bosom while she stroked his long matted strands of hair. "Do you... are you interested in what that part of our lives will be like together? Would you like to- "

"Surprise me," he said.

"OK," she chuckled.

"Hey," Jimmy piped up, now laughing with her. "I have an idea. Why don't we get married right now? That way you'd become a Baker and I could get my name back..." he suggested, playfully nipping her thigh.

Why was Amber frowning? He cupped her chin and brought her eyes back down to him.

"We don't allow men and women to marry," she whispered. "It breaks too many hearts."

Jimmy sat up from her cozy embrace and turned to the clear blue sky again. He tossed a shell into the ocean.

"When you think of me..." His jaw trembled. "Does it bother you at all, the things I do with other women?"

She stroked his back. "It bothers us all."

He stared blankly at the white surf rolling just yards away now from their feet.

Amber kissed the side of his cheek. "I love you very much and I want you to have fun. It's the last I'll ever say of it to you, unless you want to talk about it. Believe it or not, you make me very proud the way you're handling it... They say Doug panicked the final week and did something horrible to himself. His wife won't ever say." Her delicate ivory fingers caressed his shoulder. "I couldn't imagine life without you or Rachel. If you feel that way, come to me. I'll understand... In the meantime enjoy all the sex you can. We'll have plenty of time for love at night... and later..." She kissed him again. "Please?"

"OK," he sighed. "You know you can... if you ever want to you can- "

"I know. If you want me to I will. I love being with you."

She took a shell of her own and threw it into the rolling void.

"You're right that it's upsetting to us. But it's not because we can't be men... or that we were men and now we're not, now we're women." She sighed. "We can't fully be either... You know? You need both. We can be one and sometimes we get the other, but not ever enough."

"Yeah," he whispered. "If... if you ever feel that way with me later I want you to think back to how I am now." He stroked her thigh, puzzling over why he didn't say 'she' instead of 'me.' "I'll always be here with you," he said placing his hand over her heart. "Even if it's in the past... Or at least tell me what I'm doing wrong and I'll try to be better." He smiled. "Like if you want me to chase a rat and instead I jump on the chair with you and scream." He chuckled.

"I'm not afraid of rats. There aren't many to chase anyway."

"You know what I mean."

"It's sweet. But it wouldn't be fair to you then."

"I want you to promise. You'll always have the memory of me to look back on if things get hard for us."

"Of course," she pledged, kissing his hand. "You'll see it's not really like that but... I promise." Amber sighed and turned away, beginning her own vigil of the sky. "What do you think- what did our ancestors do to deserve this? If we could only know... maybe we could apologize for it but...."

"The gods are cruel."

She sighed in agreement. "Enough of them are."

Jimmy reclined on the log with her hand still in his. "I feel like some love again." He drewÊher to one of the nipples she'd avoided all day, as she always did when they were together like this. He pinched it with her fingers and closed his eyes right as she simpered at him. He felt her second hand soon on him and returned the smile.

Her puckering lips gave him goose bumps in the afternoon heat.

Jimmy rowed as fast as his thinning arms would allow in the falling light, still worried they wouldn't return in time.

"See." Amber pointed to a fire in the woods. "We'll be there before sunset. I told you."

He chuckled at the bright red orb ahead of them sinking into the sea.

"I've always wanted to ride off into the sunset."

"Hm. Not tonight. I don't want to get wet again when you turn the skiff over chasing after that stupid reef."

"Does the salt water still irritate you?"

"No. It's long gone."

"The day's not quite over, you know. We never did go for that walk on the beach."

"We've walked on the beach many times," she reminded him.

"Not at night under the moonlight... well I guess the moon isn't quite as romantic for me anymore. Is there an isolated beach nearby? A place without a lot of homes around where we could just spread out a blanket and fall asleep together?"

"I'd love to. Yes. I know just the place."

"You sure you're going to have me home before dinner, though? I've, uh, got a lot to squeeze in."

"You're not really going to try to make love to all four, are you?"

"I don't know about that. I thought... Hm. I hadn't really thought about it. I guess I could... give all four a shot if... maybe Rachel has some advice. I'm sure I could get them all pregnant if I put my mind to it."

Amber winced. "You think you can go four in a row? I heard it's not comfortable for the man."

"No. I wouldn't have to if I do it right. I might be able to make enough and then divide it up."

"Oh. We don't do that anymore. Well I guess today it's OK."

"What do you mean 'we don't do that'?"

"It's not fair to you. You should get a chance to make love to each woman and enjoy her. We shouldn't just put you in a barn and milk you like a cow."

"Or a goat."

"Or a goat," she laughed. "It's not very human."

"Why not? It works just as well."

"No," she sighed. "They say long ago we used to do that, but it was very cruel... and... and each woman should have even if it's tiny, that moment to be a woman. I know how thin it stretches you, but we shouldn't... we shouldn't deny ourselves to each other. Children should be conceived in love."

"OK. I guess I'll have to rethink this."

"No. If you want to- "

"Got it. I think I have a compromise." He winked at her. "Don't worry. We'll be able to spend more time together tonight."

"Without hurting the other girls?"

"Without hurting them."

"Thank you."

"All right," he announced. "I'm mighty grateful for the day off. And I understand how much you've all been looking forward for your chance to have a child and have- " he bite his tongue before the word 'normal' popped out- "uh, sex with a man. I talked it over with Rachel and this is how it's going to work. I'll spend fifteen minutes with each of you. Please get yourself warmed up ahead of time, if you know what I mean. At the end of the hour, I'll finally pop off and we'll take and divide that up and give each of you a share. I know it's not how things are normally done and I apologize for the rush but, the Queen said it would be fine this once. Now. Any questions?"

Let's get those sexy butts in gear, you little fillies...

"Did you want us to all be together at once?" The brunette with the heavy knockers sounded peppy.

"Yeah. Did you?" So was her shorter companion.

"It doesn't matter to me. What do you ladies want?"

They looked sheepishly at each other a moment, then at the floor and the walls for a second. Finally one pair of eyes fell back on him. "I'd kind of like to be alone," she said timidly.

"Yeah. Me too."

The other girls remained silent.

"Then it's settled. Now does anyone have a problem with the other arrangements? I don't want to upset any of you by skimping like this. Of course, I hate the fact none of you can spend a lifetime with a man with the man of your dreams, like all you beauties deserve... But if you think it's not enough time of if you want to back out of any or all of it, let me know. I'll more than understand."

"I... I don't really want to have a child right now. You could save my share and give it to one of the others so they could have a better chance."

"Me too." "Me too."

"That's sweet but it doesn't work that way. Even a little bit gives you a very good chance. You're not taking anything away from somebody. Trust me."

"Oh.... well I... I'm still not ready for pregnancy, I don't think."

"Fine, sweety."

The three other girls looked at each other nervously.

"Um... you do know that just by fooling around we could still get you pregnant?"

"Really?" she whispered.

"That's what Rachel says. The odds aren't as good but it's still possible. Some comes out my tip whenever I have an erection. Just not a lot... Does that bother you?"

"No I... I guess not. It's a risk I'm willing to take."

"I've heard that a lot. One of you little risk-takers is going to wind up with the jackpot."

"Jackpot?"

"It's a poke-her term," one of the other ladies whispered.

"Oh. That's OK. I understand."

"And the rest of you want a child?"

"Please," they echoed.

"I'll try my best. Now who's first?"

They stared at each other blankly.

"We scratched the original order this morning," one of them explained.

"I guess it's up to you."

"Does it matter?"

"Well is there a girl here who's particularly picky getting another girl's juices in her?"

They all giggled and uttered a resounding "no."

He sighed. Why wouldn't they just let him jerk off?

"If they'd left me even one of those condoms this wouldn't be such a chore," Rachel complained as she pumped his member. "Blasted superstitions... This is taking a while," she huffed. "I have a feeling me and this plastic cup aren't your favorite fantasies. Why didn't you let me tell Amber what to do and have her do this?"

"Just stop screwing around and blow me."

"Is that why you asked me?" Rachel frowned. "Oh I'm flattered honey but I don't want the saliva contaminating anything. It's designed to dissolve stuff, in case you've forgotten your high school biology." She sighed again as she felt him get a little softer. "You're more attracted to her. She'd have your rocks off in no time, big guy."

"I don't want her to have to 'milk me.' She said it's cruel."

"No she didn't," Rachel moaned. "She wants to, you know. She's waiting nearby."

"Oh." He brought Rachel's hand to a halt. "She wasn't- " What was all that talk about?

"She just wanted to make sure the children were born out of love. They will be. Don't worry." He scratched his head. "I know. I still don't get it either. But she genuinely wants to help. She asked me to tell you. Even if it's just a show for- "

"Oh..." He pried her hand off his flagging erection. "Is she... she unhappy I asked you- "

"No, honey. I'll go get her."

How big was this place? He'd seen four different bedrooms tonight. Five, counting his master chamber. Where was Amber hiding?

Come on, Rachel. It's dark out, already. He wanted dinner and a walk.

There they were.

Rachel took a gander at the inch-long protrusion from his crotch and whispered something to Amber.

Amber stepped forward with her arms out.

Rachel lingered in the doorway to remind him. "Can you make two doses of medicine, Dr. Jimmy?"

"Two?"

"There are three girls."

He sighed. "All right."

"I'll make sure it's two," Amber said simply as she embraced him and ran her hands over his bare back. She heard the swish of curtains and whispered in his ear. "I told you you shouldn't have wasted it this morning."

"I'm making more... I'm making more..." he assured her.

She nibbled his ear and pinched at his nipples until his five inches pressed proudly against her stomach.

She knelt before him, looking it square in the eye.

"What?"

"It smells funny," she remarked.

"How?"

"Kind of like a... Oh. Of course."

"What?"

"Pungent." She sighed. "One of your ladies was strong... maybe all of them."

"Sorry."

"No. Don't be. I won't have to use my own juice."

"Well wash it off and then suck on it if it bothers you."

"No. The odor's fine... besides. I can't do that. Rachel says sucking is bad."

"I thought I get everything I want today."

"If it's reasonable." She kissed the head of his phallus. "Come on. We haven't done it this way before." He scowled at her. "I let you play with me when I was having my period. This is special too. Let me return the favor."

"OK." She started stroking his shaft. "Grab it harder," he suggested.

"That doesn't hurt?"

"No... uf. That does." He steadied her hand. "Don't whack my balls, honey. They're your friends."

"Yes. I know they are.... Sorry. Is this better?"

"Much." His fingers spread out in her red long red tresses, drawing her eyes up to smile at him. But then her lips got that determined expression like she was busy scrubbing the floor.

"Why are you kneeling?" he asked.

"Oh... I guess I don't have to... well except at the end."

"I'll warn you. Unless of course you like the view down there."

Amber giggled. "It's interesting... but I like your eyes better."

She rose with her palm still deftly wrapped around his manhood.

She was closer and closer to eye-level everyday. It troubled him, even if it was just temporary.

Shoot. It could get worse, he realized. He could end up as short as Julia.

Amber pressed his hard prick back against him and awkwardly tugged up on it.

"What are you worried about?" she asked.

He flashed a smile at her intuition. "Will you still love me if I'm a lot tinier than you?"

"Sure," she said, kissing him. "But you might be taller. More than half of the women are." Amber smirked at his concern. "Maybe you should kneel in front of me sometime and see if it turns you on before you start worrying."

"Tonight maybe."

"Why not." She pecked his lips. "Andrea's right, though." She kissed him again. "Too much talk."

Her other hand caressed his shoulders while he munched on her upper lip. "I don't know. It kind of turns me on when you act like you're milking the cows."

She spurted in laughter. "I'm not that kind of girl."

"Oh yeah?"

They locked lips and exchanged tongues.

"Umf." He'd bitten her. "Is it OK?" she asked.

"Yeah. Go ahead. It still surprises me, but it's nice." She wet her fingers and twisted his puffy nipple again.

"Do you like them?" she whispered as she nuzzled her warm companions against his shallow A-cups.

"I guess..." He pecked her forehead. "You make them fun."

"I like your old chest better." She winced. "I know I shouldn't say that. You'll get upset later."

"I won't. I like the old me better too." Jimmy shrugged it off. "If you say I'll be fine with it next month then I'm sure I will be... and how could I get jealous? I could wind up being the sexiest bitch around here. You could take one look at me and wet your pants."

She smiled politely. "I don't wear pants. They're harder to make."

They shut up and necked for a minute.

"Are you almost there?" She switched hands. "Or do you really need me to talk?"

"No." He glanced at his stiff tips as they scraped against her own soft flesh. "Your hands have really got me going. You, um... it's just kind of tiring standing here."

"Well then sit down."

"You kind of got my things in your hands."

"Oh." She let him go. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"You're a very possessive girl."

Amber blushed.

He took a seat and she knelt in front of his wagging pole again.

"No. That wasn't what I had in mind." He leaned back on the bed. "Come on up here where we can both have some fun." Jimmy thumped his chest.

"Oh. I'd like to. I heard it's fun but... It'll be hard for me to catch it all that way." She frowned as she tried to find the plastic bucket Rachel had given her. "Besides. I think my other wrist would hurt... Could I be the one lying down?"

"Sure."

"You wouldn't get more tired that way?"

"Hardly."

She giggled as she got flat on her back. "We haven't done this either."

"Come to think of it..." he remarked as he turned over on her, "I don't think I've done it with anyone here."

"No? I like it." She took hold of his pole again. "Don't forget to say something, though... and make sure you don't distract me from my duties."

"I won't." Jimmy said, pulling her thighs up around his ears and diving in.

He fucked her with his two middle fingers as he chomped away at her pink clit.

"NNnn... slowly, sweety."

"Ok. But you speed up."

He pulled her wide open and peered as deep inside and the torch light would allow. Her glistening walls were smooth and grayish pink once he stretched them enough to see. He pinched her lippy V back and forth, enjoying the way the leafy flaps curled up around his fingers and grew like little balloons as he stroked them.

Amber thrashed one of his stiff nipples around again, getting it as tight and hard as his dick. She even stroked it the same way. Funny how it got smaller as it got harder. His dick had that strange urge once or twice too.

The electric chill surged through his chest.

"Now baby."

"Oh."

"No! Don't stop!" Her stroking resumed as the plastic lip ground into his stomach. She aimed him lower. "You ready?" he asked.

"Go on. Don't hold it in anymore."

Her intermittent hand was unsatisfying, but in the interest of time he let the sticky jets of sperm fly anyway.

Amber grew very quiet under him. He could hear the faint echoes of each spurt on the bottom of the large cup.

The shudder washed over him and Jimmy bent down to watch her finishing him off. With a graceful pair of fingers, she tapped his prick clean against the white plastic obscuring most of her face, then squeezed the bottom, moving slowly forward like she was gleaning the last bit from a tube of toothpaste.

"Get it all?"

"Yeah," she sighed.

"Didn't... uh, sorry to have to make you do this."

"No, it's... it's wonderful. I've seen it before with the bulls but... it's a lot sweeter when it's someone you love. I feel like I'm really helping."

"Bulls, huh?" What did she do during the day?

Amber contemplated the bucket with a confused look. "That's all? Did I do it wrong? It tasted like a lot more this morning."

"It varies. And I'm getting worn out." She did have a small mouth.

"Oh. Of course... well let's get to the last of it."

"We need to wait a minute." He sat back and laid down beside her. "I don't know what Rachel's so gung ho about. I won't be able to make but a few more drops."

"Really? She told me to expect more than you think."

"Hm. We'll see. I still need a minute."

Amber swiveled toward him and bent her legs outward. "Something to keep you busy?"

"Yeah."

He grinned and dutifully licked her to another orgasm. Returning the favor was the only decent thing to do. When she started to jerk off, he even pried the bucket from her fingers and moved it back and forth between her thighs like a baseball catcher.

He'd never seen a girl laugh through her orgasm before. Talk about redfaced.

"How was it?" He chuckled. "Unsatisfying? Like all your other girlfriends?" He tickled her foot.

Amber took a deep breath. "Ooo. My head feels like that frenchman who tried to float out of here." She sighed a moment before sitting back up. "Ready?" Jimmy steadied her shoulder and lowered her back to the bed. "Ohhhh... Could I wait this time? My head..." she complained, with the back of her hand pressed to her brow.

"No. Just lay there. I'm ready... but, uh, your hand got a little rough last time. Can I dip in here for some of that natural lubricant."

"Sure."

Now that he was out of the grip of her bony hand, he noticed how incredibly comfortable her other parts were. He'd been spoiled all these weeks. She was so cozy, he didn't want to leave.

Amber tapped her breast.

"I feel better now. Shouldn't you come back up here?"

"Why? Rachel tell you vaginas are bad for conception too?"

"No," she pouted.

"I'll pull out right before, OK?"

"Sure?"

"I promise. Just point the bucket at me."

"Got it right here." She patted the plastic cup by her side. "Let me know when." She giggled. "I still feel kind of silly doing this."

"You should see what they have to do to get your eggs."

"I don't lay eggs."

"Sure you do. Little tiny ones. They just don't pop out of you like a chicken... Didn't Rachel explain it?"

"Oh. It didn't seem relevant at the time. Is it that the thing that when it dies inside me every month it makes me bleed?"

"Yeah. That's it."

"Why would they want to get to it?"

He loved her, but why of all the women did she end up gabbing so much with him in bed, especially now while they fucked?

"Because sweety, they'd mix it up with my sperm and when they were sure they'd made a baby they'd stick it back in you... before it got real big," he added. "It takes the chance out of it," he explained. "You'd almost always get pregnant."

"Oh. That's nice of them... but we'd have to do it separate, though, right? Or would they let you come first and reach in there for your stuff?"

"I don't know. They might I guess."

She clamped down on a knuckle as his banging began to make her breasts shimmy.

"A bucket won't fit in me," she remarked as her head fell aside. "So how do they get my egg? It's not very big and Rachel said I only made one a month..."

He gasped. "Please shut up a minute..."

"It wasn't fair. I was supposed to touch you."

"You did for most of the time... I just couldn't wait. You worked your end of the bucket fine." He looked in it, somewhat surprised. "Huh. That was a fair amount. Must be you." He pinched her navel. "You bring it out in me."

"Must be the magic," she corrected him, brushing his hand away.

"Yo!" he yelled. Amber drew the sheets over them. "Rachel! Your order's ready. Take out to go."

She burst into the room, skirts awhirl. "All right!" she sang. "Give me those baby makers!"

"How long were you out there, you little pervert?"

"I didn't hear a thing. I put wax in my ears."

"Yeah. Like hell. You heard that well enough."

She hungrily snatched his donations. "Well I'll be hearing a lot more than just you two in a minute. Want to stay around and listen to the lovely moaning?- wow." Her wide eyes stared at the cream covered bottom of the plastic cup.

"What? Didn't they all have their, uh," he looked at Amber and turned away, "uh, orgasms?" he whispered.

"What's one more going to hurt?" Rachel shrugged. "One of them's a screamer, as you already know," she winked and Amber pinched his jumping thigh under the sheet. "I didn't want you thinking I was torturing anyone back there."

"We already think that," Amber whispered to him.

"I know you do babe. These girls won't be thinking that, though."

"Is that enough?" Amber asked.

"Hell, the right three would do honey." Amber gave her a confused look. "Yes. It's plenty. Thanks, Jimmy... It's actually a lot. Let's hope this sets a precedent. Maybe we can do it this way more often."

He shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me. I like pussy." He pinched Amber back.

"It likes you too," she said with a kiss.

"I'll second that," Rachel added. She held the translucent bucket up to the firelight, shifting the thick fluids slowly back and forth. "Impressive... I wonder if I could... hum... can I, um... if there's any leftover?"

"Do what you want with it. I don't want it back."

"Thanks," she chuckled. "You probably don't."

He tickled Amber's chin. "Let's get something to eat and have that walk."

"Yes," she agreed. "It'll be strange being around you in clothes again."

Rachel's scientific curiosity suddenly snapped. She straightened up and ruined her professional air with a playful grin. "Listen kids, I'd love to stay and chat but for the first time in fifteen years I can knock some girls up." She jiggled the container merrily, then turned on her heal and skipped off.

Amber tracked the faded writing on the side of the plastic can as it swung back and forth from Rachel's side.

"Tell me again what thirty-one flavors is about..."

Jimmy trudged barefoot along the silvery wet sand, arm in arm with Amber.

"Can I meet your mother sometime?"

"Yes. I'd like that. How about dinner?"

"Sounds great. What about the rest of your family? Do you have any sisters?"

"No. I was an only child, like most."

"Would you like one?"

"What!?" Amber laughed and squeezed his waist. "She's forty-three."

"So? I'm offering... I'm not trying to be a pervert or anything, I just- "

"I know. It's sweet of you," she sighed, patting his shoulder. "I'm sure she'd rather see me with a daughter of my own though."

"Should I even offer? Would it bother you?"

"Sure. If you want. I'll leave it up to you two. I have no idea when her period is, though."

"I'm sorry you didn't grow up with a playmate in your home."

"Oh. Was that what you were asking about? I grew up with Nan, Lucinda's child. Lucinda's married to my mother. We're family. We're just not sisters."

"You don't think of Lucinda as your other parent?"

"More like... what do you call them? Aunts? We don't have many of those either..."

"What about your father? Do you miss him? Do you, uh, keep in touch?"

"Who? Marcia? No. I see her occasionally. It's not the same, though."

"So you missed having a man to look up to?"

"Yes. I think all children do, don't you?"

"It doesn't bother you?"

"The curse is a bother to us all." Amber was silent a moment and then scratched at one of the beautiful lines in her neck. "At least we think Marshall was my father. We're not sure. There were two boys who came of age."

"Would... would your child look up to me?"

"Oh, yes. Very much," she said. "I want you to be like the other parent. I'm sure our child would have all your good qualities... Boys like Marshall... they're just boys. If we marry, it'll be special. So much of you will still be there... and here," she stroked her stomach, "growing inside me. We'll be more of a family than most." She stopped, dug her toes into the beach and kissed his cheek. "I meant what I said. I want very much to give you a son. I'll raise him to be just like you for as long as I can." He returned the kiss and they doubled back toward their makeshift sleeping bags.

Jimmy glanced up at the thinning half-circle of moon, now low in the sky.

"But he won't be mine then, will he?"

"Yes he will. For us he will."

"Will they all be my sons and daughters afterwards? I am the father, right?"

"Of course." She hugged him again.

"I... I want to be there for them. Even if the rest slips away- "

"They'll be well cared for. We all help." Amber sighed. "And if you want to help more than others, no one will say anything... but put it out of your mind for now."

"I want to be a good parent."

"You will." She kissed him. "I'm sure you'll make a fine mother."

"Oh... I won't still feel- "

"You'll understand later."

She said that about so much.

"Be who you are now. And be who you will be then."

"So where are your fish for the day? Didn't you catch any?" Lucia teased.

"Yeah." He kicked back on the dock. "But they seem to disappear shortly after I eat them. Fish are like that, I guess."

"You're catching the wrong kind," she snickered.

"It's not my choice. They all nibble at the only bait I got."

"Come to the palace. We've caught something with a little more loyalty."

"What?"

"You'll see."

She wasn't usually this indirect.

Hm...

"What's going on Rachel? What's in those wet boxes?"

She tittered and handed him a plastic wrapped first issue of "Bounce."

"Skin magazines," she informed him with the biggest smirk he'd ever seen on her face. "Tons of them are washing on shore in the south."

Melissa walked up beside him. "Skin magazines?" she chirped. "Hm." The cover turned sideways in her olive hands and the Bouncing Babe of the Month unfolded to the floor. "She does have lovely skin at that," Melissa crooned. "'Skin magazines.' Hm. How lovely..."

"Huh?" Another woman he didn't know stopped and ogled the centerfold over Melissa's shoulder. Melissa wandered off, mumbling to herself and the woman was forced to grab her own copy.

He heard sporadic tearing everywhere.

"Can we?" someone asked in the distance.

"Certainly. Go ahead," the Queen said.

More seals broke, flooding the hall with popping plastic.

Rachel rescued her copy from his startled hands and opened it for her own amusement, chuckling and sputtering as she flipped through the pages right in front of him.

Huge, glossy close ups of pussy and tits. Simulated intercourse. Lesbians. Breasts large and small. Smiling faces. The kind of underwear he hadn't seen in weeks (months actually).

Very little writing.

Damn. She was giving him an inconvenient public erection. Fortunately it wasn't sizeable enough to poke over his belt anymore.

And she browsed through it so casually, with almost detached interest.

Outside he could literally hear word of it spreading through the village. The room slowly filled with every idle woman, each pretty enough to arouse the envy of any printed model. The Queen directed them in and out of the door, doling out the treasures as quickly as Dahlia placed them in her arms.

The cheery faces greeted one another, passed the town gossip around and then strolled back and forth through the brightly colored paper, looking the photographs over, looking at one another and finally eyeing themselves with a bit of self-critical hilarity. They cooed and purred and said the strangest things just as Melissa had.

Jimmy stood there, not knowing quite how to take it all, as Rachel lead his divided attention on a guided tour of "Bounce".

A group started to crowd his dinner table. They stacked the plates carefully in one corner and spread out several copies while their whispering reached a fevered pitch.

Lucia called Hope over and dumped her stack on the poor overwhelmed girl. "You need the exercise," she simply said.

"Yes, mam."

The Queen walked his way and paused at Jimmy's side for some practical advice. "How many should we put in the archive do you think?" He hunched his shoulders, trying not to laugh in her face. That was always dangerous. "How long will they last then?"

"I don't know. Five or ten years. A lot longer in plastic. You have any ziplock bags?"

"A few... oh. I see. To put them back in." She took Dahlia's passing arm. "Leave about a dozen in their glass wrapper and put them in the archive, love."

"Sure."

"Oh. And round up owners of the zipper bags for tonight."

"Ok."

Dahlia was sucked off into the bowels of the palace while Lucia went about trying to explain rules of the long term care of their new loot. (He waited with baited breath to see if she'd say 'booty' instead).

"I think a freighter must have capsized," Rachel whispered in his ear. "They salvaged a few news magazines and other things but they're mostly soaked. Here." She took his hand and led him to the bed, swatting the women from his mattress. "Please don't sit there, Roxanne."

"Oh. Sorry." Then the blonde noticed him. "Sorry, Jimmy. Did you need for us to, um, clear out for you?"

"No. Go ahead. I like having all the company."

She pecked him on the cheek, said "thanks for being sweet" and wandered off to the dinner table.

Rachel put a cautious finger to his lips before pulling back the sheet, revealing a hard wood board peppered with torn and dripping magazines. She quickly covered them again.

"They still need a minute," she said as she took a seat beside him. He looked with some discomfort at the dirty magazine she slapped in his lap. "Oh I know it'll give you a hard on. Don't worry about it, honey." Rachel gave his thigh a reassuring pat. "This is such a wild trip. We never get magazines out- Sweety. Don't roll them up like that... yes I know it's fun. They won't last long if you don't treat them right."

"Oh... thanks Rachel... hey Jimmy..."

"Hey Clarissa." He rubbed a circle over his stomach as he waved at her.

"Oh I know." She pointed at the magazine and turned a bit red. "What's one more gorgeous face around here?... gonna do, I mean?... I've, uh, I've gotta go home now. See you." She turned and tripped out the door.

"You didn't have to embarrass her like that."

"Like what?"

"Teasing her about getting pregnant."

"Oh. No." He realized what he was doing to his belly. "I was just hungry. It's close to lunch."

Rachel snickered as she scouted out his cook at the door. "I'm sure Hope will get you something when she's done."

"Yeah," he moaned. "Next week maybe." Rachel laughed at his peculiar misfortune. "So where's Amber?"

"She's staying with the children, I think."

"Oh." That made sense. Somebody had to.

"Jimmy? Rachel? What are these series of numbers here for?"

"Those are for phones," Rachel explained. "Remember I told you about them? Little boxes. You press the numbered buttons on them and they let you talk to someone far away. Everyone has a number."

Her girlfriend needled the woman in the side. "I told you math was important, but you never listened."

"I'll learn if I have to," she whined as they sauntered off. "It would be a nice problem to have."

"Yes... we'll let's see if you can start. Hm. I know. Your number is 659283729103."

"I can't remember that," she frowned.

"Then I guess I won't have to come home when you call. Ow! Don't pinch me here" she whispered. The pair merged with the line of departing women and soon vanished, he could only guess where.

More kept streaming in on the other side.

"It's a phone number right?" Rachel whispered. "What's the '900' about? International calling or something?"

"Yeah. Something. I'll explain later." She flipped through the pages looking for the ad, but Jimmy's mind wandered off to the women around the table.

"Why don't these girls look like they like each other?"

"Mm. Don't know... Maybe they're funny that way."

Snickers.

"Do all women have such big breasts outside?"

"No. Rachel says only some of the one's men like to photograph."

"Too bad they don't take photos of the other side of the camera." "I know." "Are there any men in this?"

"I'd have never thought Andrea would be such a prize in the outside world."

"What?!" Andrea grinned and gave the shorter woman a friendly shove.

"Must be." "Jimmy said as much." "She did win the race."

The table fell into giggles. Andrea turned red and winked at him, the chair shaking under her knuckles.

"Imagine! So many men that NONE of the women could run off!"

Andrea snorted.

"Oooo."

"Hey!"

"What?"

"I got it. Turn to... to... Darn. I can't read numbers well. Turn to the middle everybody. I found the one with the man in it!"

'The' man...

He smiled as he heard a hundred flipping pages. Then more subtle gulps for air. The women glanced non-chalantly in his direction, one at a time, quite casually as they looked the rest of the room over and gradually drew their circle tighter, limp wrists gracing their necks. He could barely hear their whispers.

"His thing's so big." "Is it her breasts?" "It is big." "That's why she never puts it in." "You think?" "I wouldn't." "I would." "Figures..." More faded giggles.

Rachel looked at him, a crinkle in her brow and started to walk over just as the spell broke. The girls gazed at one another a moment, the color in one or two faces changed subtly and then they all nervously turned back to the shots of women.

"Hm."

Throats cleared and a few more copies of the magazines disappeared into safe spots in togas and bags. One or two women broke away for the door with rosy cheeks, while others joined the table from outside. The rest surveyed the room and started talking again, doing their best to be discrete. But he could see the two teens still blushing self-consciously around their elders.

Linda stopped by his side. Where'd she come from?

"Some of these women are quite beautiful, don't you agree?... Who's this girl? She has such deep brown skin. Is she African?"

"I think they said a man like that washed up once," Susan said.

"Really?" he asked. "Why aren't there any black children?"

"Oh. They get changed the way you see us now," Susan explained. "At puberty. Into Greeks and barbarians, like the crew on the ship."

"It's rare we get such fine art work. Though it's rather obvious a man did this- "

"I think the women helped some, don't you?" Susan asked. "Some of the outfits are interesting."

"Do you like looking at such images?" Linda prodded. "Is this something you do? Or used to do?"

"No," he replied. "I'm much more interested in Time..." Rachel pinched him. "I don't care if it did get hosed. Pass it over. I'll help it air out."

The pair of women looked the board over with them.

"That one looks nicer."

"Let it dry a minute, ladies," Rachel cautioned.

"Why didn't they wrap the copies of- " Linda squinted- ""Vogue" in glass?" She pealed the damp cover back and glanced through the first few pages. "It looks like a much more interesting book even when the colors run."

"Yes. Why did they waterproof these and not the others?" Susan shook her "Bounce" at him, almost angrily.

"I'll explain it later," Rachel giggled. She turned to Jimmy. "They won't believe it but I'll explain it."

"Why wouldn't we- ?"

Susan tugged diplomatically on her lover's toga. "She said later, honey. She'll explain it, I'm sure."

"OK. OK."

The couple walked off. Susan mumbled something to her taller girlfriend. Linda couldn't hear it either so she leaned down and asked Susan to repeated it. "I still think that's why he likes your, uh..." Susan blushed and looked at the passers-by somewhat self consciously.

