A Long Time Coming [Fiction]

[Lolly]

:O Do I sense some naughtyness going on?

[erick92]

I like how this is going. How subtle she is at giving him messages without even needing to say a word. I hope Paul doesn't wake up when they're at the pool.

[HSsportsstar 1]

Ive been a reader of this story since the beginning, but every addition to the story just makes it better an better, cant wait for the next part

[interesting]

(Thanks to all who commented; it's nice to get some feedback. I know this story has been very slowly building up to something like this. I didn't want to rush it, and I certainly didn't want to rush my characters. I don't know what any of you are really expecting, so I'll just let the story speak for itself, and I hope you appreciate it, as much as I appreciate you.)

'Meet me at the pool after two AM, once everyone is asleep. Please.'

It was barely one AM and already I was unable to stand still. Paul had fallen asleep; at least, that's what his snoring hinted at. I was wide awake. The noise he was making was actually helping me stay awake.

For the past hour, I had been trying to think of nothing. I didn't want to get my hopes up, I didn't want to build up any expectations of what might happen. I wanted to remain as grounded as possible. Given the range of possibilities, it was better to assume nothing. If my expectations fell short and I ended up disappointed, I couldn't have handled it. I had to leave my mind as blank as possible. The thing was, I couldn't.

My mind kept racing over the events of the day. Danielle. Rita. The pool in the afternoon. Watching us play our games. The fire. The truth game. My unease; Danielle's hand on my shoulder. The other swim. The truth or dare game. And then the note.

Mostly, my mind kept on revisiting the many stares and eye contacts I had shared with Danielle over the entire day: subtle hints, more overt glances and downright challenging and inviting stares. They all spoke volumes of some kind of relationship towards me, the details of which I couldn't exactly get a hold on.

One and five minutes. I couldn't remain in bed any longer. Silently, I climbed out of bed and got up; I pulled Paul's door open as little as I could so I could slip through the opening. It didn't make a sound. I walked across the wooden floor as gently as I could, making my way into the kitchen. Whatever fatigue I might have accumulated was not manifesting itself at the moment. I entered the kitchen and, without opening the light, headed for the refrigerator. The light shone when I opened the door; I poured myself a glass of juice and went to sit down at the dining room table.

The house was oddly silent. I expected it to creak and moan; it was after all a large, rather open wooden house. It was quiet tonight. Perhaps it was reading my mood and playing along. In any event, the sense of quiet could not hide my anxiety. Should I go back to bed after my drink, or just sit around and wait for Danielle to show herself.

I lowered my head onto the table, resting my eyes for a moment; a creak on the stairs made me look up. I froze. It was too early. Was she early? I didn't move from my spot. A large, lumbering figure made its way towards the kitchen. It wasn't her. What was going on?

The light came on in the kitchen; their father was somewhat startled to see me sitting in the dining room. He was wearing a large bedrobe, scratching his beard as he stared at me.

"What are you doing up?"
"Couldn't sleep. Decided to get a glass of juice."
"You should get a glass of milk."

His deep voice seemed to echo in the house; I wondered if it would wake anyone up?

He got into the kitchen, reached into the refrigerator and pulled out condiments, stuff to make a sandwich. I watched him as he cut off tomato slices, tore off a piece of lettuce, chopped a piece of cheddar and placed the lot in between two slices of white bread, which he then proceeded to put in the toaster oven. All the while, not a word was said. Once his sandwich was toasting, he turned to me.

"You okay, son?"
"Sure."
"You don't look okay. Want to talk about it?"

Talk about it? What could I tell him? Well, sir, I have a date near the swimming pool at two AM with your daughter who is four years younger than me. No, it wasn't my idea, it was hers. No sir, I have no idea what she wants.

I must have smiled from my inner monologue because he smiled too.

"You look like you have something on your mind."

The toaster beeped, telling him that his sandwich was ready. He retrieved it and came to sit down at the kitchen table. I didn't want to answer him, yet somehow, I didn't want to cut him out either. I needed to find a way to get things off my chest. I need to explain to someone what I was going through. But how could I, especially to him?

"You know, Frank, you've been Paul's friend for a few years now."
"I have."
"He doesn't see you as often as he would, but we manage."
"I suppose so."
"I guess what I'm saying is you have to treasure the moments you have with the people you like, right?"

I smiled at him. He was making sense, even if his revelations weren't earth-shattering.

"Can I ask you something, sir?"
"Of course."
"Why is everything so complicated?"
"Everything? You mean life?"
"Yes. Why is there always something that gets in the way of happiness, or just fun, or... I don't know... just something?"
"I think it's because we let these things get to us."

He took a bite out of his sandwich before continuing.

"Look at me. I've got a steady job, a big house - but there's always something bugging me. New taxes, problems at work. There will always be something, Frank. I think the trick is not to let it get you down."
"But what if you want something, or need something, but you can't get it because either it belongs to someone else, or it's not right for you to have it, or...?"

He interrupted me with his hand.

"I guess it all depends how badly you want it."

He took another bite.

"The way I see it, son, when you have to make a choice, you have to go with your gut. Not always, reason is good too, but mostly your gut. Your gut will tell you what to do. What choices to make."
"It's so frustrating sometimes, not being able to... connect with others."
"This about friends?"
"Yes. And no. It's about everything."
"What does your gut tell you right now?"
"About what?"
"About whatever your problem is, the one that's keeping you awake."
"That I should wait and see..."

He nodded, as if he agreed with me. I wondered if he actually had a hint of what I was referring to, but how could he?

"Then that's what you should do. Besides, you're still young, you know. You still have plenty of time to make mistakes and learn from them."

His smile was reassuring. There was an odd and eerie feeling emanating from the conversation. He gulped down the last pieces of his sandwich.

"You should get to bed."
"I will. I just need to clear the air."
"If you want to, go take a dip. When I can't sleep, I get in the water and relax for a couple of minutes... then I sleep like a baby."
"Thanks. I may do that."

He got up, put his dirty dishes away. He placed his burly hand on my shoulder, then gave me a pat on the back while heading upstairs. I listened for his footsteps, waiting for him to return to his room. The smell of his sandwich had made me hungry. I decided to prepare myself a light snack. I retrieved two slices of bread, the peanut butter jar, the caramel and proceeded to make myself a peanut butter-caramel sandwich, which I took my time to eat.

I put my own dirty dishes away, then looked towards the swimming pool and headed in. So what if I was early? I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. Their father had granted me permission; why shouldn't I take advantage of it? My only hope was that Paul wouldn't notice. He was a heavy sleeper, but one could never tell. As I neared the water, I realized I was still in my pajamas, and my swimsuit was nowhere in sight.

For a long moment, I hesitated on what to do. I noticed a towel resting on the window sill. I retrieved it and placed it near the deep end of the pool, With some excitement, I pulled off my pajamas and my underwear, and I entered the pool naked. I was aware that Danielle would be coming over - but my nudity wasn't intended to be provocative at all. I wouldn't allow her to see me naked; which was why I had left the towel so near the edge, ready to retrieve it to cover myself, even if it meant soaking it.

It was roughly one thirty in the morning. I still had about half an hour to kill before Danielle would show herself, if she hadn't lied to me. I had no way to know, but my gut told me that she would show.

Her father was right: following my gut, which was telling me not to fret, not to imagine anything but to just wait it out and see what she had in store, that was the right thing to do.

So I swam naked in the swimming pool, and I felt liberated.

[erick92]

Extremely good installment. You sure are good at cliff hangers... Very excited for the next part.

[LucyU00000]

I really like this story its refreshing to read a story thats not full on sexual or black mail. so do continue, i cant take the suspense much longer :P.....

Ps: Poor Frank lol

[HSsportsstar 1]

fantastic as always, the build up is definately what makes this story unique, cant wait for more.

[interesting]

Just a quick note: I won't be able to update this (or any other) until at the very least Thursday evening.

So to my wonderful readers, please be patient, I'm in the throes of the final chapters of my masters' thesis at university, and they unfortunately have to take priority.

I'll be back once the dust clears...

[interesting]

Swimming back and forth in the large indoor pool, completely naked except for my dignity perhaps, I felt at ease. The entire day had taken its toll and my body wanted to sleep, but my mind refused to let it happen. Too much was riding on the next few minutes.

I had come to Paul's house with little expectation more than to have fun with our stories and our music. We'd watched movies, played video games and hung out at the pool, pretty standard stuff. Danielle had been friendly but distant on the first day, not an unexpected reaction given the lack of connectedness we shared.

But today, the second day, had been a roller coaster of emotions, from the moment that Rita had set foot inside the house. She had changed the whole relationship of the household between herself and Paul, Danielle and me, and what else. I was now certain she had goaded Danielle into hanging out with us in the living room, in the pool, near the fire outside. I felt her invisible hand still reaching into the events I was anticipating, Danielle's upcoming visit. For a moment, I wondered if she would be there, but I thought not. This was to be between Danielle and me. All day, we had been prancing and dancing around each other, afraid to get close, eager to try. It wasn't reasonable and maybe it wasn't even right, given our age difference (which I tried to remind myself was only four years, but still), but that was part of the thrill.

Everytime I thought of Danielle's arrival, I became slightly aroused. The water, fortunately, helped dull my senses and prevented me from having a full-on erection. I didn't want to have one when she came in. I didn't want to anticipate anything. I wanted to follow her father's advice, ironically. Had he known what I was inquiring, he might not have been so forthcoming with his words.

And then there was always the possibility of getting caught. That, possibly more than anything else, made this night utterly unpredictable. What would I do if Paul came about? Their mother? Their father? Rita? I had no idea how Danielle would present herself. Maybe she would be in her pajamas. Maybe she would be in a swimsuit. Maybe, like me, she would only have a towel...

It was so hard not to prepare for whatever was coming my way, despite my complete lack of knowledge as to what that could be. I couldn't contain my excitement. I knew I had to find some way to expunge my excess energy. I knew somehow, I had to find a means of release, before the anticipation got me all riled up.