"Oh." Both shot a quick glance back at Jimmy. "Maybe," Linda whispered and then they left.

"Now she's pretty..."

The crowd purred in agreement and flipped to the next page.

Rachel closed her "Bounce" and set it aside. "I think I'd rather look at Time too. I've seen enough cunts in my life. What's one more, even with makeup?"

"Pussy pussy pussy." Jimmy chuckled. "Here. A couple of pages are pretty much ruined but it looks like next week's issue. Hey. They got the world series results in the back. All right... You like sports, don't you?"

"Yeah," she said. "It's hard to appreciate now, though. Nothing much to watch." She heard a commotion and quickly pulled a sheet over the wet rags.

"Come here!" someone yelled. "Come here!" One woman dragged another from the crowd by her ear. "Cheating on me again! I knew it!"

The other girls giggled nervously.

"She's very jealous," Rachel informed him.

"No shit." His hand moved over his groin out of reflex.

But she wasn't the only married woman there. Julia... Sara... even Lucia. He saw a lot of couples standing there with arms around each other.

"What about the other wives?"

"They're just looking at the pretty pictures. They don't get to see many photographs."

"They won't get jealous?"

"I don't think. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if they all took a copy home with them. They must have found two hundred on shore. There might be more tomorrow."

"Circe has a sense of humor after all."

"You think?... Oh, because it's a girlie magazine, huh? No. I think it's just the plastic wrapper. I actually kind of like it. I haven't seen such sharp photographs in quite a while. I mean a real bed... and a kitchen, even if they are doing that in it... A pool... A car! Imagine that! I'll have to explain interstates and 'parking'." She giggled again. "No it's... it's very nice..." She sighed wistfully. "I'd almost forgotten what makeup and nice underwear looks like... if I only had some now..." She shrugged and looked him in the eye. "So it's not the same as Vogue. Big deal. We've all seen pussy anyway." Her eyes clouded over with a sigh. "I'll have to bring one home to Nell when she gets back from the fields. She'll be amazed... I love it when she gets happy like that..." He tried to pull Time back out, but Rachel grabbed his wrist. "They're, uh..." She cupped his ear and her voice dropped to a whisper. "They're loads of men in there. I'd wait to read it. It really will start a fight."

"I wished they'd wrapped it up in plastic."

"So do I but we both know nobody jacks off over Time."

He gestured at the still awestruck crowd with a nod.

"No," one of them said. "Turn it back to the last page. She's pretty."

"They're all pretty." More giggles.

"You're prettier sweety."

"Thanks."

"She's right though. That one had very nice legs."

"How did they get the lips so red? They're... um, nice that way. I wish I could do that."

"Rachel calls it lipstick. Someone found a few tubes on the beach once..."

Jimmy examined the carpet of wrappers forming on the floor.

"Is that what they're going to do?" he finally asked. "Go home and jack off?"

"More like jilling off," she grinned. "Some I guess. They're just pictures, though. Why worry when you've got the real thing?"

"Why worry when you are the real thing?" he laughed. "In the interest of fairness, they going to let the boys have copies?"

"When they come of age, they might. Of course I'm sure they'll use some in the classes to teach reading- yeah, I know it's stupid but what else do they really have?- Of course I don't think any of the boys are old enough to be interested sexually at least... but then like I said. Why look at pictures when you have the real thing?"

"Oh. I forgot about that..." Then it dawned on him. "Even little boys?" he asked incredulously. "The 'real thing'?"

"We're generous to a fault."

"I'll say... You mean when a boy starts getting horny, he can just...?"

"Uh-hunh. With anyone. I've caught a few eyes in my day."

"That's generous all right."

She hunched her shoulders. "He's got to do it while he's still got it..." She needled him. "Don't you agree?"

"Hm." He changed his mind. "Give me one of those things before you go."

"Sure," she smiled. "You know they salvaged a Popular Mechanics, too. Want to learn how to rewire your house?"

He laughed. "Maybe next week."

"Don't wait too long." She tapped the sports page under the covers as she rose. "Some of this stuff's going to lose it's luster..." Rachel whispered, "or get a weird new one."

"Really? Well I was never mechanically minded anyway."

"Keep them safe, will you? Don't let them open the pages yet or they'll tear them up. I'm going back to the beach to see what else turns up. I'll send them to you, OK? But watch them. Lucia knows what to do."

Lucia... "Hey."

"What?"

"She was your age, wasn't she?"

"Who?"

"The queen. Did you two, uh..." His lewd wink brought a nod from Rachel. "So how was she in her youth."

"Stronger," Rachel chuckled. "Like a mac truck. She has terrible luck with men, doesn't she? I think that's why she keeps having to try... but why do you ask?" She smirked. "Those rags are getting you horny," she perked up. "Try not to stand up..." she teased. "Or better yet, I'm sure they'd purr over your pecker louder than that stud in here, even if he is twice your size now." She thumped her "Bounce" and winked back at him. "The real thing, remember... Later, sexy." She went over and fished an extra copy out of the box before saying something to the Queen and leaving.

Lucia stood next to the large, soggy box, grinning along with Dahlia as they thumbed through the photos.

Dahlia appeared pleasantly surprised by something and Lucia suddenly yelled "Stop!", growling jealously as she slapped her lover's hand. She circled her arms around Dahlia's waist and skipped ahead a few pages.

Dahlia relaxed slowly and smiled again.

What had irritated her?

Dahlia pointed with hesitation at another figure until Lucia kissed her cheek and whispered "yes."

The emboldened consort leered at the Bounce girl again and grinned seductively. "Oph," she gasped. Lucia drew away from her tender earlobe, teeth still beared. "Stop that," Dahlia whispered.

"You stop."

"Come on. They're not alive."

"Not yet. Not until tonight."

"You're the only one I dream about..."

"Hm." Her lips pursed.

"Please Melissa?" Hope begged. "I'd like to look too."

"You're the one on palace duty for the day, not me. You know what that means."

The poor girl groaned and sank even lower under her stack. "Please?"

Jimmy smirked. "Hey, Hope! Can you round me up some lunch?!"

"Just a minute, Jimmy." She sighed and handed out another issue, cringing at the crumpling sounds of plastic littering the floor.

"No. I'm hungry now," he whined. "Bring me lunch and come over here and keep me company." Hope forgot her afternoon date with a broom and brightened as he patted the bed. Melissa glared at him as the stack was tossed into her arms. "You know what that means," he reminded her devilishly.

Lucia laughed at him. "OK, ladies. Clear off the table so Jimmy- "

"No, no. You guys stay. This is, uh," amusing? educational? cute?... erotic in a real bizarre way? He couldn't say any of that. "I like all the company. Please. Just give me a little space and I'll read it with you and explain everything. I promise not to be messy... while I eat," he winked at them. "Just stay out of my bed. I don't want you getting the wrong ideas..."

"Hey Renee. What can I do for you?"

She laughed. "I heard a lot of the village slept very well last night."

"Yeah. Eventually," he laughed with her. "Lucia left all the stuff they found with me. Rachel must have told her I'd 'keep it safe.' I guess she was right. Lucia's a clever gal, all right."

"How many visitors did you have?"

"I don't know. I tripped over five or six girls this morning. Hope says she almost got her hands on my Time before she passed out." He'd rarely seen Amber redder with laughter when they woke up and saw the girl, arm out-stretched, face down on the cold marble snoring.

Renee snickered about it too. "The young ones forget that part of the curse. I heard quite a few angry lovers discovered their beds empty in the middle of the night and snuck over to search."

"Yeah," he sighed. "We found a few of them in the garden. No telling how many others woke up before us and trotted off. A lot of flowers were smushed..." He sighed again. "I guess I must be a real inspiration when you get me in bed."

"I wouldn't know." She looked to the ground.

"Is that why you came over?"

"No. I, um. I... have to do something with my wife this evening. Can I drop Julius and Samantha off with you for a while? Amber said you two wouldn't mind."

"Really? Hm. No, I don't mind. I'll be happy to. Amber said it was fine with her?"

"She suggested it. She said you'd like 'baby-sitting,' as Rachel called it." Rachel was involved? "They're not babies, though. I don't know why they say that..."

"Sure. We'll take good care of them."

"Thanks. You know the boys all loved it when you took them hiking last week."

"I liked it too."

"He can't stop talking about it... Of course, it was nice of you to promise to take the girls soon. They always like to talk about men... I mean, I hope you're comfortable again by then to talk- to talk about it," she stuttered. "The boys liked what you had to say. They never get to talk with someone of your experience. Neither do the girls, naturally."

"Yeah." Why did Renee always say one thing too many and stretch his patience? "When did you want to drop them off?"

"Oh. Amber will bring them home after school... um. I have to warn you about Sam. She'll probably try to flirt with you. She's at that age where she does that now with everybody. She thinks you're especially cute too, but she hasn't really got her bearings straight yet. Her hormones only just kicked in... of course it's not- not for me to say if you want to. I mean go ahead. She'd really love it. She's not a virgin anymore, not in that way I don't think but Tamara won't talk to me about- "

"Good-bye Renee."

"Oh. Sorry to ramble. Um... Thank you so much again. I'll send you another pot roast some time."

"Don't mention it." Please.

That was expensive pot roast.

Julius must get all his genes from his father.

Amber, huh? What did she have planned for tonight?

"They're cute kids," he whispered.

"Cute?"

"Nice. Well-behaved."

"Yes. They are. They must have had a long day. They dropped right off."

"Yeah." Finally someone he could beat at cards. Why did Amber have to go and ruin it with a game of boys against girls? It wasn't any fair. "I didn't know you had cots."

"They're Renee's. Her children like to sleep over at friends or have others over. They don't like the floor."

"Who can blame them?" He stroked Amber's bare shoulder and looked over her at the children in the firelight. "Pot roast and cots. So she's quite handy with wood and fabric too."

"I'm sure she'd make one for you if... if you asked."

"You mean if I slept with her?"

Amber twisted and glanced up at him, furrowing her brow. "Is she that transparent?"

"You all are..." he laughed. "What are you? Pimping me out?"

"What?"

"You want me to go screw your friend so you can have a cot?"

"Noooo." She pinched his hand. "Even I can make a cot. Go do what you want."

"Just keep screwing you."

"Yeah... I'll make you a cot." She sighed and let her head sink back into the pillow. "They're so peaceful aren't they?"

"They are." He watched Sam's thin chest rise and fall as she rolled over, stretching the fabric tight against her slender form. Julius was on his stomach. All he could see was his thick mess of hair. "So what's Renee up to tonight?"

"Oh... I, uh... think she and her wife are making up after a fight."

He smirked at her.

"What?"

"You 'borrowed' them, didn't you?"

"What?"

"You arranged to borrow them from Renee."

Her jaw went slack and she tucked her chin in. "What makes you say that?" She continued to stare evasively off to the side.

"I know how you think," Jimmy said, tickling her.

"Stop," she snorted. "You'll wake them."

"I remember what I said on the beach that night. I'm not dumb you know. I can put two and two together just like you can." Her hip jumped up as he pinched her bottom. "Oh, Cornelia," he mocked. "I saw the way you looked at me when I had dinner with your family."

"Did I really give it away?"

"You can't help but give it away... but I'm not picking on you," he comforted her with a kiss. "I'm glad."

"They wanted to be here too." Jimmy chortled. "Sh." Sam snapped her wide open mouth shut and turned over.

"Sam most of all." He tickled Amber. "I think she peed when I kissed her goodnight."

"Zeus, I hate teenagers. You know she's mad at me because I wouldn't talk you into sleeping with her."

"Sex or just sleep?"

"Both, I think, though she wouldn't come right out and ask about that... I think she just wanted to crawl under the sheets with you and see what happened."

"Mmm. Let's see..." He slipped a hand between her thighs and pulled her leg up a bit.

"Now?" Amber turned and kissed his chin.

"I'm in the mood."

"I'm not ready yet, honey. Besides, we'll fall asleep in a minute. How about the morning?"

"We have to dress the kids and get them off to school," he joked.

"Oh."

"Let's just see what happens."

"Omph."

"You are dry. Sorry. Is it uncomfortable?"

"Yes. Just try not to move for a while."

The tent of empty fabric over her crotch shifted.

"No." He stilled her hand. "Let's just stay like this for a minute."

"OK."

"Unless it hurts..."

"No. I'm fine. I need to loosen up a little but fortunately you're not as big as that first night."

"Could you not bring that up?"

"Sure. Sorry. I forgot what Rachel said."

"You talk to her about me for advice?"

"Some. We all do. Not just about you."

"Well ask me next time, OK?"

"OK. We haven't talked for a few weeks like that, if that's what worries you."

"No. Talk to who you want. I'm just saying talk to me first, you know?"

"OK."

Sam's chest heaved gently as she breathed on her side now. The torch caught the slight curve of her developing bosom just right.

He stiffened a little more in Amber, but still not enough.

"She used to be a boy, didn't she?"

"How'd you know?"

"The way Renee put it, I think. It bothered Julius, didn't it?"

"It... what's the word Rachel taught me? It 'freaked' him out? He knew it would happen but then he watched it hit her. They weren't very close but she turned out completely different. Treated him differently too."

"Yeah. I know how mean older sisters can be."

"She's not his sister."

"She's close enough."

"It was his older friend that really did it. A group of them used to play together... and then she abandoned her younger male friends and started associating with the girls her age... Girls can be so... cliquish. There's something honest about a boy who just... well." Amber sighed, letting it drop. "You know Sammy was Doug's son, don't you?"

"Really?"

"Almost all of the girls her age are Doug's."

"They're all girls now?"

"All."

"She doesn't look, what is it, sixteen?"

"No. Sammy changed at fifteen, a little over a year ago and of course... girls have puberty much younger. Sam might pass for a young fifteen. I don't know. Her development's just starting.

"I..." He yawned. "I can't stay awake anymore, honey."

"I know."

"So who's helping tomorrow?"

"That's it," Amber said. "Come on. Let's go to bed."

"What do you mean that's it?"

"Felicia was your last."

"She was? Why didn't anyone say anything?"

"Haven't you been counting the days?"

"You told me not to think about it, so I didn't."

"Oh. Sorry. Would you have done anything differently if I'd said?"

"Umm... I don't guess. But that's not the point. I- I- " He couldn't finish his last thought. He sighed deeply as he looked at the sliver of moon rising over the ocean. "How much longer have I got?"

"Many, many years, I hope."

"Stop it. You know what I mean."

"A day or two perhaps. There's still a finger of white in the sky. Then it will start."

More like finish.

He stared at his tiny pecker and sank on the bed still bothered that Felicia hadn't seemed happy with any penetration, even from that. "No more four a day, huh?"

"No."

"I'll feel guilty, like I'm supposed to be doing something."

"Your obligations are over."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Be with me."

"You don't want me to- "

"If you do, I do."

"What should I do?"

"Be with me."

"I feel... I feel guilty." He turned to her. "Hey. Can I finally find out who got pregnant and who didn't?"

"No. Not yet."

"But if I could... I mean if Linda didn't or someone else I'm friends with I'd like to, you know, maybe help out again."

She stroked the hair from his shoulder. "Your obligations are over. Everyone's had their chance. And less than half know with certainty. It wouldn't even be a good time for most of them if they wanted. Just let it pass."

"It's frustrating. Like I can't finish a job."

"The sex was for your pleasure. They did it for family. They've fulfilled their part. If you want more pleasure, go ahead. Andrea still lusts after you." Amber giggled. "And apparently Susan likes watching what you do to poor Linda... I never will understand that woman."

"Dammit. What do you do? Have play by play announcements when I'm in bed?"

"I never said a word. And I doubt... they wouldn't tell me if I weren't sharing this bed with you." She kissed his shoulder. "I shouldn't be saying this but... if it soothes your mind, Rachel expects you've fathered more than forty children. That's almost more than we're prepared for. Please don't make any more babies."

"Forty?"

"I don't know who exactly. I'm not sure how Rachel can guess it either except that the Queen asked her to check the health of every woman on the list. They've both been quite discrete."

"She, um... she poked and prodded you?"

"No. I just told her so she'd know... I think... I think the girls who found out... I think she checked on them to help avoid miscarriages. It's rare but Lucia doesn't want any happening this time."

"Andrea's pregnant."

"She is? How'd you know?"

"She was so happy about it she came up and told me."

"She's not supposed to, you know. She could get in trouble."

"Like you?" He pinched her. "I don't think so. She just wanted to make me happy. To celebrate."

"Did you?"

"Huh? Yeah. She hopped into... uh, yeah we did."

"Oh. So those three other times... was it... was it because you liked her or because she was doing you a favor? Did the other girls ask? I never could figure it out."

"She's a good friend." He kissed Amber. "I've said my good-byes, I guess."

"Good-byes?" She thought a moment. "Oh... You didn't answer my question, though. Did she make you happy? When she told you?"

"What? Yes, she did."

"I'm sorry I couldn't."

"You made me happier. I'm glad just to, um, be with you as long as I can now." He shifted up on the bed and her arm slid from his shoulder. "So what's next," he sighed at the stars. "Will you sneak out on me in the morning and give me another chorus? What's in store? An elaborate funeral? A big farewell banquet?"

"No." Amber smiled and let out a slight laugh, turning and resting her head on his hairless stomach. "It's too late for me to prepare anything like that... We're, um... we're going to be left alone a lot. I know you've grown accustomed to the attention but there's nothing big like that planned for you. We'll even have to leave here in a few days."

"They've chewed me up and spit me out."

"No. It's not like that at all. We care very much for you. It's just... it's not something we like watching. Or you'll like us to watch."

"We?"

"They, I mean. Sorry. I'll stay with you."

"Yeah." He sighed. "So we move out tomorrow? I start pulling my own weight?" Slight as it was becoming...

"No. We can stay a night or two more. We have to leave when... when you wake up and it's started. The bed is only for... for men," she stumbled. "You'll like your new home, though. It's as nice as Rachel's." Amber kissed his hand and smiled. "And the bed's made of calfskin."

Jimmy grinned at her. "Is that what you've been sneaking off to do?"

"We all have. We only had a month. Most of us worked very hard when we had nothing else to do. You probably got the impression that we're busy around here all the time but we're not, really."

"So where is our new home?"

"Can I keep it a surprise?"

"Sure." The gleam in his eye brightened a little. "Hey. Why don't you go borrow a few more kids for the day and let's have a picnic?"

"Sounds wonderful. Which ones?"

"You chose."

"Ok." She snickered. "Would you like to organize another race? Andrea's free."

"No. I don't think I could win that way anymore. No one would notice."

"I notice. Everyone notices."

"Yeah. Felicia noticed. She wasn't too thrilled about it, either."

"She's strange. She wanted Rachel to just use the 31 flavors but Lucia wouldn't let her," Amber complained. "I don't think she likes men much. She wants children but her wife told me she had to twist her arm to get her to join the list... I'm sorry your last had to be like that. She didn't pinch your nipples, did she, love?"

"She tried... but I saved myself for you," he joked. "I've had a few women like that, though. If she would have just asked I'd have been happy to make it impersonal."

"You wouldn't have minded?"

"No. It's funny how some of the last women were like some of the first ones. Real hesitant. Like they looked in my eyes and saw something they wanted but couldn't really have. Or couldn't yet. I don't know..." He shifted the pillow to a more comfortable position. "How different will people end up treating me?"

"Same as me, I guess. Why? You don't like the way islanders treat each other?"

"No. You're all very polite, I guess... it's just... some of the mothers look at Rachel and Antonia..."

"Funny?"

"Differently."

Amber twirled a lock of his hair around her finger. "Can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"I know I said I wouldn't but... it's been bothering me. Don't say if you don't want but did you ever... with my mother? After dinner, you remember?"

"Huh? No. It was too weird."

Amber giggled girlishly. "I know. It's hard to think of her having sex."

"Parents are like that."

"So how did you spend the time?"

"Talking about the usual. She quizzed me to make sure I was an all right guy. She's very protective of her little girl, you know." He pinched her cheek. "Of course, I told her not to worry. That she could depend on me. I was normal enough. Like every other guy I was going to knock you up and leave town and she thought that was OK by her."

"She did not..." Amber drawled as she jabbed him.

"No. We talked mostly about you. Why?"

"Do you think she's still attractive?"

"Yes. Is that what worried you? If you really want a sister I'll go- "

"No. I just... When I start going gray, like she is I'd like to know if..."

Jimmy kissed her. "You'll always be sexy." He grimaced. "I may not be able to get it up, but it won't be from boredom..."

She snorted. "I know," Amber sighed, sucking in her lower lip.

"Are there... are there mother's on the island who want another child? Who I could help?"

"I suppose."

"Do me a favor tomorrow morning then. Ask around. Find out if the time is right for anyone." He kissed her cheek again. "We'll do what we did that night I had off. With the bucket, remember? Only maybe a blowjob this time, no matter what Rachel says."

"I'd like that... am I getting better at it? You seem to like them more."

"Yeah," he chuckled. "You get me all the way down now. Of course, it's not hard to know why..."

"Oh... I just thought... I did practice on a banana like Rachel said. I thought I might-"

"No. You genuinely improved. Enthusiasm counts for so much." Jimmy gave her eyes a wondering gaze. "Do I get it right for you?"

"Yes. You do it as well as any woman I've known... and like you said, enthusiasm counts for so much... so I guess it's even better. Yes. You know I- I won't be in bed with you when you wake up. The Queen has one last thing to ask you."

"I know. She explained it to me." His fingers tapped out a little ditty on the bedpost. "You know how I'm going to decide, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Good. Trust in your heart. The Queen and I are going to have a little fun one last time."

"What do you mean?"

He wouldn't say anything more.

His eyes stayed focused on that fingernail in the sky.

'As good as any woman' echoed through his brain.

"It's the time that I've been trying to put out of my mind, isn't it? It's coming..."

"Yes."

"What's going to happen?"

"You'll feel very, very strange." Amber's voice was barely a whisper now. "Nothing will feel familiar."

"Ever?"

"For those few days."

"Not even you?"

"Maybe." Her voice cracked.

"What are we going to do?"

She straightened up in bed and put an arm around his neck. "We don't have to go anywhere for the three days. Or two. I don't know exactly how long it will take. You could find it... awkward, but you can venture out if you'd like. It's all up to you." His hand drifted down to her hip. "I'll stay by your side... if you want. Being alone is fine too. Just tell me how you feel at the time. Someone will bring food to us if we need it... You like crab don't you? Melissa said she'd bring some."

"No. What's going to happen?" he repeated.

"Oh. You don't want to forget about that like before? You have a day or two left."

"No."

"OK..."

He scratched the back of his head. For once the light didn't seem to be that bright. Someone had hung curtains from the windows. That's why he'd overslept.

He sat up and saw them all lined up, as promised. The five, standing behind Lucia. Dahlia was off in a far corner, writing on something. It looked like a roll of toilet paper, but he couldn't tell.

Claudia and her wife stepped forward, holding an unwrapped toga between them. They reached the bed and turned away to face the Queen before Jimmy stood and crawled into it.

Was Claudia finally his size? Or vice-versa? He hadn't been this close to her in more than a week.

He pulled the untraditional sash tighter around his waist and stepped forward. How long had it taken him to enjoy that airy smoothness between his legs? At least his balls no longer got sore from hanging like they used to. They hugged his groin too closely for that now.

"Your duties have been completed as you said, in only twenty-five days," the Queen proclaimed. "The Island of Sirens is grateful and now your time is yours to do with as you see fit. We have prepared gifts for you... And now we understand you wish to exercise your right at this time to choose your future wife."

He yawned.

"Yeah. I want Hope."

"Done!" Lucia shouted with glee.

"Huh?" said the rest of women.

Hope backed into the table, shattering one of the wooden plates.

Jimmy laughed. "Just kidding, Hope. I wanted to see if I could make you drop something one last time."

"It worked," Lucia laughed. "By Zeus, you were right!"

Hope smiled wanly at him while the other girls giggled and turned red, Amber most of all.

Lucia panned the room. "Who says I have no humor? Who?" Her consort beamed and gave her a sexy wink, while she busily scribbled on her narrow scroll.

Amber put a consoling arm around the blushing teenager. Her trembling stomach looked ready to cave in. She reminded him of that girl who'd had her panties ripped down in the school cafeteria. Pale as death for two seconds and then bright as a second dawn.

"Enough fun," the Queen declared. "Jimmy, this is the last we will address you gathered here like this. What final comfort may our village offer you?"

He pointed at Amber. "If she'll have me."

Hope grew more nervous, not quite sure where his finger was going, but relaxed as Amber stepped forward and took his hand. The couple kissed and then turned to face the Queen.

"You have chosen well," Lucia informed him.

Amber twinkled and glanced down briefly to watch her toes wiggle in their sandals while the other women murmured their approval.

"Thanks," Jimmy said. "I, uh... Is this the last I'll see everyone gathered together like this? Um, as Jimmy I mean."

"Unless you wish to see us again. Yes. Our duties are fulfilled."

"When, uh, when do I have to... when does it all start?"

"Tonight or the next."

"I need to move this evening?"

"It would probably be for the best. We'll know if the moon fails to rise."

"Would... would you do me the favor of meeting here again... one last time when... when that's the case? A dinner or something? I'd like to say good-bye if I could."

"Of course."

"And Amber... she has something..." He cleared his throat. "If there's any mother on the island who wants another child and... who can conceive today then I, uh... have them talk to Amber. She and Rachel are going to make arrangements for this afternoon."

"A generous offer."

"There's no sex involved. Sorry, but those are my conditions, island law or not."

"We will... be happy to forward your message and, for today let the law be suspended in accordance with your wish." Dahlia scowled and scribbled in the bottom margin. Her paper was almost gone. "Herald. Let it be known."

"Yes... my Queen..." Dahlia's tongue poked out to the side as her hand worked feverishly. She set her pen aside, rolled the scroll up and rushed off. He could already hear her melodious voice flying through the halls and down the path.

"My role as Queen this month is hereby concluded." Lucia turned and mumbled a few other things to the remaining women.

He took Amber's other hand in his and kissed her.

"Picnic?" Amber asked.

"Yeah," he grinned. "Why not?"

"Where?"

"Pick a spot. Surprise me." He kissed her again. "Hey. Marry me? Let's be man and wife if just for a day or two."

Lucia cleared her throat.

Amber glanced at her from the corner of her eye, then cupped his ear and whispered, "yes. I do." She hung by him a little longer, her jaw moving as if she was explaining something. Then the fiery young beauty straightened and took on a more common and girlish air. "I'm very flattered, sir. But you've not yet had time to fully sample the many other beautiful women on our island. I must decline for now."

He pinched her cheek. "Then I guess I'll have to marry them when I can get around to it... but today there are no other beautiful women for me." Her eyes sparkled. "Can, um... we have some time alone for our honeymoon?"

"Ladies!" the Queen clapped.

He tickled her. "So you're my helper now?"

"Yes," she sighed.

"Who's up first this morning?"

"Mm. I am."

"And after that?"

"Me again."

"And in the afternoon."

"Mm. I think that's me too."

"You get around."

"Not very far... Can I giggle this morning? I feel like giggling."

"Sure. I'd like that very much..." He sighed in delight. "Just to help, I'll tickle you a little."

"Aaaih!"

He shoved the bucket under the curtain. Rachel's long, slender thumb hooked around the lip and snatched it up.

"There'll be one more I think," he informed her foot.

"OK."

"Really?" asked Amber, clasping the sheet to her chest.

"Must be you, love."

"Can I suck on it again?"

"I'd like that."

She pulled the third and final plastic container from the floor and set it beside her. Jimmy reclined and thumped his breast bone, rattling the alien jelly below.

She crouched at the foot of the bed, resisting his suggestion for more 69. "No. I mean I... I want very much for you to give me pleasure but... could I just concentrate on this. It's fun for me in its own way."

"Sure. I just didn't want to neglect you."

"You're not." She smirked. "Hard again already, I see."

He wished he could deep throat her again. Just once.

At least she could get her tongue around his balls.

He put his hands on her wet, kneading fingers and cupped his breasts with them.

"What is it?"

"A truck grill. Don't know how it got here in one piece. It's the only thing I could figure to do with it."

"The steaks will turn out all right?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about the black stuff. Adds flavor," Rachel winked.

He tossed the meat over with the two strips of metal. It was like trying to cook with hot chopsticks. "You do this often?"

"Yeah. Every few months when they- uh, we slaughter a cow. This one was getting kind of old so she'll be a little tough." Rachel shrugged. "Can't go slaughtering the breeders," she explained. "Well, they never had a good steak anyway. Nobody but us'll be disappointed."

"Wish we had potatoes."

"Yeah. The soil's not good for it, though." She tossed a couple of purple roots on the grill. "As close as it gets, I'm afraid."

Amber snuck up, flattening her palm over his rear. "You sure you don't want me to cook for you?"

"Rachel and I are fine."

"Just guy stuff," Rachel snickered. "Go on. Tell everybody they're almost done."

"Yeah." He kissed her. "Run along."

Amber gave Rachel a rather odd look but walked back into the palace.

"You read about that guy with one hand who pitches?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah. Isn't that incredible?... Hey!" He set his ale down and she tossed the rest of it on the fire, causing the steaks (and the fine hairs on his hand) to get singed.

"Trust me. You'll have plenty of time to get drunk later." Rachel giggled. "It's a lot easier too."

Oh. It was his second. He didn't want to fall asleep on her tonight of all nights.

"Is Claudia sure?"

"She's looked very hard for it. It should have risen by now." The elegant doctor shrugged. "Maybe something will show up when the sun goes down."

"If it doesn't?"

Rachel didn't say anything.

"Like it?"

"Yum," Amber cooed. "You're as good a cook as Rachel."

"Thanks."

"Why'd you let Julius help with a few and not me?"

"You can help the next time."

"OK." He put his steak down and rubbed his sticky fingers on his thigh as he looked over the twenty or so women who had gathered for the early dinner. Outside night had begun falling and for a brief moment the moon's entire shadow was highlighted in dim gray... just barely. Claudia said it was time, though something within in him wanted the bright gleam on one side of the disk to be more than it seemed. "Did you want to say something now?" Amber asked.

"No. Let everyone finish their meal." No one seemed as festive as before. Were they no longer on their best behavior, as Amber had explained so long ago. Would the island break out in cat-fights now? Would it overflow with PMS?

Would he?

"You're very quiet," she said.

He smiled thinly. "I can't help it. It's how I feel."

She pinched the nape of his fleshy hip. "I make you grunt a lot and you know it," she tittered.

"I guess."

"What's wrong? Can't finish your third steak?"

He chuckled at his gluttony. "I don't know where my appetite came from."

"You, um, you need to replace what you lost," she said, hinting at this afternoon.

"I guess I can try."

"You'll be fine for at least another night. Mostly."

"I know."

He was fairly quiet through the rest of the meal, visiting some with Amber or Rachel and Nell. The natives asked a few questions about some of the more mundane things they'd come across in the magazines but gradually left the topic alone when it became clear he was letting Rachel fend them off with answers.

"I liked the picnic at the pond, you know," Amber finally remarked to him.

"Yeah. It was nice... It was hard to get all the children out the water."

"I know. I expected to find one of them on the bottom when we left."

"You're right, though. The boys do run funny races now." Amber simply giggled. "I don't know why I couldn't beat some of them."

"You're just tired from this morning." She tickled the back of his knee under the table.

He watched one by one as more women cleaned their fingers in the water bowl or folded their hands across their laps and fell silent, glancing at him. The last of the children were being ushered out of the hall.

He suddenly felt like he could beat all of them right now, even hopping on one leg.

Lucia cleared her throat and nodded in his direction.

Jimmy took one last look out the window behind him.

The sounds of the birds and the crickets seemed so eternal.

Why?

He stood and pushed his seat back, holding his arm out for Amber. The warmth of her cradled against his shoulder finally gave him the strength to speak.

"Um... the moon's gone sooner than I thought, so I guess this is it." He shuffled nervously. The greasy chunks of fat that he'd swallowed against his better judgment were knotting up his stomach and taking longer to digest than planned. Why had he gotten so hungry when he saw the empty sky? "First I... I wanted to say I've enjoyed your friendship and getting to know you all. I really have no idea what's going to happen to me but I hope we can still spend many evenings in conversation." He pocketed the hand Amber wasn't holding as it began to tremble. "Uh, I look forward to learning how to use all the dirty words in Greek, though I hope I never fuck my brains out like that again. No offense. I'd also like to encourage you to be honest and forthright with the poor bastards who wash up here in the future. You really did scare the shit out of me at first." He looked at the far end of the table where Lucia and Dahlia sat surround by the four remaining volunteers. All of them smiled politely back and did their best to laugh at his jokes. "Uh..." The words were coming out of his mouth almost faster than he could think of what to say. "It's kind of hard to say good-bye to each of you like this. Amber and I have decided that I won't be going out at all the next few days so this will be the last you see of me as, well, me. Or what's left of me," he sighed. "I've treasured the company of each of you and wish you could all find the husbands you so richly deserve. Since you probably can't have that, I hope you find happiness in the years ahead and I hope I've provided you all," he burped, "with something you can look back on fondly. In particular I'd like to thank my five, who I guess are four now- " Someone clapped. He was rushing now and knowing it only made it worse. "The older women- Andrea and Linda for their companionship and sympathetic ear and the younger girls for their enthusiasm and good humor," he said, flashing a a smile at Hope. "Rachel's been a real friend. Dahlia, Lucia, Susan, Penelope and so many others I can't remember." He sighed. "It was quite a ride ladies and at this point I'd have to say I'm glad I remembered this much of my speech, I'm nervous as hell and I just want to leave. Come on, Amber."

All twenty women stood from the table but remained silent.

He waved sheepishly and then turned for the door.

"You're forgetting your things, Jimmy," Hope said.

"Huh?" He squeezed Amber's arm to check she was still real. "Things?"

"Under the bed," Amber hinted with a whisper.

"Oh." The old crate. "What's left?"

"All of it."

"Huh?"

"It's all been returned to you. Your spyglass. Everything."

He surveyed the horseshoe of women.

"OK." He bent down and fished the beat-up old box out from under the bed. Amber plucked it from him and propped it under her other arm. Then she tugged at him like an anchor.

Jimmy watched with curiosity as the women slowly filed out ahead of him.

Singing drifted in through the closed curtains. Amber rest a palm on his shoulder when he tried to open them. "You wanted a farewell," she explained.

His lip curved up a bit and he let out an abbreviated laugh. "I guess I did."

The last of the ladies exited and Amber nudged him forward, pointing to the door with their joined hands.

Outside women lined the path into town, swaying sweetly in melancholy harmony. A tiny candle flickered in each hand to ward off the falling darkness.

He stopped at the head of the long, meandering line and kissed Lucia on the cheek, careful to avoid the tiny flame she cupped.

"You really do have a lovely singing voice," he told her. "And a very sweet wife." He kissed Dahlia too. "Andrea, the champion runner." She giggled. "Thanks for bringing that news so quickly," he whispered in her ear. "Linda. Take good care of Susan for me..." Another kiss. "Hope. I do hope we stay out of each other's dreams." Linda and Melissa both sputtered. "And stop dropping things." Linda gave off a distinctly loud snicker. He leaned forward and kissed the teen. "Thanks for being nice to Miranda. She really likes you. Sorry about Catherine." He turned to Melissa. "It was... very special." He pecked her on the cheek. "Susan..."

Amber pulled at his sleeve. "There isn't more time," she whispered.

"Oh." He straightened up and looked down the line. There really wasn't.

"We'll see you again in a few days," Susan said. "Go on. I can handle Linda by myself."

"I'm sure you can," he smiled.

He strolled down the trail of lights. There were well more than a hundred singing faces waiting to see him. Every wife of every woman he'd ever slept with had turned out. Halfway down the path, the acoustics of the song changed. He turned behind him to see the column of flickers breaking up and heading every which way, like fireflies into the night. Their songs followed them into the woods, down into town and back to their homes until every part of the island was filled with the same soprano voice.

He came to the end of the line.

Pinpricks lighting ghostly faces spilled around him onto the path as the departing women passed them by.

"Hello Julius." Amber's entire class had come out.

The little boy yawned. "Good-bye," he said. "Bye," said a dozen or so others.

"Good-bye?" Amber replied, in a high voice. She crouched down and patted the Julius on the head. "We're not going anywhere. We'll see you again."

"OK."

Jimmy ruffled the child's hair. "See you 'round, sport."

"We're happy for you." "Yeah, Jimmy. You too." "See ya." "Congratulations." "Goodnight." "Have fun." The final comment brought a few sleepy giggles.

Light snoring came from the shoulders of one or two of the mothers. It reminded him of the family section in the amphitheater when the whole island had turned out for the play.

"Go on and get some sleep you guys."

The mothers turned around and waved as they headed back. Renee came up and kissed him on the cheek (without a word, for once).

He stood by Amber at the first fork of the road watching the points of light dance across the fields.

"Well?" he asked. "Where to? Want to hitchhike?"

"Huh? I'll show you... It's fairly isolated." Amber stopped one of the passerbys, lit a torch and offered it to him. She shifted the box to her other arm and took his hand.

Jimmy shook the flame at her in a mildly accusing way. "You don't want to be my firefly for the night?"

She snickered. "Please don't call me that. You've been very nice about it up until now."

"Now you can't run away on me."

She grumbled something.

"What?"

"If you want to call me that, say it in Greek." She repeated the weird phrase again. He gave it a shot but she only giggled. "No thank you. I've been burned before, but thanks for the offer." He gave it another shot. "That's better."

"Why can't I just say firefly?"

"I hate flies. And the children I grew up with know it's an insult to me."

"Why?"

"Please?"

"OK. Fine." He burped the syllables up again.

"Better." She kissed him. "But I'd prefer you call me what you always have. It's prettier."

"OK." He pinched her bottom. "Can I call you Mrs. Baker?"

"Mrs? What's that mean?"

"You're the wife of a Baker."

"Oh. Sh. Not out here."

"How far is it?"

"Another few minutes. It's about as far from everything as Rachel's is."

"What? We're not good enough to stay close to town?"

"What?" she giggled. He wasn't joking. "Oh. Hardly. No. It was the closest plot of land where we could build a new home. Antonia helped a great deal. She used to do a bit of carpentry. I'm sure you'll be very pleased with it. Of course nothing here compares to the palace, but you did say you liked Francesca's and it's nicer than hers, I think."

"Good."

The island's song was fading in the woods all around them. He could make out individual voices now. A woman or a girl would sing a while, becoming conspicuous as they drifted apart from the others. He thought he recognized one or two, but just as soon as he did they fell silent like a broken chain. They seemed almost self-conscious about it.

"Sirens have a lovely song."

"We're not Sirens," she reminded him. "We're trapped just as much by their song."

"I know," he said, giving her a warm kiss. "Thanks. It's... it's what I wanted."

"Good." She rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry for what I'm about to do to you."

"It's not you... And how many times have I told you not to say 'I'm sorry?'"

Jimmy needled her ribs and they traveled the rest of the way in silence. Soon the only sound around them was from the crickets and the tide.

They arrived on a tall bluff after fifteen or twenty minutes of walking through the low, gentle hills that flanked the beach. The nearest home had to be two minutes behind them. The roar of the ocean was much closer.

Amber pulled the bamboo door open and lit a fire in the hearth, revealing the firm polished stone underfoot.

Impressive...

"It looks a little bare," he remarked.

"I know. I didn't have time to move my belongings in. When you- "

He spun her to his side like a dancing partner. "You have your most important belonging here."

Her lips flattened. A slight rosy flush filled her cheeks before she kissed him. "When you need something from the island, just ask. If I don't have it, someone will provide it."

"What about it? Can I move in?" He pushed aside the folds of her dress.

Mrs. Baker grinned. "You're not tired from this afternoon?"

"Funny, but no. I'm all ready to go again." But then she frowned. "What?"

"Nothing." She kissed him and probed his stiff crotch. "So am I..." she breathed. "So am I."

"Good. We seem to have been wrong about last night's moon being completely empty."

"Huh? What do you mean?" He sat up sleeping in bed. "Rats. There's at least an extra inch around my chest."

"Good."

"Good?" he yawned.

"Unless you want to be flat chested," she laughed.

"You don't like girls like Melissa?"

"Boyish figures are quite charming... and quite in demand, of course." Her short nails danced on the side of his smooth cheek.

"There's nothing boyish about Melissa." Her hips were very sexy.

"Her chest. She has very small boobies, like you right now." Amber needled him.

"Small huh?" He looked down again and cupped each. There wasn't enough flesh to sag but already they'd sprouted bigger than Melissa's. The nipples were sticking out like little cylindrical caps more than ever. The size of grandpa's old silver dollar.

He scratched his chin, bare now for untold weeks.

"Has my face changed?"

"Since yesterday? Not much."

Since yesterday? "Can I look yet?"

"Please don't."

He sighed. "OK."

"You know... you know it... I was just teasing. You could end up with a much slimmer figure."

"Why's that?"

"I don't think... this is the woman you're supposed to be. You're closer to a twin sister."

"Oh. That tide rolling out before the big wave? That thing you told me about?"

"Yes. They may... change size in the coming days. In both directions."

"Good. I don't think I like having tits. They get in the way."

"They feel good, don't they? In bed at least?"

"Yeah. Yeah they do," he sighed.

"Well, good," she smile. "This should give us another day... so how about it then?" Amber laid back next to him and parted her legs. "You want a little?"

"Yeah. Hmmm..." He looked under the sheets between his own legs. "I don't... it... it doesn't seem right."

"I know. It should be much bigger."

"No... that's the not right part." He straightened up and blinked at her. "I just said that?... but it was how I felt," he whispered.

Amber sat up and pushed him back. "You talk too much," she griped. Her hands stroked his privates, finding two small orbs the size of a young boy's hugging him tightly in a meager pouch of hairless, almost smooth, wrinkled skin. His thin finger gradually stirred to life between her own, filling out to the width of two of hers, though it barely matched her tallest in height. "There," she purred. "I knew you had it in you."

He put a hesitant hand on her shoulder and then, as if shaking the last bit of sleepiness, pushed her to the bed and grinned at her. She kissed him back but put a hand on his chest. "I'm not quite ready for that" she hinted softly.

"Oh. I'm forgetting." He looked up and down the bed. "Well what do you suggest?"

Amber patted her chest. "Climb up here and let me suck on you. I want to waste it," she beamed saucily. "Just kissing it will warm me up."

"Oh yeah?" He straddled her shoulders.

"Ahem! It's a cute butt, but I don't want it in my face this morning..." Her finger spun around.

OK. This was interesting.

He hooked his knees around her elbows and leaned forward against the wall while she propped her head up on one of the pillows. Amber smiled and engulfed his member between her ruby lips, sucking and slurping against his amazingly sensitive sack. The friction of her tongue along his prick was even more delightful than it had been last week. Something strange happened the smaller it got... He didn't understand it, and sometimes it caused him to panic, but at least it was just a tiny bit reassuring.

He was reassured too by the hand turning his silver dollar nipple into a sharpened pencil tip. It sent tingling spikes shooting through his abdomen straight into his dick, which he could barely contain now from her constant bobbing.

She felt softer to his touch... and the world a little firmer.

For some reason everything was more sensitive this morning, even the palm pressed against the wooden wall and the other grabbing her hair.

Especially the flesh buldging around her prodding fingers to caress the open air... giving him a pleasurable and sensual- if inconvenient- reminder of the new amount of padding on his chest.

But where was her other hand?

Yeah... he could feel it moving under his leg.

She was warming herself up all right.

Amber coughed and then smiled at him. Her cheeks pulled tight, sucking his hot, sticky spurts down her throat. The electrical cord within him shorted out delightfully. For a moment his breasts seemed to quiver there like vibrators. The other nipple was deliciously tight too, though she'd never touched it. Its puckering yanked friskily at the vibrant skin around it.

"That was fast," she chirped, smacking her lips as she tried to lick his seed from her teeth.

"I know. It even surprised me."

"Do you want to, uh, play while you wait?"

"No. I'm ready again." Jimmy looked down and still found himself hard between her fingers. Nothing felt tender at all. "Amazing isn't it?"

Amber frowned. "Yes. Amazing."

"If you want I'll- "

"What I want most," she moaned hungrily, "is you between my legs. Any end of you. Come on." She pulled his shoulders down.

"No. We'll be fine. Breakfast should be outside the door."

Sure enough, the bamboo swung open and there was a package by her feet.

"Who brought it by?" He'd like to know exactly when too. It was embarrassing to think there shouts of pleasure was why he hadn't heard anything.

"I don't know who. What am I, your volunteer again?" she smirked. "Someone from the village, of course. They probably worked out a schedule after I left."

"What's in it?"

"Oh." She finally rummaged through it. "Dates. My favorite... um. What do you like? Apples, wasn't it? You asked for those a lot."

"Dates are fine. Bring some here."

"No. Put some clothes on and come over to the table. You've eaten in bed enough. Those skins are hard to clean."

"Start acting like an adult, huh?"

"Adult? I certainly wouldn't let a child eat in bed."

"OK, OK. Short honeymoon..." he grumbled.

"Short?" She thought a moment as he got dressed. "Short? Oh... Not that again..."

"No," he sighed as he pulled a chair out beside her.

She passed him a date, which he pounced on. But after one bite, he found himself staring listlessly around the barren dwelling while the juices filled his mouth. His gaze lingered over the finely woven shades that had been drawn to provide a little privacy from whatever eyes might be wandering the outside trail. One of the windows on the other side, behind the bed, was filled with nothing but blue sky...

"I know. It kind of kills your appetite for a few days."

"Really? Hm." That's why he was disinterested in food? "I'm thirsty, though."

"Here. Have some fresh milk. Oh. I don't have any cups. Well, I guess we can share."

"Are you sure you don't want to go get your things from home?"

"No. I'll be fine. It'll be over in a few days."

"Really? I know how much you love weaving."

"It would take me a few hours, you know. Would you mind me being gone, honey?"

"Oh. I can't come with you?"

"You said you didn't want to go out."

"Well, can you get someone to help?"

"I... I can get a cart from town. I'll be fine on my own, really. But you're sure you'll be fine for an hour or two? I could send Rachel back to sit with you."

"No. I'm OK. It'll give me time to think. Hell, I might even go down to the beach and catch some fish for lunch." At least they had his things, meager as they were, tucked safely under the bed again.

"Hm. Well... if you're all right with someone seeing you. That doesn't bother you yet does it?"

"No," he laughed. "I guess I'll be fine. In fact that dent in the beach down there would be perfect for a little dock and a boat someday, don't you think?"

"Sure."

"I could learn how to build one for you. Would you like that?"

"Yes. That would be nice. I'd be glad to help, too. Um, why don't you check out the fishing first, though? It might not be any good from that spot."

"Sure. It'll give me something to do."

"Can I come in and see him?"

"Please don't. I don't even know if he's here. He said he might wander down to the beach." He heard kissing through the fog of his broken noonday nap. Then a "thanks, Andrea."

She'd been here? Was here? No. He heard departing footsteps. Another set of sandals tapped on the flat stones leading to the door.

He sat up. The world spun around his throbbing head. Was he drunk?

No. The cobwebs were clearing out.

His chest felt heavier. He looked down. It was.

"Go to sleep, honey?"

"Yeah," he yawned. "I just woke up. How is Andrea?"

"She's fine... They grew I see."

"Yeah. I didn't think I'd been asleep that long."

"It can happen when you nap. Just a little."

Speaking of little... He peered into his britches.

"Everything still there?"

"Mostly," he replied, yawning once again.

"Do you feel like helping?"

"Sure."

Jimmy stood, taking a moment to regain his balance as his new C-cups swayed uncomfortably. He didn't like the sensation of his flesh blowing out like two balloons and tickling the edge of his ribcage. And they moved with minds of their own, like growing teenagers. With car keys.

"Smaller, huh?" he said with a touch of sarcasm.

"We'll know for sure tomorrow. They're pretty, if it helps."

"All the breasts on the island are pretty."

"No... don't do that. A shirt will chafe and drive you crazy. Here. Let me show you how to wrap them."

She set a small wooden box down and kicked it under the bed before taking his toga from one of the hanging pins.

"It's dirty," he complained.

"I'll go wash it later. There's a stream nearby," she told him as she drew a line of fabric tightly under his bosom and wrapped it around his back.

"I'd like to help. You've done a lot today and I should learn- umph."

"Sorry. My mother did that to me sometimes. You'll have to learn to adjust it for yourself."

"This is as good as it gets, huh? Never thought I'd miss a bra."

"You get used to it," Amber shrugged. "Though bras would be nice from the look of them."

"You know what they are?"

"Sure. There were many in the magazine, though no one spent much time in them," she giggled. "We've had a few bikini tops and bras wash up over the years. Bottoms too, of course. People, uh, do things in some strange places. You should know," she needled him. "There. How's that?"

"Better."

"It'll let you move around without getting irritated or turned on, but it's not good for heavy work. When we know your real size I'll fashion something with cups for you."

"You wear tops like that?"

"Sure. We, uh... we haven't in the last month sort of out of convenience and tradition, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah. Some girls came straight in naked."

"Gowns are nice... when we snuck over here to build this place, we certainly wore different clothes... and of course those tending the animals did too, but it's a bit restrictive and we liked being as attractive for you as possible. We don't have much makeup or jewelry to compete with what you're used to."

"Are you kidding? You're all more beautiful than any women I know." He kissed Amber's cheek. "You most of all."

"Thanks."

"Did you bring that little necklace you made out of paper clips?"

"Paper clips?"

"You know..." He made a spiral with his finger.

"Oh. The long loops? I borrowed that. I have another made with something shinier. It's still in the cart, though..."

"Well I'm ready to help," he said, running a thumb under the tight halter. "Just point me in the right direction."

"I never did show you all my jewelry. I have another with shark's teeth... You can help me pick something out you like."

He followed her leather soles through the door and stepped into the bright afternoon light again. Amber took his hand and pointed to a wooden cart with two mismatched whitewalls.

"The ice-chests- why do we still call them that? We'll never have any ice- anyway, those have to go back. They're not mine so- well, one of them is- but we'll unpack the rest. Come on..."

She dragged him down the shaded walkway to the cube and its two large, unmanned chopsticks pointing down in the sandy dirt.

"Phew. Where'd you get this thing?"

"It's a fish cart. It's all there was." Amber waved her hand over it. "I know. Four weeks of pussy and you escape to this." Her nose wrinkled up. "Kind of appropriate, huh?"

He chuckled. "Yeah."

"Am I ever this bad?" she whispered.

"No. I like your smell." He grinned. "You haven't spoiled... not yet at least."

The redhead giggled as a beam of sunshine crossed her face. "I know. You got your fill of fishy girl jokes from Lucia, no doubt." Amber grunted as she hoisted one of the containers. "No. Get the next one, love. I'm fine."

"OK." Uf. He wasn't.

"You know, she wouldn't have been so bad about it if you'd just gone hunting more with her."

"Once was plenty."

"She hated watching you cast that line. Of course she hates fishing too, and she's so... well... not romantic with anybody, male or female. Except Dahlia, for some strange reason. Oh well. I think it irritated her to see you having such success with all those women. And the fish."

"Jeez this is heavy. How'd you get it over here."

"Oh. Andrea helped me pull it. She's becoming a good friend to me."

"How is she?"

"She has a girlfriend but she won't say who."

"Good for her... Where do you want this?"

"Wherever. I brought some lunch and we need to eat it before it spoils. After we finish carrying all this stuff in."

"Spoils? What is it?"

"It's fish." He laughed. "Yes, I know. Sorry. It was there by the docks and they'd just cooked some."

"No... it's just that I caught some fish too."

"Really? Well I guess I can salt some of it. Did you clean it or did you leave that to me?" She smirked. "Why am I even asking? I had the knife."

"Well," he whined. "I did kill them," he pointed out with a little guilt. "That should count for something."

Amber chuckled. "At least you won't be able to complain about how I smell in bed."

"Very funny. In a few days it'll probably be me and not all the fish."

She frowned at him. "Don't say things like that."

"It's true." He hauled another chest out of the cart, ignoring the jiggle it sent through his breasts and the weakness it highlighted in his arms. "So tell me something. Do girls... is Andrea picked on because she's so big? How does that work? I mean I never really figured out what turns women on about other women. People get jealous or intimidated by her?"

"I don't know what other women find sexy." Her lips pouted just a moment. "I guess some women are intimidated or envious of her. Particularly if a man shows up and she has a quality he finds so attractive. So sure envy's a problem. Hades. Trisha was mad about the race even after you slept with her. And it had everything to do with boobs... I think Andrea's pretty in her own way. Others don't think so, not that any of us think anyone's... what's that word? Some men wash up that way and suddenly everyone can remember it."

"Ugly?"

"That's the one. Like that dead goat. It was 'ugly.' No one here is 'ugly' but some people find some sorts of beautiful better than others. You know?"

"So what you're saying is, you got several kinds of women. You got breast women who maybe go for Andrea." Jimmy dropped the final container and snuck up beside her to cup a tit. "You got thigh women who like a good pair of legs. Mmm. Linda maybe." He hiked up her skirts to stroke her tender inner thigh. "And you got butt women who like a good piece of ass." He pinched her bottom and Amber's mood switched from passion to humor. "And you got those who are suckers for a pretty face." He caressed the small of her back and kissed her. "Which are you?" he asked, her nose about an inch from his.

"I used to get turned on by all of those things."

"Used to? What does it for you now?"

"Mmm. Bakers."

"Bakers, huh?"

"Bakers... itchy, horny Bakers... ooo! Lunch first, remember? Fish before fish..."

There didn't seem to be enough time the day before. First the morning of love. Then the picnic. Then... then the afternoon of being Amber's little sperm factory again. Then the barbecue.

It was like time slipped through his fingers yesterday.

Now it was like a glue.

He wanted it to be glue.

He folded his hand again.

"I'm tired of cards. There's nothing to do."

"Nothing to do on your honeymoon, huh? My, you have no imagination."

He pushed her puckered lips away. "We had sex all day. Shit. You're more insatiable than I was."

"Well, would you like to go for a walk?" Amber asked, a sliver of hurt evident in her voice.

"I feel like a fruitcake. I don't want to go out."

"What happens tomorrow?"

"I don't know." Amber sighed softly. "It depends on what today was and I'm not so sure." She watched the stars getting brighter with him as light fell on the patio. "Do you want to know exactly or are you going to tell me to forget about it again, like the last time you asked?"

He was silent a while, listening to the waves crash.

"Will it hurt?"

"Not... no, it won't hurt." She pried one of his arms from the railing. "Come to bed... one more time before we sleep..."

"Jimmy? Jimmy?"

"Hum? What? Ohhh..." His voice cracked an octave. "I feel so weird."

"Your face has changed a lot... I guess yesterday was the first day, then."

He tried to sit up a little but something was pinning his hair.

He was.

He rolled over and Amber helped him carefully brush it to one side. It was brown now, much longer than it had ever been. Shoulder length at least.

His chest seemed somehow freer.

"Your boobs shrank." Amber's smile rained down on him. "Maybe you will end up boyish after all."

Her eyes jittered over his form, meticulously avoiding any peek under the sheets.

He seemed to be missing some crucial equipment. He could tell even before he looked.

His testicles.

They were gone.

Or transformed. It really didn't matter which.

He wiped the glassy skin with his fingers.

Gone. No more.

His penis was just a thumb of flesh.

At least it was erect.

Amber gently pulled the sheet away to discover for herself.

"Can I?" She gestured toward it.

"Are you sure it... I can still get you pregnant? I don't have balls anymore."

"Yes. The legends say so. As long as stuff comes out... but they'll be girls."

"A girl... a girl would probably be better for this place."

"Probably. At this point I'd be as happy either way." He frowned. "If I'm not already pregnant, I mean. I hope you would too."

"Sure I'd be happy. It's just that... are you sure... sure I can still please you like this? It's not very big."

"It'll get even smaller, love. And you'll always be able to please me."

"It's not wide, either."

"Wide enough... They say it's supposed to feel even better."

"For me, you mean?... So far it doesn't. It makes this pit in my stomach."

She looked there too. "It's much flatter all right." She shrugged. "It's attractive in its own way."

"It's so damn strange... I mean I know how I'm supposed to feel... somehow I don't know that going back is right? I don't know which direction 'going back' is in."

"Can I?" she asked again.

"Can you what?"

"Do you feel like making love or not?"

"With what?"

"Please don't be that way."

Amber stroked his stiff little piston and bent forward, working her mouth around his once again girlish nipples and budding breasts.

He rested his hand in her curls as her pouting mouth sucked at him, then lifted his arm and considered pushing her away. He thought better of it and massaged her silky tresses as her wide, sea-green eyes pored up at him.

She did look oddly sexy nursing at another woman's nipple.

He still wasn't going to smile about it.

Her lips pulled away from the broad, conical areola leaving a wet sheen. "I won't blame you if you don't feel like giggling," she said.

He squeezed her cheek. "Don't start yourself."

"I really do love you." He was quiet. "Do you feel the same way?"

"Yeah. Just not... I'm not thrilled with... being intimate with someone right now. I feel like I'm standing naked in front of your class."

Amber giggled and put a hand over her mouth. "Sorry. It's just that they always did want to see that. Rachel and I never wanted to turn you into an anatomy lesson."

"Oh yeah? How about you? You ever been an anatomy lesson?"

"My class is a little... no. Not me personally. Why? Would that cheer you up?"

"No."

"Well what do you want?"

Jimmy waffled. "Ah. Do what you want for a change. I'm out of ideas."

"OK." She licked at his nipples a little more until they were stiff, screaming points. Her soft ivory fingers plucked at him slowly, caressing his residual manhood. "I guess I can be on top for once," she said off-hand.

"Great." But then she swung her ass over his face. "Mupf." That wasn't what he had in mind.

"What?" She pulled back a bit. "Is this OK? Or do you want top?"

"No. This is fine."

Her slick thumb flicked him like a lighter, sending a shiver shooting through his spine. She took him in her fingers, pumping it through the O of her pinky and thumb. The tiny motion surprised him with its powerful charge. The friction building up was fantastic.

"Does it feel good?"

"Absolutely."

"Good. That's what they say. It tingles a lot more places?" She stroked his inner thigh and lit a small bonfire on his crotch.

"Yeah," he groaned.

Even his balls prickled. Or where they should be did.

It was the last thing Amber said for a while. She kissed his tender thumb of flesh, wrapping him up in her wonderful lips. She was so fucking fantastic with it... the way she lapped her entire tongue against him, dragging him against the roof of her mouth.

He couldn't stand it...

She inched back and smothered him in pussy. Musky juices poured over him as he licked gratefully at her bright red lips. Like a mother, she pulled his daft old fool of a hand to her own nipples for attention before reaching back to play with his own again.

She did it all with her chin resting calmly on his stomach. That tremendous feeling... She didn't have to move her head at all to blow him... and yet her tongue seemed to be everywhere. She kept pinching at his nipples too, fueling a chill through every fiber of his being. The hard little wand spasmed in her grip... and the convulsion spread from there. Everything twitched... for the first time in his life

He pumped something into her... a hot, sticky familiar fluid. Yes! He could still do it! Despite the wonderful alien tingle!

His nipples wanted to do it to. They didn't have muscles did they? They ought to... the quivering peaks wanted them... wanted to spurt...

The shiver suddenly warmed and deepened in his rosy cheeks. Glowing emotion blanketed him as the shooting in his pint-sized cannon subsided. He kissed in gratitude the only pair of lips he could find. He'd love to gaze into her eyes right now...

Amber reared up, sitting back even more on his face.

"Gwer... Phf. What are you doing down there?"

He heard a liquid sound as her upper body moved again.

"Nothing..." She touched his penis. "Why? Is it sensitive now? You need to rest?"

"No. I'm fine."

"It feels good?"

"Feels fucking fantastic."

"So I can start over again?"

He sighed. "Sure. If that's the way you want it. Waste it, why don't you?"

She giggled. "OK... I like the taste. You're actually a little sweet this morning."

"Good."

"Want to see?"

"No."

But did he?

Forget about it.

He plunged back into her sopping groove.

He liked this taste plenty.

"Finally getting in?"

"Finally? You didn't like my blowjobs?"

"They were great. I thought you'd never stop."

"I don't have to if- "

"Shut up and fuck."

She straddled his hips and ran a taunting finger under his chin. "That's not what we were doing?" Her knuckles drifted into her tawny muff, splitting open her curls and tugging in tiny orbits at her hard pink nub. Her hips barely budged upward as her back arched and yet they gave him such a thrill.

He tweaked the equally pink caps of her milky fair breasts. "Mmm. Come and give me a kiss."

"You don't like watching my breasts up here?"

"They're beautiful. But I want a kiss."

She pouted. "I don't want you falling out." Jimmy scowled at her. "Well it's true. You made me say it."

"We'll work around it." The hand playing in her bush seemed to make faces at him with her pussy as it stretched her creamy skin back and forth. Strange, yawning faces bearded with red curls... "You don't like doing this, do you?"

"On the contrary. I love you very much."

"Then give me a kiss."

Her spine curved down to him. Nipples grazed against nipples, creating the most delicious friction as their warm bosoms nestled together. She felt it too. Her eyes widened as they kissed.

She filled the room with the most wonderful fragrance this morning.

He fell out.

Jimmy broke off their thirsty embrace.

"To hell with it." He flipped her over, more slowly than he wanted. "Time to get aggressive..."

Amber giggled. "Don't waste it," she sighed happily.

"No," she said. "Please don't leave."

"Huh? Why are you laying back all of the sudden?"

She propped a pillow under her hips, tilting them to the heavens.

Oh...

"It's the last day you'll ever be able to get me pregnant. I want to make sure... Please? I'm only doing it because I love you." Her fingers stroked his arm. "Stay by my side, like my mate."

"Fine."

"Please don't complain about nothing to do... just talk to me. Can we?"

"Keep me from falling asleep again," he grumbled.

"Don't worry. You can't nap with me here... in fact, I'm sorry I left yesterday. I thought you'd stay busy the whole time."

He laid back down and stared at the ceiling with her as he draped a hand over his brow. "Ah. I caught three fish right away and came back in before my tits could get felt up." Amber snorted. "I know it's stupid. It's just... after what I've been doing the past few weeks, I walk around with a feminine form and get a little nervous."

The redheaded angel sighed sweetly. "It's understandable."

"Especially when I look down. I want to jump myself and drag me into the bushes for some hanky-panky." He pinched her. "You shouldn't leave me alone like that."

Amber chuckled sympathetically. "Did you ever just... just sneak up on a woman you found attractive like that and have your way with her? Like you did with Amanda, maybe?

"Yeah."

"What was she like?" Amber turned to him. "Can I ask? Do you mind?"

"Sure. Uh..." He faced the ceiling again as her soft breathing fell on his neck. "She had... let's see if I can remember. She had shoulder length red hair- "

"Rhoda?"

"Nipples the color of strawberries."

"What are strawberries?"

"They were pink and kind of- " He glanced down at her chest. "Like yours, actually."

"Me?" Realization struck her blood filled cheeks. "Me! When...?" she drawled.

"That morning... That first night too... I loved the way you protested."

"Oh. I didn't think of that." She gave him an awkward peck on the cheek. "Was I the only one?"

"You were always the only one, I think."

She simpered at him, still enamored with the profile of his nose. "Thanks," she said, giving his thigh a frisky prick. "And you were certainly the only one as far as men go."

Other girls? he wondered. Nah.

"So how was it just now?" She rubbed the sticky lump at his groin. "They say being in between like this is the best. Like you can finally stroke all the parts of a clitoris. It usually hides so much..." she complained.

"It was great. The way you wrapped your tongue around me... Is that what it is now? A big clit?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. It's certainly on its way." She patted his thigh. "Don't worry. We'll have plenty of time this afternoon for love making. Unless your mood changes. We can do something else again like play cards."

"I'm sorry I snapped at you yesterday."

"You didn't snap at me. It can get irritating, I know."

"Can I get you a little lunch?" He tickled her. "Is it all right to eat in bed just this once?"

Her lazy arm pulled itself from the wall and fell across him.

"Sure. Thanks."

Someone was knocking. Very gently. Three soft taps.

Amber put a finger to his lips and rose from bed. "Just a minute," she called out.

"Where are you going?" he whispered.

"I left my clothes in the other room."

Jimmy pulled the covers up and turned away, facing the soothing sea breeze which had slowly turned chillier over the weeks, perhaps signaling the onset of some mild winter.

He heard some noises in the other room. Then in a minute Amber's footsteps shuffled along the rug behind him again, sandals flopping against the stones.

The door creaked open and she left him alone.

He thought he heard whispering. Was it the breeze?

He yawned.

They'd better hurry up or they'd all be asleep.

Who could that be this late? Had they been listening to their love making?

Why did that suddenly bother him now? Was it the shrunken state of his manhood? Shouldn't he be proud he could still make her squeal like that?

The bamboo creaked again.

One pair of footsteps walked in, the other away.

The tone to her breathing was so familiar now.

"Who was at the door, honey?"

"Rachel. I was just giving her something. She stopped by to see how you are."

"Oh." That was kind of her. He hugged the pillow tighter. His backside was getting cold from the empty, airy sheets. "How is she?"

"Fine. I gave her ice-chest back. One of the small ones I used yesterday and she brought us a little food."

"That's nice of her. She shouldn't have gone out of her way at this time of night."

"She doesn't live far for here. She and Nell were out walking and just thought they'd pay me a visit."

Amber walked into the other room and he heard her kick her sandals off.

"Sorry I don't feel like seeing anyone else."

"She understands."

"I haven't seen her since..." He grumbled and turned over. "You know, I never did ask," he said sleepily. "How many women did you and she, um, work on at the palace that last day?" He stretched his arms out over head.

"Six."

"Six? That's it?"

Amber floated back in, her bare flesh turning goosey while she stoked the fire. "There wasn't more to go around," she explained.

"Oh... was anyone disappointed?"

"Quite the contrary. They were all very happy."

"Oh." He closed his eyes and thought a moment. "Your mother?"

"No."

She moistened her lips. "Would you care to know who?"

Jimmy yawned. "Surprise me... Come back to bed." He pealed the sheet away for her.

The left edge of Amber's lip drooped.

"It's gone isn't it?"

He didn't need to feel or look. He simply knew it.

He chest had flattened considerably too.

"It was beautiful last night how you fell asleep inside me again. Somehow I knew it was the last time," she said softly as she stroked his arm.

He pulled the sheet back and looked in confusion at the smooth bald curves of his crotch. Nothing more than a groove and a tiny dot remained.

He looked longingly at her. Why wasn't she asking what she did yesterday morning?

He took her hand but she drew back.

"I can't... I can't touch you today. You're sexless."

"What?"

"There's no way I can bring you any joy. You're in between."

"I know it's small but- "

"It's not that." Her unsettling gaze drifted lower on his body. "It won't feel anything." She stared directly into his eyes. "You won't feel anything."

"You said you'd stay with me- "

"I will."

Her fingers combed out the kinks in his long chestnut hair while she gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek. "What would you like to do? Do you want some breakfast?"

His lip twitched and Jimmy turned away. "Are we out of love?"

"No. We're in limbo."

"I... I want to be with you still."

"Good. It's good you feel that."

"Don't you?"

She sniffled. "Yes I do. I just- it will disappoint you. Trust me."

"It tingles," he said, touching the crumbs of flesh left between his legs.

"It's... it's not even a little girl's yet."

"Oh." She was right. There was nothing else there. Not even a valley. No hairs had grown back.

"It will disappoint you. I don't want to be responsible for that."

"OK."

"Let me get you something to eat."

"Can I still pee right?"

"Yes. You should be able to stand up. You, uh..."

"I obviously can't aim anymore."

"No," she laughed faintly.

Jimmy rose from bed and stopped himself from disappearing out the back door. For safe measure he pulled a toga from the rack.

He stuck his head out and surveyed the land before tiptoeing into the bushes.

Just to be cautious, he hiked the fabric all the way up instead of simply parting it down the middle. His other hand went forward out of habit, searching for what he knew was no longer there.

Nothing to aim.

He fingered the groove and felt the ghostly sexual prickle again. Somewhere inside he knew nothing could come of it.

Well, at least it seemed to point in the right direction.

With a bit of trepidation over the loss in control, he gradually relaxed his strange new arrangement of muscles. A yellow stream arced up like something from a fountain statue.

He watched it with mild disinterest.

Odd that it didn't feel odd. That it was like it had always been this way.

Unable to tap away the last drops, he awkwardly dabbled his toga on the peculiar new orifice.

No more control, he thought as he trudged back to his home... his little hut near the beach. He'd finally paid for it, hadn't he?

Amber returned from the other side, having completed her morning business as always. She planted a reassuring hand on each of his shoulders.

"I'm more of an it than a he, aren't I?"

Amber was silent.

"You're very much a person," she finally said.

"My voice is so strange. It's... it's bland."

"I know it's not what you're used to."

"I never thought..." He sank into one of the chairs. "I never thought I'd actually want to change, but I do. I just want it finished, you know? To be a woman and get it over with... to have anything... salvage what I can... it hurts... so much I can't feel it..."

"I know. I wish... I want very much to be with you in that way. But there's nothing there yet for me to make love too."

"It's OK," he sighed. "I had too much sex lately anyway."

Amber smiled a little.

He rubbed his empty crotch again. "It tingles," he repeated.

"That's all it will do," she sulked.

"Is this what it's like to be a little girl?"

"No."

"But I look more like I'm supposed to?"

"Yes. Your figure is filling out. You're even a little taller. Tomorrow you'll be who you are."

He glanced down the neck of the fabric.

"My tits aren't terribly impressive."

"They're not finished yet," she said.

"Are they going to be big?"

"I don't know. What do you want them to be?"

He blinked at her.

"I don't know."

He stared at the seagulls flying out past the reef. Did any of them escape the Siren's embrace?

"I'm not a substitute for your lost childhood love, am I?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you trying to have me because you couldn't have Marshall? Is that what attracts you to me?" He finished off the last of the ale. The way he put it sounded so abstract.

"You mean Monica?"

"Yeah. Monica. Is this your way of grabbing Monica?"

"No, love. I... if anything, I wasn't sure I could take... could go through it again when I first saw you. But I love you too much. There's nothing I love like that about Monica... and nothing I had with her I'm trying to rekindle. If anything, I... you made it hard..."

"You couldn't stand to go through another heartbreak?"

"I didn't say that. It hasn't happened to us yet."

"But it could."

"Probably not. But it's a price I was willing to pay."

"If, uh... if I, uh... had gotten you pregnant and picked someone else, who would you have married?"

"You know?"

"Know what?"

"That most of us court when that happens?"

"No. It's... it's just a guess." Though he didn't really feel like it, he pinched her shoulder and drew her warmth closer, silently cursing the itching blank between his thighs. "Who would you have picked?"

"Well I... I hadn't... well I did think about it briefly when you arrived. How did you know?"

"I have a feeling you plan for everything. You weren't seeing anyone at the time though, right?"

"Yes. How did you- ?"

"You're not the kind of person to carry on with someone else."

"Carry on? Oh... you saw? But plenty of the other single girls were... uh, carrying on with and without you. You thought they were unattached."

"You're different." He sighed and looked out the window. "Some of them are different too, I suppose." Jimmy massaged her neck, like he knew he was supposed to right about now. "I bet you had a list in your head you were working on. Eligible women you could approach discretely. Kind of like my list..."

"Do you want me to tell you about my old lovers? Is that what you want?"

"No."

"Are you... are you not loving me anymore?"

"I... I don't think so. But then I... I can't get very emotional about anything right now."

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No. You feel comfortable," he admitted.

Amber sighed pleasantly, though it was still tinged with some apprehension. "Did you want to know who I had in mind?" She leaned forward and folded her arms on the window sill, blocking his view of the sea. His hand slipped from her back.

"Yes. If you like." He slouched and spread a disinterested arm across the bench.

"I gave some serious thought to being a spinster, but then I figured like most women who tried it, I wouldn't like it in the end... that settling for just a little sex and companionship would be worth doing without the love. And I had to do it earlier rather than later. A lot of other single women would be making the rounds with me." She sighed. "It's harder, you know, to convince younger women to marry you when you're raising a child, particularly if they aren't ready for one themselves. It can be an uncomfortable reminder if they don't want the responsibility... though they'll sleep with you easily enough. I didn't want to have to explain why I had so much company to a child, though. And I didn't want a new lover every month. Sometimes that's just as lonely." She gave him a backward glance, just to check that he was paying attention. "I suppose you realized Hope and Melissa were out of contention? I really don't have a romantic interest in teenagers. They giggle and fawn all over you and tell you things and try to ingratiate themselves. They're not serious about any of it yet."

"I liked Melissa," he said flatly. "I wouldn't want to marry her... yet... but she was fun."

"Yeah. If you get lonely enough, they do have a peculiar enthusiasm." She sighed and shifted her chin to a better angle. "It rarely becomes steady. The mature ones usually go after girls their own age for stuff like that. Something about growing up together, sharing experiences... I've always felt I missed out at that age, not connecting again with someone else I could grow with like that..." Her neck twisted again and she looked out at a different part of the sea. Her hair fluttered away from him as the breeze picked up. "I thought about Andrea. She's nice but... she's told me to shut up once or twice, which I didn't like. She's not subtle when she wants things and, frankly, I was afraid I'd get squashed in bed." She giggled. "Though I've heard it's a delightful squashing." Amber snorted. "The same with Linda. We've played a few good duets together actually... but I figure either my odds with her were too poor because of Susan or, if my odds were good, then I really didn't want her. Again because of Susan. I couldn't trust someone for promising that to her and then doing that with me. Of course, that would leave Susan if she found out soon enough, but she's mousy, so I put her on the back burner. I don't know. If Linda was going to cat around, I guess I could have still enjoyed her and put up with it. It beat spinsterhood and as long as she was in my bed every night..." Her shoulders hunched and she let out a grunt. "A lesser pain for a greater." She cleared her throat. "Those are the two you know the best. I guess the one I would have zeroed in on first was Clarissa. She's pretty and been really sweet over the years. I guess the best thing she's got going for her is I don't know her very well and she just broke up with somebody... There's Rose, too. And then Amanda. She's a bit odd, though. Pretty much everybody was involved to some degree with someone else or, like me looking around so I didn't think much beyond those. It's hard to watch your belly swell up, work all day and go courting. I figured if at the end of a couple of months nothing much happened, I'd draw up another list." She shrugged. "And if that didn't work, I could go after one of the handful of spinsters still left around. I guess I could get used to being like that with someone who reminded me of my mother. I don't know." Her neck twisted a little and she eyed him from the side. "Aren't you going to make a joke about the old butcher woman or something?"

"No," he replied rather drably. "I'm not feeling like that today."

"I know." She patted his knee and faced the sea again. "I wished Penelope hadn't married. She was always a good friend... It's strange how you can want to undo someone else's happiness when you start worrying about your own. I even thought of asking to move in with them. I get along with her wife fine... but arrangements like that rarely work out. I couldn't bear doing that to someone..." She took a deep huff. "If none of that worked, I'd thought about taking one of the teenage classes and finding a young girl I could work on, maybe mold... but mothers usually don't like it when you do that. It's like you're taking over their role... though sometimes..."

No wonder she kicked his ass in poker.

He took a survey around the house again. Three rooms was quite a lot for the island, he realized.

At least it looked lived in now. Unpacking and rearranging the furniture (sparse as it was) provided a modicum of entertainment.

He wanted to help her with the laundry, but he felt like... he felt like a mannequin that'd just been through surgery. He didn't want to chance running into someone. He felt so helpless and unanchored in the world. If he stayed outside too long he might drift away.

So he sat inside, admiring the well-ordered construction of the house from a strange distance. He appreciated the aesthetics of the view. It looked a lot like Francesca's- had she done something special to earn it, like he had? Been another stud of the month?

He knew it was a funny remark, but he didn't feel much like laughing.

Shouldn't he feel more appreciative of the way Amber was giggling around him today?

Was it the comment he'd dropped at Francesca's about liking the view that inspired them to build here?

No. Of course not. The place had been in the works since he arrived.

It was kind of big, like Rachel's was. It had a lot of room.

Would people be calling on them a lot? he wondered.

Of course Rachel had much more stuff. Mostly things from the beach given to her by others for assorted reasons, either because she was the only one who knew how to use it or they were returning some sort of favor.

Would he have a lot of favors returning to him when he was a her?

He appreciated the hard work that went into the stone floor. It couldn't be easy to haul those slabs in that far. The quarry was at least a mile away.

Falling on it wouldn't be much fun, especially in this body. He somehow knew he would bruise more easily. Or even shatter like a plaster cast.

But then, what feelings could a mannequin have?

Amber had already covered the spot next to the bed with a nice brown rug and scattered others around the place like improvised carpeting.

Funny. He didn't remember seeing many rugs in her old home.

More gifts?

He made a note to find out who helped and thank them when he was feeling better...

Would he be able to do that?

Rachel usually talked about Doug in the third person. Would he not be around to thank people? Should he ask Amber to do it before he forgot?

Would he forget? They said he wouldn't. Rachel remembered Doug... in a peculiar sort of way. He tried to ask her on several occasions but it always boiled down to 'Just wait.'

That was fine by him. He didn't want to go anywhere (at least until last night).

So why did they say that?

Maybe he should leave a note for the stranger on her way.

Pot roast in the fridge.

Look after the kids.

Died at work today.

Thank the construction crew.

He finally noticed the ceiling he'd been staring at.

The thatch roof was well-done too. The weaving was nice. Had Amber done that? She assured him it was waterproof. They'd even dug drainage ditches outside the path, leading down to the sea.

Sigh. No more staying at the palace, even during the monsoons.

Would he... she ever want to go back there? Rachel hadn't missed that big bed. In fact she avoided it.

Would his new self want to bury him? Avoid all the things that reminded her of her dear departed?

Would he be dear?

She'd already stolen all his emotion. What good were memories without feeling? They provided no refuge. Even yesterday, filled with sex and love at the time, new seemed gray and joyless, like a black and white photo of an image in a silver mirror.

Antonia had done a good job with the carpentry... especially the doors...

He sighed.

If time was ever like glue, it was today.

He folded again.

Amber collected her winnings while he looked at the setting sun.

He had no purpose in life.

Was this what it was like to be a woman on an island of women?

Useless?

There was nothing to do.

At least if he'd been castrated, he would have had something.

He felt like he'd never had anything.

"Tomorrow?" he asked.

"Tomorrow."

Someone roused her from slumber. They usually couldn't do that.

How would she know?

"Do you feel all right?"

Amber.

"Strangely I do. But..." Part of her felt invisible. As if she was supposed to have memories but didn't... didn't yet...

"You remember what it felt like the last month? Remember who you were?"

She blinked in the dim rosy light. "Yeah. I remember how it felt... who I am... am still mostly..." Her lip twitched downward. "Something's wrong."

"What?"

"I think I need to go... but I can't." She looked at Amber with frustration. "I don't know how." It upset her. "I thought you said-"

Amber put a calming hand on her bosom and lifted her from bed. "There are some things you haven't done yet. They'll feel normal but they'll still be firsts."

She clutched the waist of her nightshirt. "That's not much practical help."

"Oh. You've never seen- ? Take your shirt off just in case."

Her breasts bounced free of the fabric. She'd felt them hanging there earlier, much heavier than last night. She knew now why the tips brushed more sensitively against the sliding cloth. They'd grown wide and finally flattened while she slept. And now the crisp dawn air made little dimples of them.

The two mounds felt just like they'd always been there, though she knew in her mind they hadn't. And though they were much larger again, they were still smaller than Amber's and bit firmer for it. They bulged at the bottom more than hers did too, but they were still quite broad and level, in fact. Boyish? Not really. Not buxom, either. Slender to match her tall frame.

She frowned and glanced up.

"Do they look all right?"

"They're lovely... You're lovely."

Her lips crinkled shyly.

But she couldn't ignore the pressure in her bladder. It was worse than yesterday morning.

"What do I do?" she whispered, glancing around the cold stone floor.

Amber took her hand. "I go in back. Here..." She led her outside to a little enclosure where the bushes protected them from the vulnerability of the footpath.

The area smelled.

"Sometimes I go here when I can't make it to the shore. Many women prefer the ocean so it all drifts away... but the leaves from this tree work fairly well- Oh." The distress, almost panic was plainly evident on her damp brow... "You might be able to go right now standing up. Some women can. Spread your legs a little."

She chewed her lower lip, half from a fear that wanted to extend the torturous wait and delay making the new unknown real, half from anticipation of being released from the inevitable... just wanting to get it over with and let loose...

She took a first glimpse of the nothingness between her legs, wrapped in downy chestnut hair. How odd not to feel odd that something was no longer there...

Or was there. She didn't know what was lurking in that forest, and yet knew it would be familiar...

"You might have to pull yourself open..."

Too late. It sputtered and ran down her leg.

She had to stop again. No! She gasped.

"Please help..." she pleaded.

"Here. I need to go too. Just squat and aim with your bottom... see?"

She mirrored her naked companion and felt everything relax inside with a sigh. It was such a relief she didn't even mind the spray splashing back on her thighs as it hit the dirt.

With a concerned eye, Amber made a brief study of her opened knees.

"You might need to hold yourself open if your lips get in the way."

She probed the unknown between her legs but didn't find anything she didn't already know somehow... the sensitive tip above the circular ring of flesh. It secretly sent a thrill through her when she touched it... like the alien penis she remembered Jimmy stroking, now a long bit of cordwood tucked away... How it wanted more... more than she could provide... She wished she could touch all of it under there, though she knew better than to try. It was a slightly different organ to handle... but the tingle... the hungry tingle was still the same. Wasn't it?

How did she know already?

There was something warm on one of those leafy flaps. Liquid splattered on her hand until she could push it back.

As soon as the clear stream had come it was gone.

She was empty. So fast.

So fast? Wasn't that always it? She knew the man had gone longer... could store more... so why didn't it seem so little?

"No. Wipe the other way, honey... That's it. Come here..." Amber hoisted her up and rubbed a cloth on her thighs, eventually brushing against her two collapsed holes.

That was nice too... but in a different way than the nub...

"You'll get used to it. Most complain that it's not as convenient."

"No," she murmured. "I know in the abstract it isn't. But I wouldn't know different, either. You know?"

"Yes. It's the funny paradox kicking in. They say you notice the difference but that it's not really different. It's normal."

"And the old person. He felt normal too. Is normal when I remember him. When I am him. Am I him?" The mother and father hugging that young boy didn't seem a million miles away in her thoughts. They were hers too, right?

"You have his thoughts?"

"As long as I don't think about sex. Then it's weird." Very weird... "So are a few other things... are those sexual too?"

"I don't know."

She sighed. There was a large gap within her. A shadow more than a gap. Something that should be very familiar but wasn't. It was there, but it wasn't something she could just reach out and touch to resolve-

"Do I have a name? I hear 'Jimmy' in my mind and... and it doesn't... I don't know. It doesn't feel right. I mean I know I'm supposed to be-"

"Jessica."

"What?" she responded casually. Her eyes opened wide in surprise. "I'm Jessica! I have a name!" She bit her lip. "How did I know that?"

"I whispered it to you during the night."

"Ooooohhhh, thank you. It's so lovely. Thank everyone for me, will you?" She kissed Amber's cheek. "I still wish mine was as pretty as yours is- What?"

Amber held her back.

"You really are a woman now."

"You think so? Thank you." She looked her fleshy thighs over and twisted for a view of her rear. "I... I... You like me, don't you?"

"Very much." She wiped a tear away.

"You're upset by it?"

"No." She sniffled. "I'm happy it went so well."

Jessica sank from the weight of it, falling against one of the trees as she finally understood. "I think I... I feel like I robbed him of his life."

"I know."

"Of my life? How could I rob myself?... It's like it's all still there in the past... but he's not... someone else is moving forward." Her limp wrist roamed to Amber's arm for a hug. "Isn't this where you tell me to just put it out of my mind?"

"No," she gulped, pulling back from the embrace. "You have a lot of time left. And I don't want you to ever put him out of your mind."

A lone tear rolled down Jessica's cheek. She kissed Amber and shared its salty taste. "I won't," she promised, pressing her nose to the shorter woman and peering down into her piercing green irises.

Amber choked back a sob, setting free a rather wet laugh. "Your eyes. They're blue now, but they still say the same things to me."

"Good." Jessica smiled and cleared away the crystal stream.

"We do have mirrors on the island, you know," she said wryly.

"Really?" she chuckled. "I'd like to see."

"I know."

Jessica laughed at her perceptiveness. "Your eyes say the same things too." It was like her first day all over again and Amber was offering another swim.

Her...?

This wasn't it?

Amber brightened and stood on her toes for another kiss, then spun around and took the slender hand into their home.

Her lovely pink bottom swung to the sky as the redhead rummaged under the bed for one of her boxes.

Out came a small black square.

She stood from her haunches and the fake mossy plastic unfolded.

"Ooooh. Where'd you find it?" Jessica asked, cradling the treasure.

"It washed up several years ago. I know it's not much. Try to ignore the holes of rust."

"No. It's wonderful." Jessica stepped to the window's red glow and gazed in fascination at the spotted silver.

"We can keep it as long as you need."

The shadow inside her had features now. She had a face. A beautiful one.

Of course it was hers. It had always been hers. Who else could it be?

But knowing it filled her with such confidence, like an extra leg to stand on in this strange new world.

Strange?

Nothing seemed strange about the young woman staring back at her.

The crystal blue eyes. The delicate long lashes. The high cheeks.

Were they too high? No. Amber's were perky too.

The perfectly shaped O pouted with lips a tad narrower than Amber's. She wished they were fuller but somewhere inside her Jimmy spoke in defense of their own pretty charms. He could be so nice about such things. His tastes really were democratic.

Her skin was slightly darker than Amber's, but was still quite fair. She wasn't olive like Melissa and so many others. Would she freckle too? She hoped so.

And there was that long, rather plain but shiny flowing mane that waved behind her delicate ears-

"My hair's just like Hope's!" she yipped.

"Yes," Amber giggled. "It's lovely, isn't it?" She pinched her lover. "Sorry you didn't marry her?" she teased.

"Who? Hope?" Jessica pried her eyes away and smirked. "I'd be dead for sure. By her own hand if not by nature's."

"No you wouldn't. She'd have taken good care of you." Jessica prodded the soft lines of flesh under her throat. "She'd have made you happy."

"Nah. You talk like we're interchangeable or something."

"We?"

"Women, of course." She looked her cheeks over again. "We're not. How could I live with someone I trapped like that?" Jessica sighed. "It's kind of insulting to Jimmy too."

She puckered her lips, tracing them with a long, gracefully pointed tongue.

Curse Jimmy. She knew exactly what lipstick was. And she wanted some. She'd never be able to use the tiny mirror for its real purpose.

But one of the ghosts within her was gone, thank goodness. Light flooded that particular shadow, plastering it with her face.

"I'm sorry it's so small. There's a quiet spot in the stream we can go to later, if you like." Amber sighed. "It's hard to keep your hair from getting wet, I know, but it's very clear and it's the best we can do without going to the large mirror in the palace." Amber stroked her arm. "We'll stop by the next time we're in town and you can see how lovely your figure is..."

"Do you think I'm pretty?" asked Jessica.

"Yes."

"Would..." She swallowed. "Would others, do you think?"

"Very much."

"Then your opinion's the only mirror I need." She tossed her head and grinned coyly before Amber could kiss her again, running fingers through her silken tresses. "I guess I finally need to learn to do something with this hair."

Amber backed away. "Would you like me to cut it now?"

"No. I like it long like this." She turned side to side, examining each profile with her eyes glued to the mirror. "Do you? What do you think? I'll cut it if- "

"I think it's lovely." Amber swept aside her light brown mane and stole a long soulful kiss.

Jessica worked an arm around her and closed the compact, sliding it on the table.

For some reason the insecurity returned.

Was it the mirror? There was another shadow within her.

She broke off their embrace and nudged Amber away, blinking timidly down at her.

"There's something else you need to relearn," Amber whispered.

"Like what?"

"Like love."

"I know." Jessica curled a sheepish hazel lock.

Her fingers grazed the tender skin of her throat before taking Amber's hand.

"Do you honestly love me?" Amber asked, putting a finger to Jessica's lips. "Think hard about it. There's no shame if the curse has changed that part of you too. We need to know or we'll both be unhappy."

Amber's plain face remained perfectly still, her gaze making no demands. Jessica probed the recesses of her mind, carefully studying Amber's delicate features and playing back her soft voice.

The things she said still rang true.

There was nothing lurking in the fog.

"I... I think so. But I'm not sure... How do I know? I mean, I feel something special when I see you but... is it enough?"

"Are you still attracted to me?"

"Oh yes..." Amber broke out in cheerful smiles. "I just... I just don't know what's supposed to happen about it." Jessica frowned. "I feel like I don't have the parts even though I know I do."

"We don't, really," Amber sighed, knowing it was the heart of the curse. "But there are plenty of ways around that. I'll show you."

"OK. Thanks. But I'm still not sure- I hate myself for it too. I don't want to hurt you."

"It's a common reaction." Amber grinned again, sucking on a lip as she brushed the small of her hand along the curve in Jessica's breast. "We'll have to find a new way together. Jimmy and I had one. You and I share enough of that. We just have to build on it."

"You don't want to put off the wedding do you?"

"Did you want one? We can if you'd like. Either way. I'll even vanish for a while if you need me to."

"Oh no." Jessica squeezed her speckled ivory shoulder. "I'm sure there's no one else I look at and feel this way about."

She quickly rattled through the other faces in her mind. Each had shadows clinging to them, but the emotions clouded over were different.

"I guess I'm just nervous," she confided.

"If your mind changes, let me know."

Amber locked her in another penetrating kiss but then withdrew, severing it long before completion. She blushed and batted her lashes at the tall stranger in awkward silence.

Jessica stuttered a moment. The prickling from Amber's fingers still made her warm and moist inside. "I know you were worried but Jimmy..." she gulped. "Jimmy would be very happy you're treating me this way. He..." Her jaw quivered. "We?... I don't think any less of you. He loves you very much... and I am too..." She cupped the redhead's cheek to quiet her shaking hand.

Amber's lip curled, reminding Jessica of that night at the window when Jimmy confessed to wanting some singing. She had such a funny expression then too. She was fighting to hide her true emotions. Jessica could see that now.

Why couldn't Jimmy?

No.

no....

Was there something Jimmy saw in her that Jessica couldn't? Please no... Could she wrestle it from him?... Would he let it go?...

Amber lost the struggle and let the smile out for all its glory, showering Jessica with affectionate arms and lips. "You knew exactly what I was worried about!" She backed the startled woman into bed until her knees buckled and her bare bottom plopped into its silky calfskin grip.

Jessica gave a carefree laugh, heart aflutter with the rekindled love being chewed up in Amber's unrelenting kisses. She'd never seen her with such an assaulting enthusiasm. And those emeralds eyes swarming over her...

As they warmed the dawn mists, Jessica slowly regained her composure and tugged at one of her strawberry nipples, picking at it with the nail of her thumb the way she loved.

Amber abruptly retreated again, catching her sharp breath and turning a bit scarlet as she digested the familiarity of the touch.

"I still love you," Jessica confessed.

"I know you do... it's just that... you'll feel something different from it now."

"I realize that," she answered, flickering her bashful eyelids.

"Come on." Amber brightened and pulled her lover up. "All the former guys say they like this part."

"Really?" Jessica raised an eyebrow. "Former- ?" She knitted her brow. "New women, you mean."

"Yes." Amber's smile diminished a bit as she leaned over to fumble with yet another box under the bed.

Hm. What mystical feminine treasure was next?

A lid clattered open on the stone and she brought up a long spiraled sea shell.

Jessica cocked her head in curiosity as she spread her hair out on the pillow.

"It's not the real thing but it's much better than a finger..."

"Oph." Jessica blushed deeply, and put a hand over her mouth, trying to protect Amber from the liquid sputtering out with her incredulous giggles. "I thought it was jewelry," she whispered.

Amber grinned shamefully. "I've a bit of pipe too if you prefer."

"White pipe?" she snickered. "Plastic pipe?"

"Yes. How do you know? They were forbidden last month."

"I saw them at the foot of your bed when I woke up. You remember. Um, three weeks ago, I think."

Amber stared at her sky blue eyes a moment as Jessica twirled a strand of hair. The girl sat up slightly and studied the red beauty perched quietly between her knees.

"Oh. Yes."

"Well it was Jimmy, really. Not me, I guess. He thought it was jewelry. I know better," she snickered girlishly. "Now I know what all that white pipe's laying around for... those batons..." A little bubble of spit escaped her smirking lips. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"No I... I can't... I don't have you and Jimmy linked like that in my head yet." Amber let out a deep breath. "I guess your face is something of a stranger to me... they told me about it. Warned me you might look more familiar to yourself than me at first but... but I didn't worry about it. What you'd go through seemed so much bigger, you know? So what when it came to me? But they were right..."

"Is your love still familiar?"

"I think." Amber gave her an inviting grin. "Let's make sure..."

Jessica propped her succulent thigh up and combed through her silky chestnut bush.

"Going to inspect me? It's all there isn't it? Finally?"

Amber giggled as she parted Jessica's muff in two. "Nothing's missing," she smiled. "Of course I'll have to check..."

A long pink tongue unfurled and brushed up and down against Jessica's thin lips. A familiar shiver ran through her, opening the creases within like it was old times.

"How's the taste?" she asked.

"Delicious... but then you should know. You've tasted more than I."

"You!" She slapped her on the noggin. "Stop teasing me about it!"

Amber offered a wet finger. "Want to taste one more? Your own?"

Jessica cracked her mouth open.

The gleam was musky with a faint tang. Not terribly strong. She'd tasted plenty like it before.

She wished she could forget that.

Why was that?

She closed her eyes.

Something seemed more subtle about the flavor now. More intimate.

Did it taste differently than the others because it was hers? Or did she have a different sense of taste?

How could it be 'different' if it was hers?

Was she different than all those other women?

How would Amber be?

"Mm." Jessica smacked her lips. "Nice but... you know the one I'd really like...?" she hinted, patting the bed by her chest.

"Not yet." Jessica cracked her eyelids. "I'd like to watch your face if I could."

"OK... Is it really that pretty?"

"I love it. You're a very beautiful woman."

The sandy brunette floated back into the pillow's soft care, gushing with her unspoken thanks.

Amber lapped at the thin ridge of skin ringing her pussy like a castle wall, drinking in her juices and tracing out the oblong O of her lips. She wet the long shell in her mouth and kissed Jessica's smaller o, snaking her tongue inside for a taste of the wrinkled pink cavern before working the long cone into its depths.

She felt a twinge of regret this couldn't be Jessica's first time. Was the memory of Jimmy's first sweet enough for her?

The shell cranked into her slowly, spinning her open with its coiled grooves while Amber massaged her furry mound.

"Ahhhh..." Jessica sighed with delight. "I'm getting screwed," she giggled. Amber giggled back, then stopped halfway and rotated the shell several times to tease her. "I'm fucking a barbershop pole," she yelped, flopping her hands over her head with a big grin.

The ridges moved in her like a giant drill bit, creating a delicious friction that stirred up that itch in her clitoris. It was all so wonderful and so fantastic and normal... and yet so fresh and so unknown... Jimmy'd never known anything like this... but she always had, even if this was the first...

Jessica's cheek fell against the pillow and she bit her knuckle, just as she remembered Dahlia doing in bed. Her body filled with the warm chilling flush.

An ache within her hungered for someone on top of her.

She knew somehow in some unknown part of her mind that no man could beat the sensations of the intricately designed shell now twisting with in her.... and yet... no man could ever lose to it either...

She thought of Amber as a man for a moment and felt guilty at the spike of erotic pleasure it brought her.

Then Jimmy's reflection covered Amber's freckled cheeks... and it didn't move like a mirror...

No.

She gasped and clamped her eyes shut as Amber's thumb grazed the tiny seed of her sex.

The march of passion in her lower body was unbearable. Where had that wonderful tongue gone? She thrust herself at Amber, but the wench knocked her back down, pinning her with the delightfully stabbing shaft and abusing it like a swinging conductor's wand.

Her burning dot of flesh yearned for more contact... to feed that friction within her and set it aflame... But the rat kept running away like a teasing feather, making her parts sweat in frustration. It only aggravated the hungry pang, forcing her to offer up her writhing pelvis like a worshipping servant seeking affection.

Amber wanted her to beg for it, that torturous little vixen.

"Stop!" Jessica yelled, seizing her lover's fiery red head and plunging its indecent smile into darkness.

She trapped the pretty face between her thighs, smothering it in her fluids as she rocked back and forth with the steely determination of bringing herself off on that hard chin. The splendid crescendo ripened and after several grueling seconds, Jessica managed at last to punch that tiny, trembling pearl back within her and ignite the explosive prickle.

Heat flooded from her tingling, stiff nipples down to her toes. Her stomach undulated and she dug into Amber's scalp, hanging on to the slurping anchor for dear life.

The moan of her body reached a sharp climax and Jessica cried out in the fading dawn light.

Spasms wracked her. Hidden muscles clenched for the first time.

Her hips twitched. Once. Then a second rocking.

Her nails slipped from Amber's mane. Auburn curls fell free of her viselike thighs.

The last contraction died within her.

Amber tugged the dildo gradually out of her slick canal, carefully kissing the tender white flesh beside it to spread the warm, relaxing contentment nestled between her legs.

Jessica sighed as the ants of passion marched faintly away and left a deep, satisfied glow that swept her up.

She wanted to be held.

She breathed in the strangely familiar intimacy and felt her love burning again.

That sudden coyness returned.

For several long seconds she stared at nothing, wondering about the feminine weakness within her. The one she could never overcome alone.

Amber sat above her crotch, just gazing into her eyes.

Jessica eventually snapped to attention and with renewed confidence, stretched her arms over head. "Uuuunhhh," she drawled. "Well am I hiding anything?" she asked, dripping with sarcasm among other things.

"No," Amber smirked. "You taste very nice if it's a consolation."

"Why is it a consolation? I liked it very much."

"How was it... different I mean? Was it good?"

"It was beautiful, darling. It was..." Jessica rattled her brain, "more complete... but I had less control." She sighed. How could it be different, though? It was supposed to feel that way.

"Does that worry you?"

"Not around you... It was wonderful." She sat up and they met for a kiss. "Mmm. That's the first time I've ever tasted that flavor on your lips..." She kissed her again. "I like it." Amber smiled demurely. "Let me return the favor..." she purred, trying to roll her to the side.

Amber gripped her arm and fended her off politely. "Later, perhaps..."

Jessica slouched against the headboard, strangely stung.

"I'm sorry I can't be a man for you."

"Huh? What's to be sorry about? We rarely have men on the island." Did Amber sniffle? Maybe it was it the nectar still on her face. She leaned in and gave Jessica a kiss on the cheek. "It was very sweet while it lasted. I was grateful for the gift." Jessica turned away but she couldn't escape the forceful finger on her chin. "All right..." Amber murmured. "Show me how happy you can make me." She tickled the sparse hair under Jessica's arm. "Top or bottom?" she lilted.

"Mmm." Jessica answered with a knowing gleam. "Bottom, please."

Amber straddled her hips and caressed the girl's flowing tresses, bathing her in kisses. Jessica's thigh rose up between her lover's legs and Amber warmed it with her slick, furry lips while she breathed reassuring affections into her ear.

Their hands cupped one another's breasts and Amber slipped lower to suckle on a tender spike. She smiled and nipped at the bosom as Jessica gently stroked her fiery curls back and forth.

The sandy brunette felt her flesh opening again... the desire within her reborn. With a smack of her lips, she tore Amber from her glistening nipples.

Holding the redhead's sides, Jessica sank lower until her face was craddled between the scythelike curves of her creamy mounds. She tugged and nursed at their spirited strawberry caps, finding her lover's sweat like honey to her tongue. The fair skin had to be even softer and more tender than her own, she thought as her mouth watered at the slow puckering of the areolas.

A knowing odor greeted her nose, definite and well-remembered. Jessica inhaled and savored this new source of feminine excitement in their home. Her frisky fingers tiptoed down the sensitive white of Amber's tummy and tickled her auburn bush, playfully searching for the second bubbling geyser.

She stumbled across a musky lip and Amber reared up, snapping away the nipple trapped in Jessica's teeth. Her legs swung around like a gymnast, granting her far more intimate access.

Jessica kissed the well-rounded bottom and kneaded its cushions while she felt that delicious, familiar tongue parting her in two... sneaking once more into her crevice...

She returned the favor and sampled her lover's ragged pink flower, lapping gently at each blossoming lip as she stroked and flattened them under her thumb. She reveled in the richer taste until Amber's skilled and distracting touch unleashed another torrent of musk in her own loins.

Jessica paused to savor the friction and, for a moment, started doubting her own technique. Then she remembered how happy Jimmy seemed to make her feel and relaxed.

She smiled as she chewed one of the flaps.

Women really weren't interchangeable.

She tossed her guilt aside and enjoyed the pleasurable licks Amber stole from her split open mound.

With a deep breath, Jessica drank in the tangy fragrance before her and finally gobbled up the wet glimmer hidden away in her folds, scooping away as much as she could. She poked a finger inside the rusty beard and slowly drew sweet circles around her clit, wondering briefly where the shell had slipped to.

The flavor rolled over on her tongue and stirred up such a mixture of memories, especially as she felt and heard the same lapping at her own groin.

Amber's aroma was a little different now. Fuller somehow? Deeper? It wasn't just taste per se. Something else... that invisible thing it stirred within her. Not taste, not touch, not even sight, though all three seemed much clearer.

The bloom in front of her seemed fresher, as if it had changed in some fashion even though it hadn't.

Did things just get dull in the past? Was that it? She couldn't remember Jimmy well?

No. She remembered him quite well sometimes. Was him sometimes. Was him now, if it weren't for the strange tingles surging through the gap in her legs. This view of her lover was his too. Hers. Both.

But her world was sharper that way. The odors, the sights, the feeling, the emotion (though a certain strength, if not potency was lacking in the later; something new about its range, perhaps?).

She liked it.

And yet it all felt less important than what was in her heart now.

She was more connected to the world though her senses. And even if she couldn't move it as easily as he had, she still liked it.

She'd probably change her mind in a fist-fight with Lucia, but for now she liked it...

She chuckled.

"What?" Amber asked, bringing the tingles in Jessica's sex to a stop.

"I love you," she said.

A shudder shot through the redhead and bands of flesh contracted around Jessica's finger.

"That's obvious," Amber panted.

"Your tongue's a little more skilled," Amber smiled.

"Is it?" Jessica kissed her cheek. "Yours is perfect. Of course how would I know otherwise?"

Jessica sighed and cuddled her, continuing to stroke Amber's crimson hair. She wondered what it would be like to have curls like the ones twisting in her fingers. Too bad there were no permanents on the island.

Maybe a few bottles would wash her way.

She thought about how she'd spend the rest of her days now that time had come unstuck again. She had no doubts about growing old with Amber but would it be comfortable? It was always reassuring, at least, when Jimmy was told what things to do and when to do them. And with whom.

She couldn't forget that last part.

And now it was gone. The days ahead, once inevitable and unpleasant and avoided by Jimmy, were now completely invisible to her. The shadows surrounded her again. Ones she couldn't totally dispell.

Her mind wandered like a newborn foal through the future and all the friendships waiting to be rekindled.

What did she want out of life?

"So is this it?" she whispered. "No horde of singing beauties waiting to greet me when I wake up?"

"No. Just me. I'll sing if you like."

Jessica swallowed. "Will you teach me some of the songs? They're lovely. I think I could- "

"They'd sound very beautiful from your lips. I can even teach you the lyre, if you'd like. Or Linda could show you the flute."

"Really?" Jessica gave her a light tickle. "You wouldn't worry if I was alone with her?"

"No," Amber grinned shyly.

"This is it? No more volunteers waiting on me? No big ceremony? No list?" She chuckled through the last part.

"No. No one wants to crowd you." Amber patted the tender skin under her bosom. "They know it can be intimidating. You're very vulnerable right now... and you probably won't like that kind of attention anymore. Not like Jimmy did, anyway." Amber scratched away a feminine itch. "Why? You want to catch the public eye again? You could learn a performing art if you like... acting or dancing, perhaps..."

"No, I... Not right now... at least. I feel strangely shy at times." She kissed the red head's temple. "Thanks for staying with me." Jessica bathed her parched lips. "I was... I was just wondering." She giggled timidly. "Maybe you had a schedule planned out for me? Jimmy got so used to it. He was kind of aimless with his life. I suppose that's how he wound up here- what?"

The soft lines disappeared from Amber's face. She shot up in bed, tugging at her companion. "Oh sweety. I forgot. We do need to hurry this morning. We have to go to the grotto before the sun gets very high." She hopped into her sandals. "Do you feel like going out?"

"Why? I think I do. I guess..."

"We're meeting Rachel."

"Oh." Jessica thought a moment. "That makes sense. Sure."

"No, love." With a grin, Amber kicked the enormous shoes away from her flummoxed lover. "Wear one of these." She pried open a container by the bedpost. "I brought a couple of different sizes. They should all be narrow enough. One of them will fit."

"Thanks, honey. I guess I'll need a new wardrobe too."

"That's the nice thing about togas. What's Rachel's funny expression? 'One size fits all.' She said to wear something loose anyway."

Oh. Like a hospital gown. "Yeah. She's probably right... Will you... will you come with me. I'm a little nervous."

"Of course. I have to show you the way. I'll stay with you too."

"Thanks."

"No. Jessica. Here, sweety. Let me show you again how to wrap them. I know. This pair's a little smaller than before, but you'll still appreciate the support..." Amber pulled a strip of fabric from a peg on the wall and slung it like a muffler over one of her partner's shoulders. "Raise your arms."

"Sorry I forgot."

"It's OK. With Jimmy around the last few weeks, I've been forgetting too. I guess if my period comes along, I'll remember quickly enough."

"Why's that?"

"Mine get a little tender like most people's... Here. No. Raise your- good." She tucked the fabric in like a bandage. "Is it snug?"

"Yes." It wasn't terribly comfortable.

"Good. Can you help with mine and then we'll get you dressed?" Amber passed her something that resembled a leather bikini top. She ran the sensuous material over her palm, just blinking at it. "Hey." Amber cupped her cheek. "I'll make you one as soon as I have time. I promise."

"I don't need..." She looked down below. "I don't need something lower?"

"Why? Are you uncomfortable?"

"Am I... Do I need to?" What were all those ads about that Jimmy always skipped? "Will I smell or anything?"

"No honey." Amber chuckled delicately. "If you do, no one will notice. Go naked if you like."

Naked around Rachel?

Why did modesty suddenly creep up on her?

She thought of the beach outside and things suddenly changed again.

"Would you... would you mind if I do that on occasion? Go natural?"

"If you want to, go right ahead. I'll join you, if you'd like." Amber positioned the cups across her large, milky breasts and turned her back to Jessica, offering the dangling strips to tie.

"I thought you had more discretion."

"When I first met Jimmy, I did," she said, combing her auburn hair aside. "I'm no longer single so it doesn't matter. Besides, there's no one really to tempt right now. None of the boys are old enough... and it can be quite pleasant during the hot hours, provided you stay in the shade and don't burn yourself... or bounce around much."

"I don't feel like doing it around Rachel, though... alone..."

"I know," Amber sighed. "It can't be helped." She perked up and winked at her lover. "Go on, silly. It goes on just like before."

Jessica stared at the toga in her hand. It still smelled vaguely of that intriguing male scent.

"I guess it does."

"Why do we need a boat to meet her?" And who dragged one on shore last night?

"We're meeting her on the far side of the island."

"Why?"

"I'll explain when we get there."

"OK." At least it was something to do.

"Here's an oar, honey. Go on... take it."

Jessica sniffed the cool salty breeze. "I think I like the ocean," she said softly.

"Good. Because we have plenty of it," Amber joked, tiptoeing out on the balls of her feet. She prodded her lover into the shallows with a playful nip.

Jessica hiked her skirt up even higher and took a seat behind Amber in the canoe.

"I still can't get used to how lovely your voice has become," Amber remarked.

"Really?" she replied, a bit dumbfounded. "It's always been- oh. From Jimmy's you mean?"

Amber simply nodded as she started to paddle.

Jessica pouted a bit. "Would you like me to be deeper? Higher maybe? What?"

"No. Your voice is perfect."

"I.... I forgot to thank you for staying up with me during the night to teach me my name." She kissed one of the boney lumps on Amber's neck. "I suppose I owe you who I am. It fits so well..." Amber twisted around and acknowledged her gratitude with a strained smile. "How were you able to stay awake?"

She turned and continued rowing. "The spell released you sometime after midnight. Rachel came by and woke me."

"Why didn't I wake too?"

"We put something in your ale. It goes more easily that way..." Her eyes glazed over at the sea reflected in them. "I wish someone had done that for poor Miranda..." Then she smiled and sighed something beautiful, as if whispering a song.

"Yes?" Jessica responded, giggling softly again. That was her too. Her Greek name. She could even say it back.

Amber sobered and set her mind to the oar.

"What's it mean?" Jessica asked.

"Nothing," Amber replied, the curve of her smile still evident from the side. "It's just a name. It's considered quite pretty. Moreso than mine."

"I still like 'firefly,'" she hummed.

"Because you're still you."

Amber blew her a kiss.

It was hard to talk while they both paddled. There seemed to be so much to say, but they couldn't hug very easily in order to properly say it.

And so they rowed on, surrounded in a silence that spoke volumes.

Jessica closed her eyes and thought back to the reflection in the mirror. It was so easy to remember, like she'd seen it all her life. Jimmy was easy to remember too. She hoped it would always be that way.

Her face was so much younger than his though. She looked barely twenty. Not young enough to be confused with an awkward girl... but not quite old enough for the face of a mother or wife. But then neither was Amber's.

She was just the right age where maturity was in doubt, perhaps even blooming. A shift one way in her mannerisms and she could easily be confused with a schoolgirl fantasy... though inside... inside she still felt much older than Amber, even if she moved without all the certainty she should.

And it was her, not some spectral Jimmy. Those years were hers. The weight of those three decades rested on her shoulders, only heightening her appreciation for her youthful appearance. Indeed. It was more than appearance, it was youth itself. She did feel young again. And having lived that much longer made the ageless curves of her face all the more precious.

They were right. Youth was wasted on the young. It was far sweeter when you knew it for the gift it was.

And Amber had it too...

Jessica gazed at the calm peaks in the sea, infinitely deep into the horizon and suddenly realized she was one of the few islanders who knew what a steel ship looked like.

She would never see one of the lumbering giants again, even in the distance. No airplanes, either. No lights at the night flying through the sky.

She stroked Amber's arm, enjoying the impression her lover made on her breasts.

"If we... if it... if we were rescued," Jessica finally managed, "would you still love me?"

"I'll stay with you forever." Amber kissed her hand as their boat drifted with the current. "Who knows, you might even be a man again on the outside. Who knows how the curse works?" Jessica leaned back and stared at the featureless blue sky. "Do you want to be a man again?" Amber looked up at the white curve of her chin.

"I don't know. I have these memories... I was this person... I still am this person..." She sighed. "But it would feel so strange. I can't imagine myself that way without..." The words slowed from her trembling lips. "Without some... embarrassment... or insecurity."

"Jimmy probably couldn't have imagined himself as you either."

"I know. I'm Jimmy still somewhere in here."

But wouldn't Jimmy have been the first to ask Amber if she wanted him to be a man again?

Goodness...

Would she want Amber if she could escape? A world half filled with men...

Though she'd never spent much time admiring herself in the mirror when she was Jimmy, the more distant he became in her mind the more attractive he seemed... Was it that? No. She'd never known him from the outside. How could she? She'd only been him.

But the prospect of getting to know him was enticing...

"What if we left and I... I fell in love with a man? I'd hate to do that to you but I haven't ever met one. I hope I never do if we stay on this wretched island, but what if I did leave and I found I was attracted to them? There's this dark blob in myself I can't see."

Amber put a soothing hand on her thigh. "There's nothing wrong in feeling that way. You may have to learn to love me again in your own way if it's changed too."

"I do love you. But what if... what if I found there was this part of myself-"

Amber rose and tapped her lover on the sternum with a wry smile.

"Now Jimmy knows how hard it was on some of the women he had sex with."

"Yes. Now Jimmy knows." Jessica frowned. "He sort of always knew... And you knew he knew too."

"Yes. Yes, I did." Amber blinked and settled back into Jessica's arms. "There... there was never an easy way to talk with him about it... but I always loved the emotions I could see fighting inside him when he did."

"Did the other women? Did they see it too?"

"Some. The ones he's- you're close to. Yes. They did their best to make him happy... they enjoyed themself too, if that bothers you."

"Did... did the married women ever go home afterwards... and cry about it? Did it cause them- "

"No, honey. Most wives are quite happy. I will be for you if you have a chance like that. You should know what it's like to be a complete woman."

"But it's difficult?"

"It doesn't strain anything. The guilt is Circe's really, not ours. If you want to love a man for a few hours, I won't mind. I loved one a whole month. I hope you'll never hold it against me."

Jessica kissed her forehead. "That was me, you dope."

Amber pinched her fleshy thigh back. "You've certainly changed."

"Not there, I haven't," Jessica said, thumping her breastbone.

"No. Not there." A flock of birds took off from the palms and flew out past the whitecaps on the reef. "Do you find men sexy?" Amber asked, her green eyes still lost in the distance. "Most women do."

She sighed. "I don't know if I'm attracted to guys or not. I think about them and maybe..." Jessica's voice wavered and she trailed off.

"It's a natural instinct. There's still a gap in you. I'm sure the more time we spend together... once we give you some new memories of how we can be together that way, things will be fine. Don't worry." She gave her arm a reassuring caress. "You would have known right away if you wanted to reject me. They say it builds in you those three days until it erupts on the final morning."

"There's nothing like that in me. I have very warm feelings for you." She brushed Amber's cheek. "I just don't have my bearings yet."

"I know... Being lost at sea is a good way to describe it. I'll help point you in the right direction. Even if you found out you were attracted to men, it's not a problem you can have on the island... you can't allow it..." she whispered to herself.

"It must have hurt you with Jimmy."

"Yes," she confessed, her eyes growing watery. "It's always hard." Her nose wrinkled as Amber brushed away a sniff. "We'll get past it. Like most Greeks, I'm bisexual. You probably are too." She placed a hand over hers and kissed them. "But you can't split your love..."

"I know. It doesn't bother me." Jessica sighed. "If Jimmy gets between us in bed..." Her expression turned naughty. "Well it's a place I'd be happy to have him..."

Both ladies laughed, their breasts shaking delicately on one another's limbs.

Then Jessica let out a long, deep gust. "It will be different, though." She sighed timidly to herself. "I... I feel like now we'll argue over who does the cooking and cleaning."

Amber chuckled. "We'll both do it and we'll both argue."

"I meant Jimmy would have- "

"I know what Jimmy expected. I would have argued with him- "

"No. I mean I want to do it all. He wouldn't want to do any of it."

"Oh. Well..." Amber was confused. Would Jimmy have really been that way? Come to think of it... she liked waiting on him like that, those days they spent together. Scaling his catch. Cooking and serving it. She still felt hostile toward that outdoor grill he wouldn't let her near. She'd always thought it would be a boon finding someone to do all those things, but she realized she did like sewing and all the rest of it. "Well I've always wanted someone to do them together with. Would you mind someone standing beside you, stirring the pot at dinner?"

Jessica thought a moment. "No. That would be sweet, I think... of course I need to learn how to cook first," she groaned under her breath.

"Still want to be a great hunter like the Queen?"

"I don't know," she told her after some silence. "I think I may be more suited to fishing now."

Amber laughed. "You certainly smell that way." Her girlfriend blushed. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about. It is a lovely odor. You'll adjust to it."

"It's always been familiar. It's just... I feel yucky 'down there'..."

"You get used to it. Just don't scratch yourself in public and you'll get through it fine."

Jessica giggled as she remembered the woman she'd spied desperately rubbing herself on that tree. The sight had gotten Jimmy so stiff.

Now it stifled her giggles.

That could be her.

"What do you do?" she asked soberly. "For discomfort?"

"Bathe or dry off. There are some herbs and other things. I'll show you... Sometimes it helps to dress that area too, like you wanted to do earlier..."

The boat started to spin.

"I think we're out of the current."

"Yes. Time to row again." Amber sat up.

"How much longer?"

"Mmm. Ten minutes, I think."

Ten minutes. Sigh. They always said that. It was the same thing every woman in a shopping mall ever said.

Why didn't they ever say, "Not much longer but I don't know"?

It still drove Jessica nuts. (Even if she'd have the same urge in a mall herself now).

She'd give anything for her old watch back.

The ride remained fairly quiet until an outcropping of rocks came into view on the beach, shaded by trees.

The grotto.

Amber pulled closer to shore, steering the boat toward its opening and they passed into the cool, morning shade of the mountain.

Melissa had been with Jimmy the last time she'd seen it. She suggested it for sex but he decided on a bit of beach a little farther along.

His choice had made Michelle happier for some reason.

It did look nice, though. Kind of cozy and inviting. She almost wished Jimmy had listened to her.

But who was she to interfere. It wasn't her sex life.

Oh well...

Was that why Amber'd brought her?

No. Not if Rachel was involved. At least she hoped not.

Maybe there was something else special about it.

Her companion finally spoke again.

"Did you... did you want to have a family, Jessica? I know Jimmy did. Is that desire still within you?"

Men again. Why did she feel so guilty about that topic?

She thought about Julius and all the young boys in Amber's class. She loved the time she'd spent with them. She? He, maybe. He'd enjoyed different things about it.

But enough was the same. She'd be delighted to pick one of them up and carry him by her side again. Even one of the little girls.

Could she? Was she still strong enough?

"Yes I... I'd love too. Of course I'll help with yours if you... you're pregnant, you know. I hope you are. Can I really be a mother to it?"

"Um..."

"I know Jimmy would... would want to be the father. I can't do that for him and... I don't want to take anything from you two."

"Do you feel like it's yours?"

Jessica's lip trembled. She cocked her head and wandered out over the waters as she remembered all the things Jimmy wanted her to know. Yesterday's macabre note. The promises she'd sworn even before she knew she could. Even before she was.

And yet... it wasn't just a promise to Amber. It was love. She was family. If she was pregnant then, peculiarly enough, their flesh and blood had mixed, however impossibly...

"Sort of," Jessica sighed to the back of Amber's head. "Yes... yes, I do, I guess. I want us to be a family."

"I love you very much. I loved Jimmy very much." She continued rowing straight on. "And I wouldn't mind at all letting you be a parent.... be a mother with me if... if in fact I am carrying his child. I want us to be a very close family. But..." Sorrow touched Amber's voice.

Should she have said what she did? Jessica wondered. What was the cost of hurting her?

"No matter what I do, I can't... I can't share the joy of childbirth or nursing. You have to experience that on your own." She could sense Amber biting her lip now behind the red curtain stirred up by the wind. "I'm sorry. I wish it weren't so lonely. I've shared my body with you every way I can. If I could share myself with you that way too I would but I can't. That path of life, everyone walks alone." She pulled the oar into her lap, turned and kissed Jessica. "Is it... a path you think you'd like to walk someday?"

Jessica stuttered.

The redhead dipped her wooden pole back in the water to keep from capsizing. "I'd walk it by your side," she promised. "I'd help you travel it as best anyone could."

The clouds cleared from Jessica's mind and though the boat rocked in the surf, her world was suddenly firmer. "Yes. I'd like very much to be a mother and... and I guess..." A tooth dug into her cheek. "I would want you to be... to be just as much a mother to my child. Someday." Then a whimsical grin romped across her face as she remembered the way Jimmy had needled Melissa. "But fortunately," she lilted, "we can fool around all we want now without getting knocked up."

Amber giggled a little.

Just like being a guy again. What a freedom there was in that.

Really?

Jimmy's little joke about pregnancy and teenage sex had confused Melissa.

And now it was confusing her, the more she thought about it.

What would life be like... be like with real men if... when sex could result in conception? When she'd have to worry if he'd take care of her? If the person in her arms would walk off?

She put it out of her mind. As she looked at Amber's rusty curls blazing in the sunlight she knew she'd never have to worry about either possibility.

But was she losing something too because of it? Would it... would the sense of danger quicken her pleasure? At that sparkling moment of union when both souls merged? The dependency? Would she ever have that... that element of trust? Would she and Amber ever leap off that cliff together?

Hm.

Now she understood Melissa's odd expression. The simpering ex-virgin knew more about sex than Jimmy realized: she knew enough to be confused.

It was fun not being careless.

And even for Jimmy. None of the past four weeks had been careless for him. Indeed, he'd been rather proud of it. Particularly with Andrea.

And deeply saddened.

Jessica rowed on in silence, her long thin arms awkwardly plowing the water.

Was there something she wasn't doing right? They tired so much faster than the last time she made the trip. The constant strokes had her narrow strips of muscle trembling now.

She hoped it wouldn't always be as bad as this. Perhaps she just needed to condition her body.

But something within her knew it was right, that it fit. That she'd wake up every morning soft and weak. How could it ever be otherwise? It sent her stomach to the bottom of the boat.

Though she was tall, her frame was too slight to ever be much of a match for Lucia. She was such a thick and sturdy woman.

For some reason Amber seemed sturdy too.

Why didn't that kind of strength fit her? Would it, as the years wore on? As perhaps a child filled out her hips? Would she put some meat on these bones (other than in front of her ribs)?

Did she really want any more around these thighs?

Jimmy's memories consoled her. There were no fat women on the island. Not even Andrea. Especially Andrea.

So why had she thought that?

The opening to the grotto was plainly visible now.

Amber turned for another backward glance.

"What?" Jessica asked, somewhat apologetically.

"I said I'm sorry I can't get you pregnant when you want."

"WWWhat!?" Jessica roared. "You want to be a man!?" she laughed.

"Noooo," Amber drawled, dropping her oar to tickle the other woman and make her pay.

"Ah!" Jessica fought her off. "Oo! Do that again," she hurried. "Mmmm. I like those fingers! They know right where to go... Ah!" she yipped. "No matter what I say you're going to pinch me!"

Amber retreated, still chuckling. "No... well, yes," she admitted, "but probably not for that."

Jessica cackled.

Amber's nipping fingers lunged forward again and Jessica managed to slapped her back. "You!"

"It's no fair! You're still bigger than me!" Amber pouted.

The snickering quickly subsided before they turned the boat over.

"Oh, honey," Jessica sighed. "Don't be jealous. What you stuck me with stays up so much longer."

Both girls gushed in laughter.

"Rachel?"

"You two are late." She thumped her foot. "Hello Jessica. My, you turned out lovely." Rachel pinched her with a knowing wink. "Guess I can understand what kept you..."

Jessica blushed and dropped her eyes. An image flashed in her mind of Rachel stroking Jimmy's privates... looking up from his waist with a lewd grin... and it deepened her redness.

The doctor's giggling only made it worse.

It was so confusing. Jimmy would be getting hard right now and having sex with the woman. He'd 'throw her down and stick her,' making her jiggling, cherubic dimples pay a dividend. He wouldn't mind the mocking tone. It turned him on.

But she couldn't do that anymore.

Was that the problem? Was that why she felt so bashful about it?

But couldn't she? She'd just had sex, hadn't she? That was 'sex,' wasn't it? It felt normal. Yes, she could have sex now. It wasn't like yesterday, the darkest day of their life.

Why was Amber unfazed by all the sexual innuendo? In fact she even apologized to Rachel about it. "I hope it won't go bad because of- "

"Nah. It's quite cold in the ground. I just wished you'd said something so I could have slept in. I hate getting up at the crack of dawn... though a little crack is always fun, ay girls? Dawn's or otherwise?"

"Cold?" asked Jessica. "There's cold on the island?"

"Yes, sweety." Rachel turned to Amber. "Have you explained it to her yet?"

"No," Amber sighed. "Sorry."

"It's OK." Rachel winked again. "I didn't start without you. It was the least I could do." She gripped Jessica's shoulder reassuringly and moved her over to one of the rocks. "Now... you know I'm something of the town gynecologist, right baby?"

She nodded meekly. "Is that why I'm here? For an exam?"

"No, honey." Rachel smiled at the relief washing over her features. "I can do that later. I'm sure you're fine right now anyway. I just wanted to make sure you understood the concept."

"Yes. I'm not happy with it, but I understand it."

"Spoken like a true woman."

"You won't, um..." Jessica covered her crotch as another of Jimmy's memories resurfaced. "Later. You won't take advantage of me for your own fun, will you?"

Amber giggled.

"No honey. You know that's not how it works."

"Just making sure. Your only checkup on Jimmy involved a prescription of fellatio, if I recall."

"What's that?" Amber asked.

"Nothing," both women replied.

"A blowjob?"

She'd figured it out.

"Yeah," Jessica admitted, a little self-consciously.

"You don't have to worry about me doing that to you ever again," Rachel vowed.

Jessica snickered shyly.

"By the way..." Rachel leaned forward and planted a friendly kiss on each cheek. "I've been late for five days now. I wanted to say thank you." She blinked a moment, seemed to remember something and gave Amber a polite hug too. "I guess I'm not in much of a position then to ask you for a favor but..." The lines in Jessica's smile crawled timidly away. "I thought on the way over here that, uh... well, I'll be raising a child soon- with a little luck- and I realize I'm getting older of course so I wanted you to think about something. You're about twenty years younger than I am and, well, I still remember a lot about medicine. I want you to consider being an apprentice of sorts. I know the idea won't thrill you right now but Antonia was a farmhand and you're the most educated person to wash up in quite a while. I'll be glad to take someone else under my wing but I thought you should have the first crack at it, so to speak." The doctor grinned a little. "Don't reply right away. Take a year or two if you want. I doubt any of us are going anywhere." Rachel stood up and walked back over to her knapsack, rattling some kind of metal around in the shadows of the torch light.

Jessica faced Amber coyly and gave her hip a squeeze. "Would you mind?" she asked. "You told Jimmy she did strange things to you. Would you still feel that way?"

The redhead shrugged. "In all seriousness, I don't understand what she does... But she has saved several babies. She has an honored place in the village." Amber pecked her the cheek. "We'll talk when we get home. We really must hurry."

Rachel pushed two short wooden shovels in their direction. "Come on, ladies. There's a lot of digging to do. There's no particular rush, but let's get to it."

"Why do I need to dig? Is there buried treasure or something?"

"Yeah, honey," Rachel chuckled. "Something like that."

The trio walked to a freshly churned hill of soggy sand. Without further explanation, they knelt and began digging.

Jessica was the only one who seemed bothered with the dirt getting on her toga. She hiked it up, but to no avail.

For some reason she didn't want to have to wash it.

Was she still as nervous about doing laundry as she had been yesterday? She wasn't sexless anymore...

Was that why Rachel sounded a bit condescending? Her tone hadn't changed since Jimmy knew her. Indeed, he'd found her flippancy kind of cute and attractive in an unusual way. Now it interacted bizarrely with her matronly age and aloof cinematic beauty.

Had the power shifted in their relationship? Something had. She still liked Rachel as a friend. But the off-hand way she flirted seemed almost taunting or competitive.

No. There was something else that disturbed her. In the real world, what would-

Jessica nearly fell over.

"You OK, love?" Amber steadied her with a caring hand.

"Yeah. I'm fine." The world came to a rest again and she gave Rachel a combative smile. "I was just wondering how Jimmy and Doug would have gotten along together." Rachel cocked a curious eyebrow. "I think he would have punched Doug out. He hated hippies."

"What's a hippy?" Amber asked.

"I was hardly a hippy," Rachel drawled as she tossed another bit of wet sand behind her. "I was a highly educated beach bum."

"You still are a beach bum," Jessica quipped.

"Yeah. It's paradise," she grinned, driving the wooden lip into the earth with a thunk. "I know what Doug would have done. He'd slip some acid in Jimmy's coffee to loosen him up. He hated accountants."

"It's a little late. Jimmy's already tripping."

"Don't I know it," Rachel confessed. "Like I said. What a weird way to go cold turkey."

"Honey?" Amber stuck her shovel in the crunchy sand while she paused to wipe the sweat from her clammy brow. "Will I always be so confused by your conversations when you two get together?" Wasn't Jimmy plenty 'loose' anyway? It's how he'd described himself to Melissa.

Rachel snickered. "You should listen to me with Antonia. I still don't know if we worked out all the right Spanish words. We still get mixedup. Ever since I talked about pot, she puts out the fire whenever I come into her home. I have no idea what that's about and that was three years ago."

"What honey?" Jessica prodded demurely. "Aren't you going to ask me what coffee is?"

"No. I've had coffee before. Some beans washed up once. It was quite nice." Amber kissed her. "So is the accountant."

"Well," Rachel purred. "You two are in love, all right. That's nice to see. It will make everyone very happy to hear."

Her goodwill seemed genuine enough. Amber certainly took it that way and thanked her.

So why wouldn't anyone tell her what all the digging was about?

And why did she feel like just going along?

Hadn't Jimmy? Wouldn't he be doing that now too? But why would he feel more in control? And why didn't it bother her at all?

She snickered. Jimmy knew at the end of all the commotion, no matter what, he'd still be getting his rod whacked.

"Why are we walking up the mountain to have lunch?" "Don't worry. You'll get your brains fucked out." "Mm. OK."

Didn't she know that too? Jessica paused and glanced at Amber.

Yeah. She'd have sex too.

But it wouldn't regain control of the situation for her.

Was that quite it? No. It-

Rachel finally brought it up on her own.

"You're probably wondering why you're digging."

Jessica nodded. Surprisingly Amber did too.

"Well I saved some of your stuff in this grotto. Jimmy's stuff, really. I guess you inherit it..." She tossed another shower of sand behind her. They were more than a foot deep in the beach now. "It gets very cool here on the far side this time of year. I don't know why but... Anyway, I wanted to offer it to you two. It won't last much longer... Sorry I don't remember. Do you know when her period starts?"

"It's a good time for it," Amber said.

"Huh? How do you know?" Jessica asked.

Amber cupped her ear. "We share more than a bed now," she whispered. "We're both due in two weeks."

"I'm on your cycle? More magic?"

"I guess... If you moved in with another woman, you'd synchronize too. It would take longer, but it's perfectly natural."

"She's right," Rachel confirmed. "It happens for biological reasons. She hasn't been looking up your skirt or anything... well," she smirked, "I bet she has, but not for that..."

Amber shot her a conspiratorial grin.

"So you didn't do anything to me?" Jessica's hand went over her mouth. "You mean I've already ovulated? Periods..." she gasped. "I haven't even thought about periods and now I'm going to have one... Oh... I hate them already. That must be me because Jimmy never even thought much about them... and I don't even know what mine will be like yet..." Her voice died off in a whisper.

"Yeah. It's you," Amber assured her. Certainly not Jimmy.

"Well I can stop them for about a year if we're lucky," Rachel explained. "You just need to make a decision here, sweety. I can promise you, you're not Jimmy's twin sister anymore, so the girl won't be deformed. We've done this before."

Girl?

Jessica wiped some sweat away with a sandy hand. "You planned this?"

"Sometimes when the weather and tides are right it's possible... If you don't want a child now, don't worry. I'll take it to someone who does. For some it's simply too strange or not the right time. Every woman has her own schedule."

"How long do I have to decide?"

"Oh, I stuck it down past my arm, honey. Take your time. 10 minutes at least." Jessica sighed and gave her a frown. "If you decide to pass... you can rest assured that Jim Bob Baker lives on now in many others... besides the largest part of him still residing in you..." Rachel tore herself out of the grainy soil and regarded her coolly. "You'll have many other chances. It's no sin to decline. I'll pass the opportunity to someone else. Or you can. It'll be good a few more hours." The older woman put a hand over Jessica's shovel. "Why don't you go think about it a while? Amber and I can handle it."

"OK."

Jessica stood and wandered off to the salt water pool to wash her hands and shins. She sat on one of the rocks in silence and watched the two women dig by the firelight.

They were mostly silent too.

Bits of the torch dropped into the wet sand, where their embers were quickly quenched.

In a few minutes, there was a dull hollow thud. Rachel set aside her shovel and edged Amber away before reaching deep into the hole. Jessica walked up while she scooped away the cold wet grains with her fingers.

A red and white cylinder dented with age slowly appeared in the middle of the crater's shadows like the nose of a missle.

Rachel traced along its border, then got a grip and heaved it out with a loud, sucking pop. "What a mess," she whispered. "Here, Jessica. Hold onto this while we go wash off..." She snatched the chilly thermos back. "No. Better wash it off too."

Rachel brushed with frustration at the sand on the front of her dress and then watched reluctantly as Amber unraveled her toga and stepped into the frigid waters.

"Yeah," Rachel sighed into the echoing darkness. "We might as well get naked." She lifted the skirts above her head, revealing her sparse and, Jessica now realized, well-fertilized bush.

Her blue eyes lingered over the older woman's navel. That charming curve in her belly would soon ripen with Jimmy's seed. Like so many others.

Would hers?

Rachel caught her staring. "You too, honey," she reminded Jessica. "It is 'yes,' isn't it?"

Jessica nodded.

"Good." She tossed her clothes at her with a sly grin. "Who gives a fuck about professional distance when you grow your own pussy, huh?" she cracked while she combed out her pubes.

"Spoken like a true doctor." Jessica laughed softly. "Don't worry. I won't sue. Who'd believe me?"

Jessica carefully removed her toga and flapped out the grime before folding it on one of the rocks.

"Wrapping your breasts again, I see," Rachel noted.

Jessica looked at the calfskin embracing Amber's chest and then down at the rather crude bandage guarding her own. Out of some unknown habit, she draped a long, spindly arm across her bosom, a bit less gracefully then she'd like. Her other drifted modestly between her legs where her hips rocked slightly back.

The doctor shrugged. "Leave it on if you like. This isn't a mammography." She sighed to herself. "I suppose I'll have to remember to start doing that again myself. Got used to jiggling everywhere with Jimmy around. Wore the kind of fabric that turns your nipples on, you know? Anyway... Nell can get away with it but I'll be filling out soon." She rubbed her flat stomach with a motherly smile, creating little streams that ran back into the pool. "Always wondered what it would be like to be a dairy..." Rachel mused. She plucked the glassy tube from shore and dipped it in the cool waters, scraping the last of the beach from it.

Amber emerged from the water again, sweeping her wet hair back. She stepped over to Jessica, still dripping, and brushed away the bits of caked sand from her lover's elbows and rump.

"You really did this just for me?" Jessica whispered. "It's not just coffee in there?"

"We really did this for you," Amber replied with a kiss, deftly plying the slender arm from her crotch.

"Thank you." Jessica batted her lashes innocently, dropping her gaze to the floor as Amber peeled her other hand away. She guided both limbs gently to her shoulders for an embrace and then covered Jessica with her warmth. "Why... why didn't you tell Jimmy you were doing this?" She sucked in her lower lip. "You told him it would be a few years before I could get pregnant..."

"He would... might have found it a bit strange, love." Amber pulled her chin down for another kiss. "He had too much on his mind and none of us wanted to add to it." She paused. "Was it the right thing to do? Are you upset with me?"

Her mossy green eyes sparkled in the cave.

"No. No I'm... I understand. I'm still very happy."

"We're not rushing you are we? You can wait. You shouldn't do it if it's just to appease Jimmy."

"No. It's for me." She craned her neck and met Amber's ruby lips again. "It's for us."

"Good."

"It's... it's been in there a day and a half. Is it still good?"

Is he still good? Am I?

How to say it?

"Yeah," Rachel announced in a loud, clinical voice, shaking the water off her body. "I think so. It worked for Antonia, although I passed on it. It gets quite cold here for some reason. The archives say they've been doing this for hundreds of years." She paused and observed the torch with an odd glimmer. "Funny isn't it? We didn't learn about it until just recently. I guess it's easy to understand why they'd need to be so inventive."

"Some kind of magic, perhaps?" Amber offered. "They say the island has special places."

"Well this is one of them."

"Part of him's in there, isn't it?" Jessica whispered. "Why wasn't it changed too?"

Amber shrugged. "Part of him's still in Rachel. That wasn't changed. If it was... we'd all be doomed," she replied quietly. "It's not you in there anymore," she reminded her. "It's him."

Still in the distance, Rachel removed the well-worn plastic cup from the weathered bottle and cranked the inner cap open. A twinge of panic hit Jessica as sludge flopped into the water.

It was just sand.

Something smaller and solid landed in Rachel's hand. She cleaned it off too, this time with more care and walked back to the girls.

Perched between her fingers was a black capped, white-filled vial.

"What's that?"

"Sperm, silly."

"I know that. I've seen it before. Hell I made it two nights ago. Or Jimmy did- "

"Come on, honey..." "She's getting dizzy again."

"I'm fine." Jessica brushed the hands off. "I'm fine. I just meant where'd you get the little glass bottle."

"Oh. It washed up in one of my pockets. Used to hold... uh, shall we say mind altering substances." Amber cocked an eyebrow but Jessica just nodded. "I guess it still does," Rachel joked. "Nothing more mind altering than having kids."

Amber laughed, finally getting it, though it didn't seem as funny to her as it was to Jessica. Another code, perhaps?

"Don't eat it," Amber joked, pinching her lover.

"What!?" Jessica roared, shocked out of her sandals.

"Weeellll..." Amber twirled a lock of hair. "You wanted me to." Rachel doubled over in laughter. "I know," she complained to the doctor. "I couldn't understand it either."

"I'm not going to eat it," Jessica growled, reddening at the thought of it.

Though she was a bit interested in the taste...

Why hadn't Jimmy ever tasted it? He'd made so much. And come to think of it... she really didn't know what that much of it would feel like, either...

Did she want to? No. Even a little was sticky. That much she remembered. He always got rid of it as soon as it left his loins.

Rachel clutched her side and straightened up, doing her best to shake off giggles. "Ooooh-kay. I'll leave you two alone now. Jimmy always did prefer a little privacy when it came to the ladies."

Amber let loose her own giggle.

"What?" Jessica asked. "What's the matter with that?"

"Nothing. Just the way she said it..."

"Well, you both know where it goes, though I guess it's a bit theoretical for Jessica. I'll leave it in your capable hands so to speak. Oh. Make sure you warm it up first. I hear it's not much fun served cold."

Rachel stepped forward and whispered something in Amber's ear.

"OK," she replied.

Jessica looked around, worried about the hasty way Rachel was preparing to leave.

That was all?

They should clean up after themselves, right? So someone could do this again.

Or do something.

"Do we have to put the sand back?" Jessica asked.

Rachel snorted. "No, honey. The sand replenishes itself... But that torch will go out. Scoot closer to the opening where there's some sunlight, why don't you?"

"OK."

Jessica bent down to collect her clothes and realized how brisk the cave was when she brushed her nipples. They scraped like tiny needles, even through the fabric.

Amber cupped her lean arm and led her to the bright oval where the sea lapped gently in. The fingers squeezing her tired, delicate bicep reminded her of the weakness within her again.

It wasn't loneliness.

She felt somehow frail or vulnerable... almost powerless as the cave brightened around her... though the thought of a child nursing suddenly made her feel full inside. And strangely stronger.

Weakness could be a strength. How about that.

She could be protective too... even if she couldn't protect her-

"Oh," Amber said, remembering something herself. "Could you- ?"

She obviously needed to ask Rachel something, but in her polite way she was almost too embarrassed to impose.

"What do you want, honey?"

"Do you have anything to eat? Sorry. I was in such a hurry I forgot," she admitted, casting a sheepish look at her sandy haired lover.

"Oh. It'll be a while, you know? I wished you'd have said something. I don't think I can make it back out here in time." Rachel rummaged around her bag with a sigh. "Here. It's not much." She tossed two dates to Jessica. "They're kind of old, but they're still good I think."

Jessica turned the soggy egg-shapes over a few times, checking them out, and handed one to Amber.

They didn't taste very good. At least she'd removed the seeds.

The way they were wrinkled sort of reminded her of-

Ugh.

She swallowed and thanked the doctor politely. It was better than nothing.

Rachel stopped again and glanced at her other hand, now balled up in a fist by her side. Like the sunshine radiating around her face, it finally dawned on her. She turned and casually lobbed the glass vial into Jessica's startled palms.

Her thighs shot forward, trying to form a lap before she dropped it. The darn thing tangled in her hair.

"Remember. Get it warm first. I'll never forget how many times they reminded us to do that in school..."

Rachel's voice grew to a pounding echo as she neared the mouth, then faded completely away. She rounded the corner and with a sexy swing of her hips she was gone.

Amber stretched two blankets along a narrow strip of shore with the most light, reminding her worried lover that the tide was going out.

Then she dropped a pillow smack in the middle of one of the rectangles.

Jessica smirked.

The whole setup was all too familiar. That irritating ritual of "letting him stick."

It was hers to perform now.

And she'd run out on him like all the rest to do it, hadn't she? Only he'd never gotten to see her pretty little rump jiggling out the door.

It was pretty right? She'd have to check again. Maybe down at the creek...

She watched Amber's rump as she tapped the ground expectantly. Was it as sexy as it had been to Jimmy?

Yeah. It was, thank goodness. Those darling double u's pranced around from the ripples made by her foot.

She had to sink her fingers in.

"Ahem?" Amber gestured at the towel.

Had Rachel really left all this stuff?

Jessica took a seat on the cushions, folding her unwieldy long legs and pulling them tight to her chest. She held the cool little cylinder up to the sun's rays and gazed into the pearly fluid.

It didn't look like much at all.

She turned to Amber. "Would you share it with me? We don't know about you yet."

"No, honey. I've had my chance. You take yours." Amber pushed the flask away. "Use it all."

Jessica didn't have much of a reaction at first. After all, it wasn't her job to get anyone pregnant.

But something within her wouldn't leave it at that. Something... maybe someone?... kept tugging at her love for Amber.

"Please? I'd like you too. This is the last part of me... of Jimmy? We both love you very much." She frowned not quite knowing how to put it. "Don't I have a say?"

"All right." Amber kissed her. "It'll be a girl though, if- "

"I know."

The redhead sighed. "You also know if it works... I'm sorry but if it works you might... you might never have a man. Have a chance to sleep with one, I mean. Unless he wants you." Amber stroked a lock of Jessica's hazel hair behind her ear. "You're very beautiful and I'm sure one would find you attractive but... by law you wouldn't be permitted otherwise... and there are so many other beautiful women to distract their eyes..."

"I know," Jessica quipped, puffing her cheeks. "Jimmy was plenty distracted."

She looked at the tiny bottle. So that was that? She wouldn't ever have real sex?

'Real'?

She loved Amber didn't she?

The glass trembled in her fingers.

"Were there- were there women like that who Jimmy never slept with?"

"No honey. Even Antonia's had sex once."

"Oh," she replied softly. "I guess it's OK, then. I had more of him than anyone else... still have..."

She had the best part of all in her hand.

And no one could get closer to a man than she had been... right?

She started to turn the cap but hesitated.

"Lie back first," Amber suggested.

"Oh... ok." She did. "It's not... not very comfortable. The blood's rushing to my head."

"You'll get used to it." Amber shifted the cushion so her hips rose higher.

"Do you have a pillow?"

"Yes, love. Rachel left us with several."

"Can I see?"

"Yes," Amber chuckled. "Here." She pulled one out. "Is this one big enough for my bottom or do you want me to sit on your arm as well?"

"No," she snickered. Jessica rolled on her side, trying her best to face Amber but she was right. It wasn't very comfortable lying on your side like this.

She unscrewed the top like an ordinary jar of cold cream and took a sniff.

It was still a little chilly.

She held it between her hands a few moments.

Amber didn't say anything at all. She just laid there propped up one elbow as she gazed back at Jessica like a reflection.

It seemed warm enough now. Either that or her hands had gotten cold. She thought about dipping a finger in but she didn't want to waste it. Instead she pressed it to her temple.

Satisfied with the temperature, Jessica rolled on her back again.

Damn.

She surveyed her crotch anxiously, as if there were some hidden lever she had to pull to make things work.

She glanced over at Amber. "How am I supposed to stick it in?"

Amber laughed hysterically.

"You mean you don't remember? After all those hours of practice?"

"Well," Jessica huffed, lips twitching. "Not from this end." She pinched her redheaded wife. "I wish Rachel had stayed."

"I'll do it," Amber offered, rising on her haunches.

"Mmm. OK. But I'll get really mad at you if you put it all in."

"You know I won't do that, love."

"You mean you loved Jimmy more than me?" she teased.

Amber sank back against one of the rocks, crunching the sand underfoot, and stared blankly at the cave wall.

"Come here." Jessica tugged at her arm. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be mean." She gave her knuckles a wet kiss. "Forgive me?"

"Sure. I- I know how you meant it. Sorry."

"Don't be. It's my fault."

Amber blinked and knelt over her companion again. She gave the light brunette a deep kiss, locking their jaws together at the perfect angle.

"Mmm. We can do that later," Jessica said coyly. "Can we get to business?"

"That is business." Amber sat up. "Here. Open your legs a little."

Amber's hands pulled her farther apart, then there were fingers in her sex, spreading her tender lips as the shorter woman crouched above her furry muff. Amber's salivating tongue poked out and its wet coarseness sent a shiver through her sensitive nub.

"What are you doing, honey?" Jessica pulled her up by the hair.

"I need to give you an orgasm, sweety. Don't worry. I'll put it in before then."

"Why? I had plenty this morning," she giggled.

"Rachel says it's better for conception for some reason. It has to do with the magic of the place."

"Conceived in love, huh?"

"Yes. She said it's better when the womb spasms."

"Oh. Yeah." Jessica chuckled. "I think Jimmy told one woman that." Just to get her legs spread. Did Amber have the same lewd mind or were Jimmy's instincts that well-tuned to reality? "You're not..." Jessica's hand hovered over her chest. "You're not thinking of having another woman lick at the two of us while we lie back like this, are you?"

"Do you..." Amber paused a moment. "Do you want to know what it's like making love to a different woman?"

Getting her pussy licked was 'love-making' now?

It seemed so foreign.

And she said it like it was the pinnacle of the act.

'Being licked'...

It sounded so... incomplete. Preliminary.

Did she want to?

"No. Jimmy knows," she whispered. "But if you want me to I will."

"Do you want to?"

She shook her head. "Not really." Jessica managed a weak smile. "Jimmy says to tell you no too. He would have been very faithful to you."

"I know." Amber cleared her throat.

It suddenly hit her how good at not crying the woman was. She was sturdy, like she'd told Jimmy when he first limped into the village.

She brushed Amber's cheek with her thumb. "I will be too," she promised.

Amber smiled a little, then resumed lapping at her lover.

"Nnnnnnn," she moaned. "Who'd have thought getting pregnant could be such fun...?"

Amber grabbed her hand before she could stretch her arms out. "Sorry, love. Try not to move around much. There's sand everywhere."

"MMm. I can't help it. It's how you make me feel."

"I know," the red head smiled. "Be a good girl and I'll giggle for you tonight."

"Mm. OK." She offered up her crossed wrists. "I won't go anywhere."

Amber chuckled. "You want me to be that way now?"

"Um..." It was more of a joke really. "I don't know. Sometime maybe." She cocked her head demurely. "There's a little tiger in you I think... Mmm. But not now. You're right," she decided. "Let's not make a mess."

Amber's loyal finger, which hadn't departed, moved aside again for her tongue. A palm gently caressed Jessica's patch of curly ringlets, doing a peculiar little dance over her mons. The gentle motion of muscle across bone gradually illicited a deep relaxation within the girl. All while Amber's expert tongue fluttered paradoxically across her feminine cusp.

How could tingling make such a wonderful looseness?

That slack? How could it be so firm?

Two more fingers worked their way inside her, stretching ever father apart like a child trying to make a face. It was a bit distracting from all the other wonderful sensations.

"Amber?" she called sweetly, combing nails through her auburn hair. "What are the fingers for?"

"I need to get your vagina opened on its own, love. Or else it will smear on my finger."

"You don't have one of those little pipes, do you?"

"No. It would stick to the insides of that too. I want to get it all in."

Jessica sighed. Life was so hard without a penis.

"Didn't you plan for any of this?"

"We planned on putting this little bottle in you, but you changed half your mind."

"Isn't that just like a woman," she complained. "Typical."

"Huh?" The redhead's fingers slowed down.

"They tell you they're going to do one thing and then they do something completely unexpected. Ha! Just like a woman." Jessica winked.

"Lovers are that way, I suppose." She kissed the top of Jessica's tuft. "I'm glad you didn't change your mind about the rest of us."

Us?

Hm.

Jessica reclined on the shore's forgiving contours again and let Amber lick a minute longer, giving herself up to the gentle moans rolling out of her throat. She stroked lovingly at the long red hair and tender flesh of Amber's back, spreading her fingers out like a spider to enjoy the delicate way the bones tugged at one another as Amber ministered her affection.

She wanted to return the attention... but they'd both be stuck like this for several hours.

Finally a fourth finger managed to fit its way into her, though not terribly deep. The palm left her mound and Jessica felt the side of the vial press into her thigh. Amber's tongue fluttered even faster, driving her shivering clit back between its lips.

The glass container jerked awkwardly closer.

Unnnhhh... Wait, honey... NNNNnnnnnhhh... yeah... no! just a... Anh!

The coarse drag of Amber's moist tentacle caused the tingle to explode yet again, washing her skin in hot prickling ants. She grabbed Amber's arm, trying not to shake it as her delicate feminine moans puffed into the cavern.

She pulsed around the many digits inside her, getting a bit sore.

"Whaa..." she whispered, "wait... darling... just a min... minute." She caught her breath.

"You're ready, I think."

All but one of Amber's fingers left her birth canal. The last stayed behind like a hook in a fish but didn't do any good. She could feel herself already closing around it, no matter how much she tried to loosen up.

Her partner's knuckles wavered tentatively on her pinched open vulva. The vial started to tilt.

"Wait," Jessica sighed. Amber's spine went slack and she started to breath again. "I think I know what will do it. Sit back... No. A little farther out of the way... that's it. Now Rachel showed me this. Hold my leg so I don't kick you or fall over... Yeah. Could you set the jar- thanks."

The bottle went to rest on a distant rock and Amber lent a ginger arm to her efforts. Jessica propped two hands under her hips and threw her feet over her head, digging her elbows even further into the sand as Amber steadied her back.

How did Rachel manage this particular trick? Her neck was going to break any minute.

Carefully and ever so slowly, she snuck around her bottom and snagged her hole open with her middle fingers, doing her best to pull them wide and make the face Amber wanted.

Yeah. She must have succeeded. Amber had the same delighted reaction a child might have, like she'd snarl back and run away tittering.

"Is that a big enough target for you?" she joked. "What? Something wrong?"

"No," Amber laughed, angling her head around. "I was just thinking how... um, strangely beautiful you look."

"You mean I make your clit itch," she said baldly.

"Yeah," Amber giggled. "How'd you know?"

"It gave Jimmy a hard on."

"Really?..." Amber pouted. "Well I would've done it for him if I knew..."

Jessica smirked at her thoughtfulness. "You'll have your chance soon enough... and yes. I checked. I find most of the same things sexy about you Jimmy did." She pulled her fingers out a moment and watched in fascination how her gleaming lips closed together. Being doubled over like this gave her such a great view... and that unusual way her dangling legs split her snatch open... her clit itched too. If she could just pinch her lips together and rub them over it... "Go on, Amber." She slipped her sticky fingers back in. "Pour my half of the little wigglers in there."

"Wigglers?" Amber giggled again as she picked up the vial.

"Yeah. There are millions of tiny creatures in that white stuff that swim around and... oh, never mind. Just- Ooohp!" Jessica snickered. "I guess I'm more used to stuff dripping out!"

"Yeah." Amber smiled as she flinched again, and her pussy drew momentarily tight around her fingers. The white liquid oozed into her like detergent going into a washing machine. "It was always refreshing at first... kind of like a douche," Amber laughed. "Then it got messy later... Sorry you can't feel it spurting in you when it's hot. It's a sweet feeling."

The darn stuff was still a tad cold. And it slid down like molasses in winter, giving her the most colossal fucking tickle.

But then Jimmy always did have a sense of humor about the unavoidable things on the island. Was it his last joke on her? His only joke?

Wow...

It dropped off the farther inside it poured, disappearing into the yawning void exposed by her fingers. There was a vague sensation of being open or full but after that... nothing at all. As a woman, she expected it to happen in the back of her mind. She knew vaginas lost feeling like that but... that wasn't it.

There was something special about this time. It wasn't supposed to be an ordinary occurrence.

She couldn't feel anything touching her deep in there...

Maybe because it was her?

Well, whatever the strange feelings, it was the sweetest thing she'd ever felt.

Jessica stroked Amber's arm and squeezed off a friendly reminder.

The flask tilted back and Amber did her best not to get the stream on the side of the glass. She soon gave up and like a connoisseur ran a pinky along the lip collecting every drop. She rubbed the leftovers on Jessica's clean rear wall as any chef would with a spatula.

Amber drew even closer and with a flicker of concern peered into Jessica's chasm.

"Hiding anything?" she gasped.

Amber grinned. "Hopefully in a month or two." The curl in her lip faded while she peeked around like an auto mechanic under the hood. "It looks OK. You might want to stay that way a while just to be sure."

Jessica let herself fall shut with a sigh of relief. Her tits were great bunched up like this- it was the deepest cleavage she'd shown all day- but the blood rushing to her head was too much. And her arms still shook from the rowing.

"Help me down, sweety. It's all in there."

"All right." Amber set the flask aside and laid out an extra pillow or two for good measure.

Jessica felt another slip under her shoulders to blunt the angle and thanked her lover for the added back support. Then a firm hand sank into the brunette's bottom and returned her carefully to the cave floor.

"So this is it? It won't drip out?" Jessica asked. She giggled uncontrollably the instant she recognized what she'd just said. She sounded like all the other girls.

And it still irritated Jimmy.

"It'll stay," Amber assured her, stroking her quaking side until she was still. "You may feel it move around a little, though."

"Good."

"Good?"

"I like feeling something alive in there."

"Oh. I suppose... I suppose it is." She smiled. "That's a nice way of thinking about it."

Amber hovered over her chestnut bush again.

"No, sweety. Why don't you- " Amber ignored her and put her tongue to work again on the helpless girl's clit. "Noooooo salivaaaa..." Jessica chided with a wagging finger.

"Hm." Amber popped back up with a scowl on her face. She knew she was being taunted as much as anything but Rachel clearly wasn't around to have the final word. And she didn't want to take any chances.

Jessica wiggled her magic fingers in the air. "Come lie with me. Come on. Put your dose in and lie down." Her hand slithered intoÊAmber's carroty foliage, tracked by perky emerald eyes that flashed with mild indignation. "Well at least do me the honor of sitting on my face so I can return the favor."

"Hm."

"What are you so pissed about?" She pinched her bottom and a conservative smile slipped away from Amber. "Come on. You used to always ask Jimmy, 'Well what do you want to do?'" she parroted, bobbing her head side to side. "Well this is what I want to do." Jessica put hands on her hips. "I want to kiss that pretty ass of yours."

"Hmm... hey!"

Jessica snatched the vial for safekeeping. "You'll get it back after I come... but then I want it going right in you, young lady. Deal?"

"OK." Amber smacked her lips. "I guess I better shut you up then."

She hoisted her smirking rear into the air and slung it over Jessica's yapping maw. But then instead of reciprocating on the girl, she sat up and buried her up to her eyeballs in red thatch, giggling something about "getting open too."

Jessica smiled as best she could and licked away at the luscious cheeks that filled her view, clothing her tongue with Amber's quivering crevice. It was so strangely... complete being in another woman this way... offering her tongue like this. It was the act of love. The way Amber moaned up at the ceiling and rocked her hips in gentle rhythm from the attention. How could it not be? They were kissing intimately. How could it be otherwise?

But she still wasn't letting the flask go.

She chuckled at herself. Amber would never do anything sneaky with it. That's what she was pissed at her for thinking, wasn't it?

Well... she was doing a good job making it up to her.

After a minute, Jessica pulled back on the flesh around her tiny red button and lightly flicked over it. Almost immediately Amber's lush white bottom scooted back and forth above her, blotting out the heavens, shivering as it ground into her face... and wedged her nose into its butt.

The odor wasn't the best but Jessica snickered as she realized it was the only way she'd be getting in the wrong hole.

'Again'?

Why hadn't she thought 'again?'

She snickered a second time.

As she started to suckle her lover's slender needle, Amber's shuddering torso came down between her thighs like a felled tree. Trembling hands wrapped her ankles, weakly nudging them wider as the orgasm surged through the short woman and rattled the cave with her soft soprano cries.

A gust of sand splattered the redhead's face as she sighed and caught her breath. Her drained knuckles brushed the clumpy granules away and she finally started to work on her lover, licking cautiously while her strength returned, ever mindful of the invisible perimeter formed by Jimmy's sweet fluids.

The fleshy vaginal ring fenced the bulk of its creamy depths from view, save for a shiny, narrow hint that vanished into her whispy pubes. But she could smell him... the totality of his strong, tall essence tucked safely away and it seemed to weld her love for Jessica into one mind.

Jessica sighed and did her best to drowned her own moans in Amber's wet folds. In an act of repentance more than trust, the sandy brunette set the bottle away and filled her hands with Amber's luscious rear, slowly plying it together and apart. Her companion purred in approval as Jessica hooked two digits into her warm, moist chamber and slowly stretched it.

Amber's own delicate fingers drifted up and spread aside more of her lips and bronzed fur. She clamped down on Jessica's frail bud and tenderly nursed, bringing her to almost instant ecstasy.

The shivers rolled through her once more, taking their own sweet time.

She knew she would never understand the clock. It was more complicated, though Jimmy's had sometimes mystified even him. The feminine variety was all the more finicky.

Jessica sighed happy in her ignorance as Amber's warmth departed her again, leaving her wet fingers flopping out like abandoned children on her chest.

The orgasm was sweet like they all were, but it was a tad lonelier without penetration.

Jessica sighed again and watched Amber kick back just as she'd done herself. She grinned at the blood flooding her lover's torso and carefully passed the half-filled vial to her waiting hand. Her blue eyes lingered affectionately on her while Amber positioned the cup over her split-open thighs and let the last earthly bits of Jim Bob Baker drool into her.

Amber tapped it out against one of her lips and examined with some frustration the white still coating the bottom of the flask.

"Why don't you just put the whole thing in?" Jessica suggested.

Amber chewed her lip thinking about it.

"No," she finally replied. "Most of it's in, anyway. It might make the bottom of my vagina bigger than the rest and I don't think that would be good... I wish there was some cap, though, don't you?" Her neck turned with some discomfort and she glanced at Jessica seriously. "You know? Something you could twist on your pussy to make it hold stuff in."

Jessica shrugged. "Even babies don't stay in forever," she reminded her with a touch of irony.

Both girls laughed.

Amber's flushed breasts shook around her chin like charms on a necklace, getting Jessica more than a little aroused with their fleshy joviality.

Hers had felt nice in that position too. The undersides kind of itched sweetly...

And of course the view between her lover's legs was priceless, now that she finally thought about it... that dark shadowed curve...

"Your breasts look sexy like that. Especially the way they get red. Just like two ripe pears."

"Good." Amber smiled. "It's nice when they kind of move around like this too." She waved her bottom back and forth and her boobs followed loyally, making the nipples shrivel just a bit. "But what are pears?"

"Fruit. Like apples, but softer and sweeter."

"Really? I wish we had some then."

"I guess your breasts will have to do." Amber laughed. "Go on and get comfortable again. Trust me. It's not going anywhere except into you now... Jimmy never did miss a chance to get into some pussy."

Jessica snickered back at her and pinched one of the fatty folds in her lover's side. Then she straightened out the towel and did her best to fluff the pillows. The wool in them was still fairly lumpy and hard to direct, but it beat leaving an impression in the hard wet sand.

With a bit of awkwardness, Amber lowered herself back to the earth and settled into their care. Her curls took a moment to soak up the redness from her fair skin. And suddenly, quick as a wink it was gone, evaporated like vapors.

Jessica gave her head a chance to clear and then wiggled her magic fingers again. "Want to?" she asked quietly.

"Sure."

Amber glided her hand into Jessica's chestnut bush and she reciprocated.

They spread one another's folds and lightly wheedled the tender nub they uncovered at the peak. Each cupped her own breast, ardently fondling a nipple. Then both women turned together, hips still anchored to the sky and gazed longingly into the other's doelike eyes, wishing they could reach out and touch their lover more.

They kissed each other with their delighted expressions, bashfully sucking first one lip, then the other whenever the pleasurable tingles diverted their attention.

Jessica scratched her pussy.

Was the itch this bad for all of Jimmy's list?

"So how long do we lie here? I never really found that out."

"It takes a few hours to get all the way in and dry. Some of it will still stay in if you get up but- "

"Why take chances?"

"Yes."

"Jimmy always did lose at poker." Amber snickered. "I suppose I will too."

"Poke-her was more his game."

"Not today," Jessica frowned. "Not today..."

She flipped the empty vial over a few times with her thumb, carefully avoiding the residue.

It looked like an ordinary item you'd find in any science lab... which made it a real prize here. Funny. You always expected to stumble across gold or silver buried on an island but even if you did, so what? It was the most common things that ended up having the most value.

She peered in the bottom.

Get rid of the grooves around the lip and it was just the right size for a shot glass. The end of it was thick enough to distort things just right.

Then Jessica did the strangest thing.

She licked it.

"How is it?"

"A bit salty." She hoped it wasn't from seawater leaking in. "I like the odor for some reason." She offered Amber the flask. "Something's not right, though." How would she know that? "It has a sweet aftertaste."

"I know." Amber responded with a soft smile. "It was just for that day." She refused it, pushing back on Jessica's hand. "You go on and enjoy it. It's close enough. I want to remember the musky way he was supposed to be."

Jessica held it to her mouth again. Her tongue pressed flat against the base and burgeoned along the clear walls as she rotated the cup. In two or three seconds it was all gone.

She tried, but she couldn't quite swallow all of the slimy coating. It stuck to her tongue for some reason, though it didn't affect her speech noticeably.

"Besides," Amber continued with a keen eye of her lover's expression, "it's more of a thrill when it's hot and moving... spurting out, you know? It's... it's really kind of wonderful when a man does that. Special. It's the seeds of life..." She sighed. "We're just some little field they plow... But a man's passion makes something... and when he gives it up to you..." Amber stopped but the wistful tone still lingered on her breath.

Jessica shrugged. "I don't know. With any luck we'll both make something."

"Yes... yes, I forgot. Sorry to wander off on you."

"No. It's... I like it. I always said you could tell me about others whenever you needed to. I'd still like you to."

She gave up a distant laugh. "I forgot that... I think I will. Thank you." She sucked on a lip. "I think I was wrong about blow jobs... I'm sorry I acted that way about them..."

"He knew."

"Really?" Amber glanced across at her. "Good. It's nice to know."

Jessica looked the empty container over.

"Um. My stuff from that day. His stuff. Our stuff. Hell, this stuff." Jessica tapped the drained vial. "Did you... was this the only use you made of it? I made an awful lot that day and..."

"Yeah. You got suspicious from me sucking you off didn't you?"

"Well... it was a lot." She still couldn't believe it. It was almost disgusting to see that stuff shooting out of her groin... Odd. It wasn't when she reviewed Jimmy's memories of sex. "What really got to me was... Well, I got kind of depressed... maybe it was Jimmy... because I thought you didn't think penetration was good enough for you or something..."

"No," Amber moaned. "I'm so sorry. I was putting it in a can under the bed. It's, um... quite valuable. Don't take offense." She placed a caring hand on Jessica's chest. "Plenty of women wanted boys, more than you'll ever know but... some women want girls too and... it's the only time you can be sure about that sort of thing."

"Why didn't you just ask?" Jessica said, taking stock of the lichen covered rocks on the ceiling.

"I didn't want you getting suspicious about the grotto or... having to worry about other women. I didn't want it on your mind. I thought if... Jimmy figured it out he might get lonely and think we only wanted girl babies..."

"No... He wasn't happy that day for a lot of reasons... but he would have given you what you wanted. You know that. He always did."

"Yes. He had a big heart."

"Even if he didn't have a big pecker in the end."

"I know," Amber whispered. "I hated seeing that happen to him... it eats away at every proud body... it's so horrible..." She sighed. "Was it very bad for him? He hid some of his emotions so well from me."

"Yes."

Amber was good at hiding those things too.

Jessica closed her eyes and focused on more immediate sensations.

In addition to greatly warming her loins, the ecstatic spasms seemed to cough a little more of him forward, oddly enough.

Or was it just her imagination?

She could feel the little fellows moving around, slowly sliding back into the darkness until they were nothing more than a tickle deep inside her. A comforting brook...

They knew where to go, right? Jimmy never worried about that part.

She kept wondering if there wasn't something more she was supposed to do. Was Amber right about just being some field? She felt useless right now.

And strangely loved.

She listened a little longer to the sluggish stream of life flowing within her.

"What's it- " Jessica was quite a moment. "What's it- " She stopped again and faced Amber. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, love."

"It's kind of intimate."

"We're intimate, aren't we?"

"I guess. I just..."

"What is it?"

She let out a long sigh and turned a bit more, shifting in the sand. "What's it like making love with a man?"

"Hm." Amber thought a moment as she scanned the dark rocks above. "I can't speak for others, but... for me, it was the most beautiful thing in the world." She stroked Jessica's cheek.

"I.... I can't compare?"

"That was you, love."

"I know." Her lip pouted down. "I don't make you feel the same things?"

"I feel the same joy and love... but not in the same way."

"Am I missing anything?"

Amber stared at her a moment trying to understand how she meant it.

"Not being with a man?"

"Yes."

"We both are, I think."

"Jimmy always said you could... could close your eyes and he'd still be there for you. He made you promise."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I'd... like it if you did. Then at least one of us could."

"Can't you look back on the joy you had with me as a man?"

"Jimmy's?... Yeah. It's still there." She kissed Amber's hand. "It's why I asked, I suppose."

"I'm very happy. Then and now. Does that count?"

"Of course."

"You know..." Amber caressed her arm. "Jimmy used to ask a lot of questions he knew he wouldn't like the answers to."

"And you always said the right thing. It's why I'm here."

She cracked a smile. "So what's it like being a man?" They both giggled. Amber prodded her with a nail. "So?" she demanded. "Will you ever tell me? Or are you just going to get me back by making me jealous too?"

"No. I'll tell you... but it'll have to be an even trade."

"What?"

"Mmmmmm how about... you tell me what you loved about him and I'll tell you what he loved?"

"Perfect."

"I'm still dribbling a bit."

"You will," Amber said.

She'd first noticed it in the boat as home came into sight. A spot between her legs. A little wetter than the others. She almost mistaked it for sweat until she took a peek in her brownish curls.

There it was. A thin pearly stream slowly made its way for the crack in her ass. Some last bit of maleness trying to escape her.

And Jimmy would want it to get away. He always wiped the stuff off. The sight of it on his stomach hairs or lower made him antsy, like the leftovers of a wet sneeze. She could still remember his disgust that beautiful melodic morning as he looked down at himself and backed away from the window.

She'd probably be the same on a day to day basis if she'd married him.

But not today.

"So what did you want to do?" asked the redhead.

"Do? Oh. I hadn't thought about it. Could we eat first? I'm starved."

"Sure." Amber peeked out the front door.

"That was kind of her." Rachel had left a basket of treats on the step.

"Yes it was. I think she wants us to rest today... or you at least. I guess it applies to me now too."

Amber pulled a stick of bread out and brought the rest of it in, setting it on the table. Jessica sat beside her, uncomfortably eyeing her lap.

"Um... He's on the move again... only slower now. You sure that's all right?" It was making a slight stain on her toga, not that she minded that for some reason.

"Sure." Amber bit into the bread and offered some to Jessica, then thought a moment as she chewed. "We'll, uh... let's lay down a minute. Would you like to?"

"Eat in bed?"

"Just this once. I don't see it will hurt anything." She smirked and shook the loaf of bread in her direction. "Just don't wiggle your fingers at me."

Jessica giggled as she took her robe off. "I hope you don't take this the wrong way but... I really don't want to have sex four times a day anymore."

"You don't want?" Amber chuckled at her and swallowed her mouthful.

"Yeah." Jessica pulled the bed sheet back. "It made Jimmy irritable. Me too I think... It's strange that we'd both have that in common."

"What about what I want?"

Jessica frowned as she adjusted the pillows. "You'd better not want it either."

"My tongue would get tired," Amber complained. "Men are so much easier to please."

"Yeah," Jessica sighed, crawling on the luscious hides. "But there's never one around when you want him."

They burst out in giggles.

Jessica shook a disapproving finger at the crumbs Amber sputtered on the mattress and brushed them away. "Come on." She patted the pillow beside her and then parted her legs to chase some of the fluids back inside. "Mm." The tall girl licked her pinky. "He's starting to ferment."

"Well you better enjoy it. Last night was the last ale you'll have for a while."

"I know." Amber's bare bottom climbed in next to her and as her thighs briefly spread, Jessica caught a hint of the same milky droplets nestled in her lover's bush. "I'd rather be sober than drunk and spayed."

"What's 'spayed' mean?" Amber hauled the basket up and rested it on their stomachs.

"Don't worry about it."

"Sexless, you mean?"

"Sort of." Jessica took out an apple. No more old dates, thank goodness.

"That was so horrible."

"I know. The worst part of it was how much I didn't know how horrible it was at the time."

Amber pinched her. "I told you my tongue is good."

"No. That- " She dropped the subject. "It's very good. I knew talking wasn't the only thing you could do with it." Her blowjobs had been exquisite too, but so much of that had to do with her enthusiasm.

Something else about Jimmy was still hanging around, though. Not just memories of Amber's mouth.

Jessica reached over again for a strip of beef and felt another tickle under her arm.

Jimmy was still there.

She rested the dark morsel between her breasts and tugged at the unsightly nest of wires.

"I have to get rid of this stuff under my arms. It's so ugly... What? It'll magically regrow or something?"

"No, not at all. It certainly grows on its own, but... it's not that ugly, I don't think. I've always liked a natural woman."

"You do?"

"Yes. I think you're pretty. Why? What do you like?"

It suddenly occurred to her that she'd never shaved her armpits. Shaved anything for that matter. Of course, thanks to Jimmy she could guide a blade easily enough across her chin... if she had to...

And now she'd inherited his tastes in femininity. She didn't like body hair.

Had she 'inherited' that? Was that his fault? Should she blame him?

Plenty of women didn't like it. She could be one of those, couldn't she? For independent reasons? She couldn't always be dragging him in when she wasn't sure of herself. Some of her faults had to be her own... No, that wasn't it. Not liking hair wasn't a fault. They could share tastes too, couldn't they? He didn't have to be like one of those husbands who stole everything from her. They could be hers too.

Why was she thinking this way? Thinking about fishing or other hobbies certainly didn't force her to draw a division. She could be Jimmy then too...

The world had another one of its aftershocks.

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah."

Amber giggled. "I don't have to like hair if it makes you that sick. I can keep shaving."

"No. It's not that. I- "

Amber patted her arm. "I know what it was." She kissed her cheek. "Sometimes you and Jimmy bump into each other. I understand."

"Is that what it is?"

"So would it be OK with you if I stopped shaving my legs? The hairs wouldn't get very long." Her lip twitched. "Unless you wanted to shave yours too. I think they're nice as they are."

Jessica took a bite of the juicy red apple and scanned her thighs. They were covered in thin hairs. Not much, but enough to bother her. Had the part of Jimmy inside her not noticed until now? Or were they just so busy with everything else? "Don't all of you shave?"

"Us? Some of us?" She needled Jessica. "Some of us do, yes. The rest did it for Jimmy, really. Rachel said he'd prefer us that way. Of course she's one of the ones who likes to shave anyway... but was she right? Is that what you prefer?"

"He did. I don't know." She thought about the lesson with Michelle and her knife. "Can you do it for me?"

"Sure. If you want me to."

"I want to see if I like it first before deciding."

"Oh. On you? That's perfectly understandable. I'll show you. Sure." Some trepidation appeared in Amber's voice. "Would you... If you like I guess you can practice on me too if you want. Or did you want me to grow it out?"

"It's funny." Jessica laughed and sank her teeth into the fruit. "I know in the back of my mind it's something Jimmy would want to do for you. And for some reason I want to do it even more than he did, only strangely... it's not as sexual, you know?"

"Yes. I- " Amber stuttered a moment as she munched on the chewy beef, then quietly cupped Jessica's jaw while it pounced up and down. "I- ." She swallowed again and brushed her thumb along the brunette's cheek as the apple traveled down her fair throat. "I always wanted to shave Jimmy's beard."

"Really? He wanted you to, you know. He didn't trust Michelle and he knew you of all people wouldn't cut him." She sighed and took Amber's hand into her own. "You should have asked. I'm sorry I can't give you the same thing now."

"I know." They kissed briefly.

Jessica tasted the beef on her tongue and finally remembered what she'd set on her chest.

Ironically, Amber reached in the basket for an apple of her own.

Jessica pinched the redhead and shot her a risque grin. "You can shave my crotch if you like... That's one thing he wouldn't let you do."

"Really? You wouldn't mind missing the hair? They say it itches."

"No. Go ahead. Jimmy always liked it."

"You want me to shave mine too?"

Jessica gnawed at the beef a moment before pointing the half-eaten stem in her direction. "You know... For some reason I don't... I mean unless you want to. It just... It just doesn't matter a whole lot to me. At least down there... although I don't know. I could get used to you having hairy legs if you want."

"No. It's no trouble to shave them for you. I want to be attractive to you."

"Me too." Jessica sighed and knitted her brow while she gazed at a plank in the wall. "Of course I'd like to shave first... just to try it, you understand."

"Sure."

"But what do you prefer?"

"Whatever you like."

Jessica groaned.

Amber rolled her eyes as she tore off another piece of bread.

"Don't say," Jessica griped, shifting to a squeaky voice, "'You're going to pinch me no matter what.'"

"Honestly. None of it matters to me. It's just hair." She shook one of her flaming curls at her. "Cut these if you like. All I want is to be with you."

"OH! I'd never cut those! They're too beautiful..." She kissed her on the forehead.

Amber brushed the wet crumbs off her brow. "Love is messy," she complained.

"Hm. Must be love. You bitched about the same thing to Jimmy."

"You!"

"Huh?... Wha- Amber." Jessica yawned. "Don't go." She squeezed her arm.

"I have to pee." She gave her sleepy lover a kiss and broke away. "I'll be back in a minute."

"Don't let him drip," she said groggily.

Jessica yawned again and stretched until her elbows shook.

But the images were still in her mind.

How long was Amber gone?

She was doing something at the table now. Had she gone out? Yeah. She could remember the door swinging open a second time.

"Mm. Just lie with me some? Don't complain about nothing to do."

Amber chuckled. "Sure." She stopped cleaning the basket, plopped back down on her warm pillow, and resumed staring at the ceiling that had put her to sleep an hour ago.

Jessica yawned again. "It's the first nap I've had where nothing has changed... well, assuming I didn't conceive. I guess that's a change I'd really look forward to." She sighed and let her hand fall back to her head, palm up. Her eyes darted to Amber and then back to the wooden nothing above them.

"Is something troubling you?" She didn't seem as jovial as lunch.

"A dream I had. A lot of dreams. I don't know."

"What was it?"

"I... have these women's pictures in my head and I can't get rid of them. All their private parts Jimmy looked at. I feel like I'm cheating on you." Jessica chewed on her mouth as her eyes watered.

"Don't worry about it," Amber said non-chalantly, stroking one of her hips that the pillow thrust so proudly in the air. "Men find different things sexy, they say, and sometimes that old stuff just comes bubbling back up."

"I mean... I mean I like the way yours look. I love it, but... I don't have this desire to see every bit of female anatomy he did. I feel like a pervert."

"You and Rachel," she giggled lightly. "No. Relax. Your mind's just trying to work out what to do with the two people inside it. I don't feel like you're cheating on me. I didn't feel that way when Jimmy slept with all those women. He knew that too." Her soothing palm drifted further down, and came to a rest on Jessica's thigh. "I was happy he could have his fun while helping everyone else out." She turned and saw the worry on Jessica's face which for some reason made her snicker. "I know you're not going to go out and look at other women's breasts with the same fascination he did. You don't have to let it go. He was a part of you you can be proud of. And now when it comes to those things, you're a little different. So?"

"So if I don't look at other women's breasts, you won't think I don't like yours?"

"Of course not. I'm sure if Jimmy had stayed and we'd married, he'd have changed that way too. It's inevitable when you're close to someone. If he didn't it still might be OK."

"Did you change that way?"

"Mmm? Some, I guess. There's always been something mildly attractive and comforting about the shape of other bosoms."

"But not like for Jimmy?"

"Heavens, no." She patted Jessica's knee. "I like yours because they're attached to you and they make you feel good. Men... I think men just like looking at things more... or maybe because they don't have them? Hm. I don't know. Penises certainly are- Well you'd know. Is that right?"

"I suppose so. I guess that's what's bothering me. All those images he saved away, that are now leftover..." The way they were saved... and where...

Amber kissed her. "Cherish them. They're who you were."

"Really?"

"Don't let them bother you. Remember them like he would have enjoyed... unless. Oh. Did they bother him, do you think? Was that why there's guilt in your mind?"

"Some... some, yes. I think so. Well maybe some of it's mine too..."

"Tell him not to worry," Amber sighed. "It's just boobs and ass. I've seen plenty in my life, young and old. I'm not going to be like Lucia, slapping you on the butt every time your eye strays." She kissed Jessica's shoulder. "Women are pretty. They're meant to be at least looked at. Here more than any other place. Give yourself up to it." She chuckled. "Though after last month, Jimmy should have such a huge catalog in his head, your eye shouldn't have to stray."

Jessica shook in laughter with her. "OK. If it keeps me faithful letting him daydream..." she said with a pinch.

"Well... but what do you think?" Amber sat up on her elbows, causing her breasts to sway sweetly, and pressed two fingers into Jessica's navel. "What do you see in your head?"

She grinned disgracefully. "Did you like the way his butt looked?"

"Yeah I did." Amber tittered. "How'd you- "

"I see him standing in front of the mirror and... I know it's me, which is all the more confusing but... it's one of the places my eyes drift on his body... funny. He never did that but I do when I look back..." Her voice shot up. "Does that mean you don't like the butt I have now?" Her head spun toward Amber.

"It's very beautiful for a woman. All the women are beautiful here."

"But it doesn't compare?"

"Not in that way. But... like you, there are things I like about both sexes. Your body turns me on. Does it have to be because of the same things?"

"No. I guess not..." She scowled. "Is it- "

"It's just as much... though obviously not quite the same." Amber stroked her thigh again. "I'm sure your feelings for me in bed are different now too. I'd like to think you can close your eyes and enjoy the way you had me as a man. I do." Jessica pursed her lips. "It's not cheating," Amber emphasized. "It was you I loved. It still is."

"I know. I'm just a little jealous."

"Why? I'm not with someone else. We talked about this before."

"That's not what I'm saying. I mean... I see him in those memories and sometimes.... I want to have him."

"Oh." There was a pregnant pause. Then Amber started to laugh. "They told me to expect that but... I didn't think it would be so amusing when I heard it." She reassured Jessica with another pat to the hip. "Don't worry. It will pass."

"I see you under him and I want to be in your place..." she whispered. "Me... under me?" Jessica bit her lip.

"I know, sweety. It's all right to feel that."

Jessica shifted from her lip to gnawing on a nail. Why did she feel compelled to keep sharing these most intimate thoughts with Amber? "Most... most of me is still here... I think. I see his face and it's like... I'm his sister. What I said earlier about wanting to be the one under him... that's suddenly not quite right anymore... in fact... sometimes it makes me dizzy. Or queasy like incest- "

"Shh. I know. Try to... try to think of other men you've known. Don't confuse yourself that way."

"You won't mind?"

"No. It's natural."

"Do you do that?" she asked.

"No. I've already had that... and now I have you."

"I'm sorry I- "

"There's nothing to say about it. It just is."

"I- "

"Because it troubles you is proof enough of your love... and I'm touched that you trust me enough to share it. I'll understand about anything you want to bring up. I know it's going to be difficult."

Amber turned like she was rolling out of bed.

"Don't," Jessica pleaded.

But Amber was just rattling under the frame again.

"I'm not leaving... here it is." Something crinkled in her hands. "Here. I know you've seen it already, but I haven't... well a little," she confessed.

"Really? Why not?"

Amber placed it in her hands and gestured for Jessica to tear open the plastic. "I..." She frowned. "I wanted to but... I figured I could do it later. I wanted to spend all the time I could with Jimmy."

Jessica pulled her companion's hand back over and between the two of them they ripped the bag off.

"Oh. It wasn't because- " Jessica suddenly remembered the fellow in the middle of the magazine and the ladies blushing around the table. "It wasn't that guy in the middle was it?"

Amber shrugged. "He was the second naked man I'd ever seen... but I liked the first better." She kissed Jessica. "I thought you might like to see him, though. Sorry but he's the best I can do. Did you..." Her hand trembled. "I know Rachel said you might not like looking at it with me around. Do you want me to go?"

Jessica giggled. "No. Stay with me. That wasn't what bothered Jimmy."

"No. She said it- OK. I'll stay."

Jessica plucked open the first page and leafed through the skimpy but glossy table of contents.

'Contents.' Again she giggled. These things were silly.

"So you haven't looked through it before?"

"Well someone else showed me theirs," Amber explained. "Just flipped through it to convince me to take a copy... maybe try to figure out how it could be used to teach reading. It's the best thing we have in English... but no. I mean I'll use it in class but I was waiting for you to show me."

"That's sweet."

"Actually..." Amber snickered, "it's a little more wicked than that." She smirked playfully. "I though it could be fun for the both of us. A few of my friends say it spiced up the bed."

"Oh? Lewd, are we? You want to treat women like sex objects, huh?"

"Sometimes. Don't you?"

Jessica chuckled, finding it hard to argue with her logic. She flipped slowly through the pages, silently trying to lose her guilt about being turned on by all the luscious female flesh. It really was sexy. Pretty, even, like she'd heard the other girls mentioning that day.

And Amber seemed comfortable enough with it. Her eyes got big when Jessica's did. They lingered over the same pages. On the same lacy bras. She looked happy. Almost frisky, even...

"Honestly!" Amber slapped her knuckles. "And you complain about my slow hand," she cracked, flipping straight to the middle. "59... 60... 62. There!" She thumped the page.

There it was.

The muscle-bound lifeguard, stripped to his ankles by a lusty beach bimbo. His large, thick column of meat curving up to taunt her hungry lips.

Jessica knew where she wanted it to go...

Goodness.

ItÊinstantly moistened her loins.

Rachel had said some things would get a strange new gloss.

Should she go back to the archive and look at Time again?

"Zeus, he's huge. How could such a thing fit?" Amber's voice dropped to a concerned whisper. "Wouldn't it hurt?"

"He's certainly hung like a horse." His balls were big too.

"What's a- Oh. Are they large animals or something? Down there..."

"I don't know. It's just an expression."

"He'd put some bulls to shame, that's certain."

The room echoed with giggles.

"You know, Jimmy used to wish his was larger like that. But I think you're right. It would be painful. It's nice to look at but... more than I could eat, you know?"

"Really? Why would Jimmy think that? His worked so well."

Jessica shrugged, feeling a strange bit of pride at Amber's compliment. "I don't know. It's a man thing, I guess. Like getting jealous over Andrea's breasts."

"Oh... Does it make more sperm or something?" Amber asked, her pinky skittishly tracing his manhood. "Andrea's probably going to be a human cow like her mother."

"She is?... No. I don't think it does. It's just bigger... I'd have heard if it did... wouldn't I?" Didn't some men make more?... But size surely wasn't a factor...

She looked his furry balls over, wishing she could caress them in her palms. They were so big... and probably heavy...

She smirked. They weren't the only big things on the page. Jessica leered at the huge melons on the beach blonde and thumped the close up panel of her spread open twat, giggling at the size of her printed clit.

Where was that box with her magnifying glass?

She felt like spreading her own legs... but Amber would probably smirk back at her and say something like "So what? That thing makes everything look big."

"What's so funny about her?" Amber asked. Her eyes jumped to one of the smaller panels where the model seemed to twirl her top at the reader. Did it remind Jessica of one of the palace dancers, somehow frozen in time?

"It's not her," Jessica chuckled. "It's just I- Jimmy never thought he'd be looking at it this way with you... I guess he's not, really. This part is all me... Except the gir- I mean, except when- "

"The girls are pretty too. I know. Don't worry about that." Amber placed her hand on top of Jessica's and shadowed the stacked beauty's figure. "She does have lovely breasts... but you can't cheat with something that's not alive." Her fingernail made a soft trail through the tiny hairs on Jessica's arm, slowly, seductively sliding up to her shoulders and chin. With her thumb, she turned Jessica's attention back to the man on the page.

Amber pinched the paper into a sensuous, shiny curve and moved on to the next scene, smoothing out the life-sized image of the man's monumental prick. The massive shaft dangled there in suspense, its long ridges of veins perfectly visible... if only those red nails weren't wrapped around it...

But wouldn't hers be?

What did it feel like... really feel like? Not resting in Jimmy's hands, but in hers... stroking that smooth, engorged helmet.

Her gaze fell on the woman's vivid, gaping pussy... the open, waiting orifice just inches from his member, offered unconditionally to him... those glistening lips which almost seemed to smile like the woman's hungry, inviting face in the adjoining panel.

Her hand rested dangerously close to her hip.

Jessica lifted it back to the page and crinkled the edge. She paused and watched Amber.

The redhead took the magazine and craddled its spine in the joint of their raised thighs, pinching the left edge with her knees.

"Go on..." Amber nudged her. "I know it gives you a tingle. It gives me one too..."

Jessica stood helpless by their table, looking like Melissa must have after she'd taken Jimmy's seed.

Did Amber find such incompetence charming too?

It didn't feel that way to her now. What planet was Jimmy from?

"It's itching like crazy," she gasped, rubbing her frustrated fingertips though the supple skin down to the bone. "What do I do?"

"Come. Let's go to the stream. It's been a while since either of us bathed."

"I know," she whined in agreement. Then she realized just how long it had been. The rest of her didn't itch like this. "Why don't I- ?"

"You can't get that icky on the island, remember?" Amber replied, reading the question in her face. "You'll always be beautiful. But the grime sticks to you during the day and... well Jimmy was never immune to being icky, if you know what I mean." She pointed suggestively at her lover's wood-colored crotch. "He still isn't."

Jessica squeezed her soft vulva together and used their silky touch to massage her inner lips, finally sighing in relief.

She spread her feet a bit more.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "It won't wash him out of me, will it? I want to keep it."

"We're not going to wash inside. Just the outside. Even if it does... Rachel says nature makes it easy to stick to you. Your body's like one of those ice- chests, only you'll keep him alive much longer. Perhaps even long enough for you to both live on together in another."

"I hope so. Still..." She ran through her chestnut fluff, straightening out the kinks. "Mmm," she whimpered. "I'll put up with it, I guess." She closed her thighs and rocked back and forth.

Thank goodness there weren't more flies on the island.

"Well I'm bathing. And I'm telling you... don't scratch," Amber warned her. "There's sensitive stuff down there. It doesn't like being raw, even if it's just a day or two..."

"You go. I'll be fine. Promise."

"Jessica?" "Jessica?"

They were getting louder now.

"Jessica?"

"Out here."

"Where?"

"Follow my voice."

"What are you doing out here?"

"I couldn't sleep. I guess the nap was too long... Funny. You know I don't think I've been up at this hour since I got here."

"It's well past midnight, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I think so."

"Come back to bed." She was on the deck now, judging from the sound of her voice.

"You know they really bite at this hour?"

"What?"

"Fish of course."

Did it have something to do with the tides, she wondered. Perhaps only when it got very dark like this and the moon was a sliver.

The moon.

She'd never seen it at this time of night. Not on the island, anyway. She had plenty of other places.

She almost enjoyed looking at it again. It didn't seem like such a nemesis sitting there beside the mountain.

Perhaps it would later.

There were so many reasons it could...

Leaves crunched under foot.

"No," Jessica shouted, reeling her line back in. "Don't come down. I'll come up." She sighed and walked into the waves to wash the caked sand from her feet. With a flick of her wrist, she wound the last coil of line and hauled the empty hook up.

She trudged back through the narrow trail she'd carved out the other day, trying not to get scratched again by all the stray branches she'd missed. She'd forgotten how picky a woman's body could be about such things.

And even if the scratches didn't last, they still weren't pleasant.

"You weren't cold like that?" Amber tried to share her blanket.

"You keep it. I'm fine."

Amber yawned again. "I can keep you warm... or did you forget like I once did?"

"No. I just... I just don't feel very cold tonight. Something... I don't know what it is."

"I'm very tired, love. Can we please go to bed?"

"Oh. I forgot you stayed up last night." Jessica gave her a kiss. "You go on back and get some rest."

"Keep me company?" she asked sleepily.

"In a minute."

"Well I'll keep you company a while then." They sat together on the bench Antonia had carved for them and listened to the drone of the crickets.

"Are you tired?"

"Yes. But I'll be fine. Don't worry."

"How much did you sleep last night?"

"Three or four hours, I guess."

"Really? There weren't any bags under your eyes. Sorry. I didn't realize yesterday. You must have- "

"Bags?..." Her chin nodded up a bit and she squinted at Jessica. "Oh. Those dark things?" She drew a horseshoe under an eye. "We don't get those. It's not attractive, I don't guess. Like I've told you before, we don't change much... except for age..."

"Really? I used to think there was something attractive about a woman who looked harried like that. Had those sad, sagging eyes. You know?"

"I can paint them if you'd like." She yawned again.

"No. Don't... You're right of course, you're beautiful even when you don't try to be."

Amber smiled politely at her. "So where are your fish?"

"Oh." Jessica chuckled and turned to the moon again. "I kept throwing them back in... I guess maybe I'm not such a great fisherwoman- that sounds so stupid, doesn't it? 'Fisherwoman.' Can I still be a fisherman? It's not insulting is it?... Why am I asking? I'm a woman. I ought to be able to decide that for myself... no. I like being a fisherman. You don't mind calling me that, do you?"

"No," she replied. "I don't have a problem calling you a fisherman."

She stirred up Amber's fiery curls. They blazed even in this dim light. "Thanks, my little firefly."

"Uhp. I could see that coming through a forest of trees." Jessica said it again in greek. "Thank you. You're getting much better."

"Well I have a good teacher." She stroked Amber's neck. "I guess maybe I'm not that great of a fisherman. Maybe it was the same stupid fish I kept catching those four or five times. You think? Oh well..."

"It would be hard to tell, it's so dark. How did you even manage?"

Jessica stared at the thin silver crest again.

"My eyes got used to it... You know I think I can see better now... better than Jimmy, I mean." She rested her forehead in her hands. "It's happening again... No. It's gone." She glanced up at her hands. "Maybe it was nothing."

She was still wearing the gloves.

She must be quite a sight. A tall, beautiful goddess walking naked on the beach, save for her gloves and an invisible spool of wire with a shiny hook in the end.

It must have been a dumb fish to bite without any bait.

"He finally dried." Jessica blinked. "I can't feel him anymore."

"Good," Amber comforted her. "It is good?... Right?" Her head lolled drowsily.

"I guess."

Jessica stared blankly at invisible source of the periodic roaring.

Was tide coming in?

Or going out?

She couldn't remember where the ocean level was when she first went down to the beach. It was too dark to see.

Amber straightened up and blinked at the night with Jessica. "Do you feel the same personally?" she asked.

"I think maybe... Maybe I want to let others make more decisions... more than Jimmy did before he got here. I think maybe... I'm more comfortable with letting others take the initiative more. I don't know."

"There aren't many decisions to make here. You won't notice the difference." Amber yawned again. "It's a sleepy place. Most of the time."

"Yes... most of the time. Sorry. Why don't you- "

"No. I like this kind of talking... It's the stuff the night was made for. You can say things you couldn't otherwise. Everything else is silent."

"Except the crickets."

"Except for the crickets." She sighed. "I'm sorry Jimmy missed so much of it... so much of this part of the night. It's nice."

"I didn't miss out." She kissed Amber. "I have it whenever you're around."

"He's still here with me?"

"Sometimes... A lot of the times." Her hand drifted down to warm Amber's bare thigh. "Right now he is... We are." Jessica gave her a pat on the knee. "You were right. I didn't die."

"Jimmy?"

Jessica responded, but only with mild courtesy. "Sorry. Not that time. Not the name. I'm still Jessica." She sighed again, her brow furrowing as her blue eyes stabbed into the darkness. "I'm... I know who he is and I'm not him... in parts. Like right then. With the name. And then it's like he's invisible again. Hiding somewhere behind me. I can't see him."

Amber poked her with a mildly encouraging finger. "That is him, silly. It's you. That's why you can't see him."

"Oh." She turned. "But 'he's a 'she' then, right?"

"Right."

"Oh. I knew that." Her mind started to drift off to slumber with Amber's. Her hands wandered to the banister for support. "Ah!" She gripped it firmly.

"What?" Just when the stars had started twinkling again for Amber...

"For a moment... for a moment there... I didn't feel like a broken mirror inside."

"Good."

"I really like fishing." She frowned. "Though I wish his gloves fit me better." She looked them over front and back. "My gloves?" she wondered. Why would she own gloves so big? They used to fit.

"I'll make you a pair that fit better."

"Thanks love... can I still keep these?"

"Of course. They wouldn't fit anyone else." Amber tried to giggle but it came out as a lazy snort.

"Not for a while..." Jessica sighed and rested her head again on her outstretched arms.

Amber straightened beside her and scanned the skies, chin in hand. "Can I ask you something?"

"What, Amber?" Jessica blinked and tried to focus on the wooden floor as her head drooped.

"Those dark nights, under the new moon. What were they like? Being that way, I mean. During the day."

"I don't like to think about them."

"Why?"

"It's... I know I'm not supposed to be Jimmy, even though he's me and all that. I feel him right now." Jessica yawned and it skipped over to Amber. "I don't want to be a man again... but I know if Jimmy was here he would. And I'd... I'd probably give my life for him because it wasn't fair to him in the first place. But... when I think about those days all I know is that I wasn't supposed to be like that at all. It was neither of us. Jimmy didn't know where to go and neither did I. There was no real me yet either. I suppose I was in the middle of being born. Every part of my body I looked at... I knew it wasn't supposed to be."

"That day... that one day wasn't very pleasurable like they say?"

"Oh." Jessica sat back and blushed.

"What?"

"It was... it was incredible. Like I knew what it was to be both at the same time. The best of each was mixed together like a gift. But that... that thing sticking out from me. I hardly knew what to do to you with it. And it made such a mess. It was sort of embarrassing," she whispered. "Even more now that I think about it. I mean... I like my pussy. Don't you?... and then when I didn't have anything at all... the next morning..." A chill shot through her. "That was horrible. No one should have to live like that. There's no joy in the world... Even bees feel more."

"You mean..." Amber shivered as the breeze picked up and drew her blanket tighter. "You mean when you look back and see what Jimmy put in- "

"Oh no. When I think of that it's like... Well it makes me... I don't know. Dizzy sometimes. Sometimes I can even be him for a while but it's like being in someone else's head at those moments. I mean it feels normal when I remember you and him having sex. It's just not... not me. Well, parts of it aren't." She stroked Amber's arm. "But it's very beautiful... and somewhere inside I know it's mine... it's ours... you and me ours, not like that strange day or two. I don't recoil. Neither does he." She cocked her eyebrows. "Does that make sense?"

"Some."

"You know what magnets are?"

"Those little things in your compass that don't work right?"

"Yeah," Jessica laughed in revelation. "Yeah. That don't work right. Exactly like those. That day... it was like two magnets that weren't supposed to be together were mixed up."

"Oh. I think I know what you mean."

"But why do you ask about it?" Jessica folded an arm across her breast, stood and offered Amber her other hand. "You don't usually ask about difficult things like that."

"I just... I think I made a mistake about some things with Jimmy. And I didn't want us to keep our feelings about hard things from each other."

"You didn't make a mistake. There just wasn't enough time." Jessica smiled ear to ear. "And I hope you won't keep hard things from me... especially that pipe of yours."

"Our pipe? No," Amber giggled. "But not tonight." She swatted Jessica's bottom as they stood together in the night air. "You did it more than four times today, you know. Is that what irritated you?"

"More?" Her eyes rolled up to the ceiling and she tapped them out. This morning. The cave. The nap... "No. I count only three, actually."

Amber sputtered. "You can't even count your own orgasms. Jimmy really is gone."

"Oh those..." Her eyes rolled again. She really couldn't count those either. Was she supposed to? Amber kept gurgling at her. "What? I thought you meant making love? So I forgot that- "

The redhead hugged her, nuzzling her shoulder sleepily. "I'm just teasing." Amber took her hand and lead her back in.

Jessica left her breasts to the prickling touch of the air and reached between her thighs. "He may be gone but the little bastard still itches." She pinched at the velvety skin.

"I told you to take a bath with me..." Amber yawned as she crawled under the sheets. "It's OK. I like the smell."

Jessica sniffed her fingers and was taken aback. "It is rather strong."

"I like it."

"Hey sleepyhead. Is the itch gone? I told you it would be when you woke up. Everything bad usually is."

"Mm. Yeah. Mostly. Thanks for rubbing it with me." There was still a tickle between her legs, somewhere inside her. She couldn't tell which part. But it felt normal.

"Well it was either massage it for you or let you scratch yourself to death. I said not to do that..."

"I know," Jessica sighed. "I'll learn, I'm sure."

"All it takes is once and you'll learn all right.... It is a nice part of the body to touch, though," she said wistfully.

"Mmm. It is. It's very soft." Jessica opened her thighs and surveyed her more tranquil privates. "Jimmy always liked running his fingers through one..."

"I know." Amber smiled. "Since he's all inside you now and not coming out for at least nine months, how about... how about I run something else through yours?" She walked to the side of the bed, still quite naked.

"What?" Jessica smirked.

"Would you like to try a little of the pipe this time? It's sturdier and I can get more forceful with it... Would you like a little of that?"

"'Forceful.'" Jessica giggled.

Amber turned serious. "Did he really get, um, what's the word for it?- 'pissed' with me that day? About, um... being 'forceful'?"

"No," Jessica laughed. "Not once he got going... Were you really sorry you asked?" She reached out and fingered the bottom of Amber's asshole.

"No... but once of that was enough," she said, pulling Jessica's offending wrist up.

"Not even a little finger?"

"Well maybe a little finger..." she giggled. "Not any pipes."

Jessica watched the creamy mounds dangle from her lover's chest with a comfortably familiar fascination. Auburn hair swirled around her head while she knelt with a hand on the bedpost.

A white pipe came back up with her.

"Now don't get over-enthusiastic and poke this too far in me when it's my turn," she cautioned. "I don't want any white fluid coming out..."

"It'll do that?" Jessica asked.

"Yes. If you go out of your way to disturb it. What's left has moved into your womb by now... I can even wash you out if you like. I've got some vinegar around here." Amber shook the tube at her.

"Mmm. No. I'm fine. Maybe in a few days... if I need it then."

Amber sat at Jessica's feet and pushed one of her knees back. "Don't worry. The edges aren't rough." She winked. "I spent years smoothing them down."

"You!" Then curiosity got the better of her. "On you or someone else?"

"I'll never tell." Amber nipped the end of it with a steamy grin.

"Did you get the bread?"

"Yes."

"How was town?"

"OK, I guess. I didn't stay long."

"No? Why not?"

"Um... People didn't recognize me... at first. But then I guess I didn't really run into anyone I knew very well."

"Well I'll need to take this basket in to Laura this afternoon once it's finished. Would you mind going with me?"

"Not at all. It was a nice walk."

"Is something else wrong?"

Jessica frowned as she sat down next to Amber. "I can't understand conversations now when I pass people on the street."

"They're speaking Greek again."

"I know. It's frustrating."

"Sorry."

"And then I think I hear your name or mine mentioned and I don't know what they're saying."

"They talked to you in english, though, didn't they?"

"Well yes." Jessica sighed. "It's just- How long is it going to take to learn?"

"A year. Maybe two. You'll pick it up quickly, like everything else you need to know." Amber slapped her hand on the table. "Hey. I know. Would you like to learn how to weave today?"

"Don't you have to work?"

"This is work."

"Oh. Well I don't want to bother you. I mean I love spending time with you but if there's other stuff... I mean I'm sure there are other girls having to learn to weave. Should I go with them? Take a class or something? I don't want to be a special burden to anyone."

"Nonsense. Come on. I've promised someone a basket anyway... and I'll teach you a few people's greek names too..."

"That's um... that's not what's really bothering me."

"I know." Amber set the project aside. "Who'd you run into?"

"Do you remember Vanessa?"

"I don't know her well but yes. In her 30s, isn't she?"

"Yes." Jessica put her other palm on the table, opened it and shoved two small packages at Amber.

"What are they?"

"Tampax."

"Oh. Those things that washed ashore? The ones everybody fought about?"

"Yes... Go on. Take one."

"Oh no. You- "

"I said take one."

"OK." Amber picked it up and rolled it over in the light. "So I guess it's her way of telling you she won't be needing them."

"Yes... She was quite ecstatic about it when she saw me."

"Well that's sweet. They say... they say that after the new moon sometimes it's like a chorus every morning. Have you noticed it?" Amber asked, smiling. "Come here." She tugged at Jessica's hand until she was obliged to get up and sit in her lap while Amber caressed her thigh. "They say with some women it's like watching a flower open up. She looks a bit nervous the first day she's late," Amber whispered, almost seductively into her ear. "She worries if nature's playing a joke on her. Her partner cuddles her all day with an anxious arm. On the second day they're both giddy. Then on the third they say screams of delight fill the valley... I thought I've even heard one or two out here. Rachel says she has." Amber nudged her neck gently back with little kisses. "I wish we lived closer," she breathed. "I'd love to hear the songs... it's a lovely halt of the red tide... one of the few times we defeat the moon..." She kissed her cheek. "And not by old age or youth..."

Jessica stared sedately at the colored wrappers.

She didn't know quite what was inside. Jimmy'd made a point of turning his eye from such things over the years.

She would have preferred the song... perhaps another serenade at her window, such as it was now... even if it were only Amber...

Still. She didn't know what her period was like. It was a remote, if normal and vaguely hated thing in the back of her mind. Perhaps the tampons were more practical gifts.

She did dislike it, without even tasting it. Perhaps not with a passion, but a feeling of definite inconvenience was there. Was it built in to all women? Maybe just her. Surely children worried about it but it didn't haunt their mind like a shadow.

It was the last unnamed thing waiting to greet her. A regular flow of blood from her normal nothingness...

Would she ever think of it the way Miranda did? As a friend? As the honorable badge of her gender?

As a woman?

"So why aren't you happier about it?" Amber asked, after another useless kiss.

"You know who else I ran into?" she replied softly.

"No."

"Rose."

"Oh." Amber brushed her hazel hair. "I heard."

Her eyes had turned the color of the blood flowing again between her thighs.

She was such a gentle woman, too. One of the nicest ones he'd met.

Jessica had wandered the path back to home and Amber, aimlessness and mourning like a family member had abruptly died.

Why hadn't they prepared her?

"Most women didn't conceive. You should let it go."

"I know."

"She was very happy for those few minutes with Jimmy. Isn't that enough?"

"She wanted a child, though."

"I'm sure she'll have one in the fullness of time. She's young."

"What about you?"

"We will too, in time. And when I have my son, you know what I'll name him?"

Jessica shook her head.

"James." Amber brushed her cheek. "There now. There's no need."

Jessica sniffed. "He let her down."

"No he didn't. She's not mad at him or you. I know for a fact your time with her touched her greatly. Some women set their hearts though on things they can't have. She needs to wait longer. That's all... So many women have already found out, you know. They managed to put it behind them while Jimmy was still here. I know I did..."

"You were sad too."

"I was sad for Jimmy, love. Not myself... It's why I..." She sighed. "I asked Andrea to tell him what she did." Jessica turned slightly and glanced at her, but the contact didn't last long. "I knew he liked her very much and she could give him that instant of fatherhood he wanted. It wasn't for myself."

"You stayed away."

"I stayed away so he wouldn't find out, not because I was mourning. I'm not that kind of girl. You know that... I wouldn't have denied myself to him for any other reason..." She ran a comforting palm over Jessica's stomach. "Many were happy just to know him... to know you. They didn't tell him or stay away either. They put their disappointment behind them, richer just for having had him those few minutes. Their lives are still complete without a child... It's not your responsibility anyway... nor is it theirs. The moon imprisons us all. No one knows its purpose."

Amber fell silent, resting her chin on Jessica's shoulder. She did nothing but stroke her arms, sighing warmly into her silky hair.

His time with Rose was suddenly so bitter. It mocked her now, like a perversion.

Would it be that way with other women she met on the street?

She could probably pick them out now. He'd made such a valiant effort at memorizing every name and face. He tried to tuck away something special about each one, just to be kind and polite if nothing else. She could count back the days and watch each one like a detective if she cared.

But how would she know what each one felt anymore? Those precious hours of intimacy had slipped through her fingers.

They were hiding it from her.

Why hadn't they told him it would be like this? He would have tried so much harder...

And yet... she wasn't nagged by some personal responsibility. That realization still numbed her.

Shouldn't she stick up for him? At least bear his guilt?

All she could think about was whether he should have tried harder for herself. Could he have even?

He'd left her with Amber. Perhaps that was enough.

She'd soon know.

But was it ever her lottery to participate in? They tricked him into one last girl.

'Spread too thin.'

Did she finally understand why Amber tried to say no to him all those times?

What if she had said no to him too? What if Jessica had passed in the cave? Would there be one more smiling face right now instead of a crying one? Had she robbed someone by accepting Rachel's gift?

Was that why some of the women cried?

Whose gift was it to give?

"Julius has been asking about you. He wants to know when you'll come talk to the class."

'Talk to the class again'... Wasn't that what Amber should have said?

Why hadn't she?

Jessica was silent a moment. "What would I say? I feel like I have amnesia, only I remember a different person's past..."

"No you don't," Amber needled her. "I know it's not that way for you... But it's only been a few days. If you want to wait until you're more comfortable-"

"No. No I'd... I'd really like to. They're nice children and I miss them. I enjoy being around them... only I think about it now... and there are a few different emotions running through me."

"I know." Amber kissed her.

"Jimmy really loved- "

"I know." Amber kissed her again as a tear rolled down her cheek. "You do to. That part's yours too. Don't be tricked into thinking it's not."

"He's... he's not going to look at me the same way..."

"Yeah, I know." She pinched Jessica. "He'll probably like you even more now."

"You think?" Jessica grinned, sniffling just a bit.

"Yeah. You're a lot prettier. I bet all the little boys start chasing you. And it won't be for that stupid soccer ball."

"You!" She pushed Amber's hand away.

"Jimmy did say it was the only other place to pick up boys on the island... well I guess it's the only one now." She rapped Jessica's skull with a knuckle. "What do you say, Jimmy? You think she's pretty enough?... She did get an awful big thrill from that man in the magazine..."

"Stop!" She giggled. "I can tickle too!" she threatened, wiggling her fingers at Amber.

"Some other time." Amber leapt out of range. "We have to get ready for class." She tugged at the sluggish brunette. "Come bathe with me in the stream first."

"You want me to go now?"

"Yes. It's my first day back teaching. I'd like you to come with me... Please?"

"OK."

Julius watched from afar how the strange woman held hands with Amber. Like the smart boy he was, he formed a theory and ran up to them.

"Were you Jimmy?" he prodded, tugging on her robe in case she hadn't heard. She nodded and shook his hand. "What's your name?"

"Jessica," she said.

"Will you still play ball with us, Jessica?"

"Sure. If you'd like."

"I bet you throw like a girl."

"You're probably right." She tousled his hair.

"Good. At least you won't have to let me win this time."

"Hey now!" She grinned impishly and scooped him up

Amber lent her shoulder a steady hand, for which she was oddly grateful. She wouldn't fall over but he was much heavier than she remembered.

Jessica tweaked the little boy's nose. "I bet I can throw you like a girl!"

She twirled around until the world spun the way she felt inside.

Peels of young laughter filled her ears.

She set him down after a few rotations before her own version of the spinning took hold in her temple.

Like a little top, the boy latched on to Amber's hand and promptly ran circles around her.

Jessica shrugged and grinned apologetically. "Guess I shouldn't have wound him up."

"So that's what it's called?" she gasped. "I'm glad I know the name... Now I can ask you not to do it."

Like a whip the boy snapped to a halt, sending the laughing redhead careening. Jessica grabbed ahold of her wife and watched the green color spread outward from her shaking eyes.

Julius continued running loops around them.

"Careful, hon. She just ate breakfast."

"You're right," whispered a frazzled Amber. "It's not fun being dizzy."

Jessica gave her a kiss. "No. It's not." She pulled back and blushed, peeking at the boy from the side.

"It's OK," Amber whispered. "He's seen his mother do the same."

"Oh."

Her eyes stopped rattling around and Julius returned with that demanding voice unique to children. "Hey. Can we go catch snakes?" he giggled. "You never did do that with me. You promised."

Ick. "Sure we can, sweety... ifff it's OK with your mom." Amber squeezed her arm and subtly shook her head. "I think I said lizards, though. There aren't enough snakes to catch."

"OK." The boy yanked on her arms until they threatened to leave their sockets.

She realized how fortunate it was they didn't have coffee on the island.

Then again, maybe not. She could certainly use some...

"Why don't you run along to class, sweety? We're going that way now. Think you can beat us?"

He dashed off.

Yeah. That always worked.

Good thing he didn't drop his pants first. But then he was always one of the brighter ones.

"Uhh..." Amber caught her breath. "I think you made the wrong choice in the cave."

"No I didn't." Jessica squinted at her. "Watch it or I'll swing you around."

"Please. Not again. Rachel will turn me into a lesson about how the stomach works."

"Yuck."

Other boys swept by them in a sea of flesh surging into the school house, followed closely by a slower but equally enthusiastic group of girls. The mothers turned, one by one, and left the playground. A few even waved to her.

Renee did.

Then with a wink, she walked off like the rest.

"Come on. Lean on me," She stroked Amber's unsure arm. "I look frail but I'm pretty sturdy."

The redhead giggled. "You are today." They inched forward, gingerly, until she felt well enough to take her red curls from Jessica's chest.

"Feel better yet?"

"Yes." Amber planted her feet squarely on the ground, took stock of everything and blinked. Her gills were nice and rosy again. "I'll be fine." She made some tentative baby steps toward the school, then turned and kissed Jessica on the lips once more. "Are you sure you'll be OK?"

"I should... as long as they don't ask me how to please a man in bed." Jessica managed a weak smile. "Or drop my shorts again."

"I tell you what. You hold my hand and if you start feeling queasy, give me a little pinch, OK?"

"OK."

"But since nothing's off limits today, they're probably going to ask you all sorts of stupid, boring stuff."

Jessica chuckled. "It's OK. There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers."

"Huh. That's so profound. Was that in one of those cookies?"

"I don't know. Probably. But it's still true."

The children's screams shifted into high gear.

"Come on. We can't leave them alone in there all day."

"Nope. Even babies pop out."

Amber shot her a sidelong smirk as they walked to the door. Then she slipped ahead and led Jessica by the hand through the narrow aisle. Each row fell silent as their redheaded teacher passed by. She sat on the desk and offered Jessica the more comfortable stool beside it, hiding their joined hands under a fold in her toga.

"Hi, class. It's good to see all of you again." Dozens of little "hi"s and "hello"s flew back at her. "How did you enjoy Susan? Was she nice?"

She certainly was, Jessica thought to herself. She bit her unfaithful tongue as the class responded in the affirmative too. Did they know her that well?

Amber must have seen her. "Stop," she whispered.

"Sorry."

"Did you learn a lot from Susan?" More "yes"s. "She said you behaved very well. I'm quite proud of you." Amber cleared her throat. "Well as a treat I thought I'd bring back someone you haven't seen in a long time. Class, this is Jessica. Susan said she talked to you about her yesterday. Is that right?" The kids all nodded dutifully. "Good. Well she's going to chat with you about whatever you want to talk about. Just remember to be polite."

"Are you going to play ball with us again?" "Yeah." "Yeah."

It was a group of boys sitting in the back with Julius. He knew better than to ask, though. He just sat there with a huge grin plastered to his face.

Jessica leaned in as Amber cupped her ear. "A little is OK," she whispered, "but take it easy."

Her lover leaned away again and Jessica raised her voice. "Sure, sweety. A little bit of ball would be fine. But I have to warn you, I haven't played yet so give me a fair chance." The boys giggled proudly. "I guess to be fair, the girls get to play too."

"Awww..." "Yay..."

"But they can't beat up on me either."

A few snickers. Amber grinned cheerfully and flicked some curls from her forehead.

Then there was a long stretch of quiet.

Jessica examined each of the little faces the same way they did with her, flipping their expressions over in her mind to see how they'd changed at all.

She liked Jimmy's memories for once. They seemed to fit.

"Do you miss your thing?"

"Hm? It was Jimmy's thing, sweety, not mine. I'm a girl." She did miss it, of course... but not pointing in the direction the boy meant.

"Oh. So Jimmy's not around anymore? He's dead?"

"No... not really. I'm here. I'm a she, though." Jessica nodded pleasantly.

"What's it like being a girl?" asked one of the boys in the back.

"OK, I guess. I haven't been one but for a few days."

She smiled and brushed a lock of hair back. The female students were quiet as death.

"Is it like you're still Jimmy somewhere?" Another boy. "You act sort of the same."

"Really?" Jessica scratched her chin. "Something like that..."

Finally a girl raised her hand. "Yes, sweety?"

"Did you and Amber get married?"

Had they?

She glanced anxiously at Amber, who nodded. "Yes. We are. Sorry," she said as much to Amber as anyone. "I don't understand all the island's customs yet..."

"You don't look like Jimmy," one of the girls pointed out.

Jessica shook uncontrollably in laughter. She put a hand over her mouth and felt her wife's comforting arm creep around her waist. "You're right about that," she snickered.

They waited politely for the sandy brunette to calm down, giggling a little with her to put her at ease.

"Do you want to be called Jimmy?"

"No, sweety. I'm Jessica."

"Oh." It was Julius in the back of the class.

'Oh.'

She remembered plain as day how he'd said that same thing to her last month on that bench.

That was her with him, wasn't it? Not just Jimmy?

Was Julius right?

Would she not be able to answer his questions now? Were there some things men wouldn't talk to women about? "Now, son. When you go out and get laid for the first time..." Jessica chuckled. Maybe he was right.

And yet... there was that little part in her that knew Jimmy would have said it just that way. She had just said it that way in her own head: "Get laid, boy." She chuckled again.

How could she laugh at herself if she was the one saying such things?

Was it her?

Who was she?

Jessica looked at the ceiling and then out the window, facing the soft breeze that blew in from the ocean... the ocean she'd never again travel...

Had she ever?

Was that really someone else?

Could it be if she knew what it was like to smell the oil from an outboard motor?

But the hands on the rudder were so thick and hairy...

"Huh?"

"Is the world really round?"

"How far is it to land?"

"How far is the moon?"

"Do we go around the sun?" "No way." "Uh-huh." "They say a man walked on the moon once." "A man..."

"Dang. Beat me again."

She never thought she'd hear herself saying it, but life would be so much easier with a bra.

Jessica sighed and put her hands on her thighs, bent over and tried to catch her breath.

At least the rocks weren't as hard on her feet. Linda was right. Being an islander did have its perks.

"One of these days I'll figure out how to run and you'll be in trouble."

"How come you don't know?" all the little boys asked.

She frowned. "I haven't had these legs very long. I don't have my balance yet. But it feels strangely like riding a bike after a few years."

"What's a bike?"

Jessica snickered. "Let me sit down a minute and have a drink. You go and play some without me. I'll watch you."

"Awww..." But they ran for the goal again... even the girls, who showed no such signs of slowing down.

She gasped as she plopped down next to Amber on the log. Her wife acknowledged her with a polite smile but continued to watch the children intently.

"This isn't as easy as I thought," she confided.

"No... it's not. I'm afraid you didn't get a very athletic body. Sorry."

"Ohhhhh..." she drawled. "It's OK. At least I'm sexy."

"Yes, you are." Amber squeezed her hand. "It does have other compensations... but you need to be careful running around honey."

"I am. I'll figure my legs out, I'm sure."

"No..." Amber whispered. "Remember Jimmy?" She tapped Jessica's navel and looked out at the kids again.

"Oh... OH. Really?"

She just nodded as her smiling green eyes followed the ball.

"OK... You're right of course. Thanks for reminding me." Was this another one of those firsts that should feel so oddly normal? It didn't. Jessica chewed at her lip and turned again to the school teacher. "What else do I have to do?"

"Just take it easy. Try not to fall or exert yourself... and... for a while at least... if you play games with the children, try to play like a sissy, OK? Just for me?" She pinched Jessica's thigh. "You still gave some of the boys fits out there," Amber smirked. "They really thought you were going to let them win too."

"Shh. Don't tell them." Jessica laughed. "It's my excuse if anyone asks."

She gasped and tried to chase down her breath again.

Sooooome perks.

And she wasn't heaving half as bad as Andrea after the race.

That banana. She'd definitely keep the banana in mind.

She'd have to use it soon too, at this rate. Too bad it wouldn't work on the kids.

It probably wouldn't do much good now with the adults, either. About five seconds worth of tittering is what it would buy her.

She sighed. It wasn't Jimmy's fault. He couldn't have understood why.

Well, some of his other ideas would work fine, she was sure. The little inlet would make a nice dock, like he'd thought. That had nothing to do with gender.

Provided that wasn't the only fish out there. Poor thing. If it was, it must have about six holes in its mouth by now.

Clara broke off from the dusty throng of arms and legs, probably heading for the jug of water.

Come to think of it, she could use-

No.

"Hi Clara."

"Hi."

"What are you up to? Going to peek under my dress again?" The ten year old simply shook her head. "What's wrong? You don't look very happy."

"I just want to say I'm sorry."

"About what, sweety?"

"About what happened to you. Not being a man anymore."

"Don't be. I'm plenty happy."

"Oh." Clara rolled a rock over with her toe, inspecting it. "Well... can I still be sorry for Jimmy, then?"

"Sure... sure. Come here." She took the little girl in her lap and squeezed her cheek. "I feel that way too. So does Amber."

"So you want to be Jimmy again?"

Jessica sighed and gazed off at the unfocused green treetops. "I want the curse to vanish for all of us, sweetheart... even you."

"Me?"

"You'll understand when you're older."

She gently rocked Clara on her knee, enjoying the way her head rested on the cushions of her chest and the small, soft hand clutching at the side of her throat.

She liked having wide hips. It was easier to cradle a child in her lap than it had been for Jimmy. And it was the more fun for it. Carrying them might not be effortless but sitting here like this was definitely more comfortable. And for some reason it would be even sweeter if she could get Clara to sleep like this.

Her thighs were finally good for something. She could take her time watching a child's face up close from this position... and take her time visiting too. Just talking. And she didn't have to worry about anything getting squished between her legs.

But was that exactly true? Maybe Jimmy just hadn't had the time to be so relaxed about- "Ohp."

Clara lassoed her neck.

"Hey!" "Hey!" "We'll be nice." "Come back and play with us..." "Yeah!"

"Oh it's nice of you to ask but I shouldn't, honey."

"Why?"

"I just remembered. I might be pregnant. I shouldn't be running a lot."

"Really?" "Oh." "Already?"

"Yes."

"Oh." "Who'd you sleep with?" "Who's the father?" "You?" "Can you do that?"

"No," she chuckled. "It's Jimmy, dear."

"But how did you- "

Jessica sighed. "Rachel can explain it better than I can. Why don't you go play and I'll watch. I'm kind of tired of talking, aren't you?"

"Well can Amber play?"

"No, honey. I could be pregnant too." She smiled. "Maybe next month, though."

"Julius?"

"What, Jessica?"

"Can I talk to him a minute, Renee?"

"Sure, honey."

Renee passed his hand over to her with a smile.

And a certain gleam in her eye.

No matter what, Jessica still couldn't help seeing her the way Jimmy had. A month ago, the mother had stood in front of him (a little shorter, of course) with a demure if enticing proposition for a roll in the hay. Now she looked like she'd lean over and confide her pot-roast recipe. Not much had changed about the woman.

At least her bribes were tasty.

Strangely, though, Jessica did want the recipe.

The woman knew her art well.

"Hey, sweety. You want to go talk with me for a minute?"

Julius nodded like an obedient pupil, looking up at the sandy haired brunette who loomed over him and blotted out the sun. The two of them walked hand in hand to one of the lunch tables where she sat him in her lap.

"Remember you said there were some questions you didn't feel right asking Andrew?"

"You mean Althea?"

"Yeah. Althea." She combed the kinks out of his dirty hair. "I want you to ask me whenever you have them, like you would have done with Jimmy. I may not... Jimmy may not be inside me here- " She tapped her chest. "I don't know how it all works- but I do know what he'd say. I can try to be just as good. All right?"

"So he's gone?"