I did something then which, in retrospect, may not have been the brightest idea, but at the time, it felt normal and, even if it might have been inappropriate, it did help me through my ordeal. I reached down into the water and made myself hard; my mind drifted to my earlier thoughts of a more mature Danielle and I did what I had to do to relieve my stress. The water wasn't cold, just somewhat cool, but I felt it get warmer as I went about my business. It didn't take me long to reach my climax; I was wound up so tightly that the process took its natural course within minutes.

I felt my release calm my nerves completely. I almost laughed out of nervousness. I couldn't really believe what I had just done.

Thinking about it now, after the fact, I realize it was best to do it before Danielle showed up. I might have been better off going into the bathroom stall adjacent to the pool, and not do it in the water, but that's only in hindsight, and it's easy to claim after the fact.

I swam around the pool with more ease than before, completely unrepentant in my nudity. So what if Danielle came about and saw a lump of flesh reflected in the surface of the water. There was no shame. I would cover up for her benefit anyway.

It was on those thoughts that I heard the creaking of the door. I swam quickly to the deep end, where I had left the towel, leaning against the side so whoever came in could not see I was naked. If it was anyone but Danielle, it would be disaster.

It was her. She closed the door gently and walked up towards the pool, completely wrapped in a towel from her breasts to her ankles. She smiled at me as she edged near the side, but some distance from me. I felt completely calm for a moment, but then I noticed that I could not see the bra straps of a bikini top - which made me think that she probably wore absolutely nothing under the towel.

I gulped. She was here. It was a bit before two AM and she had kept her part of the bargain.

"Hi."
"Hi."

We didn't exchange any words for the next few minutes, simply staring past each other in order to avoid each other's gaze while keeping our attention trained on the other.

She was here, and now I had nowhere to go.

[erick92]

Very good. Is the ending coming up in the next few posts, or do you have more planned after this whole ordeal is done?

Again, can't wait for the next part.

[interesting]

To answer your question, Erick, I'll give you a few hints.

The title is called 'A Long Time Coming'.

The story starts when Frank and Danielle meet up, several years later after the tale my narrator Frank is retelling for your benefit.

Ask yourself this: what is it exactly that could be 'a long time coming'?

Thanks for your continued interest.

[Desril]

I just read through the entire story so far, and I'm really impressed, this is easily one of my favorite stories on this site.

[interesting]

Thank you, Desril. It's very much appreciated.

More to come very soon.

[interesting]

There are moments in one's life when everything feels right. There are also moments of clarity where an individual does not question his purpose in the world.

That moment when Danielle and myself were staring at each other was one such, and I will remember it for as long as my memory allows. The moment didn't need words, and its perfection could only be altered by our exchanges. Neither of us wanted to break the perfect harmony that dwelled around the pool - but both of us also knew that moments like that are not meant to last an eternity.

I saw Danielle move near the water, towards the middle section of the pool. She crouched and sat on the edge, getting her feet wet. I remained some distance from her, in the deep end, still naked under the blanket of water. I didn't want to move. I didn't want to tempt fate.

"It's nice to see you."

That was all I could muster. I knew my words would break the moment, but I wanted this to proceed, go along whatever path was intended for it. I had been on the receiving end of many heartbreaks in my life, and if this was going to be one of them, I wanted it over quickly. And if Danielle's presence was for another reason, well, I wanted to know that too.

"Same."

She didn't say much, staring into the water. She was definitely uneasy with the situation. Perhaps she knew I was naked. Perhaps she was naked herself under the towel.

"Do you want me to come out of the water?"
"No."

She paused, looking straight at me.

"I'll join you."

She looked left and right, obviously still unsure of her situation.

"Can you turn around... please?"
"Of course."

I did. I looked away from her. I heard the splashing of the water. I wasn't really tempted to look; I didn't want to rush the moment or ruin it. I kept looking away while I heard her swim about.

"You can turn around now."

She had swum to the other side of the pool, also in the deep end. She held on to the edge, her back towards me, her head tilted sideways. I couldn't help but not notice any clothing marks through the oscillating water. She was naked, or at the very least topless. I took a deep breath; I felt an erection coming up. I wondered if she could see I didn't have any bottom. I didn't want to focus on her blurred lower section, for fear of finding out for myself. Perhaps she was feeling the same restraint.

"This is..."

I didn't know what to add. She tried to smile but she was clearly very shy about what was going on.

"Do you really want to be here?"

I cared for her so deeply that I preferred that nothing more happened, instead of this situation potentially messing up whatever relationship we had. But she tried to assuage my fears.

"Yes... I'm just... It's kind of new to me."
"It's very new to me too."
"It's just... Rita..."
"Did she put you up to this? Because, I don't want you to do anything that..."
"Don't worry. I'm... I don't plan... I'm here. I want to be. She just... gave me a little nudge."

I tried to smile and lighten the mood, but my choice of topic might not have been the best.

"I wouldn't want your dad to find us here..."

Her silence made me feel like I had said something wrong.

"Actually, Rita is looking out."
"She is?"
"Yeah... well... sort of. Anyway, it's not important."
"What is then? Why are we here, Danielle?"

I didn't want to sound so direct. I couldn't help it. I just wanted to understand why I was swimming naked in the pool with an equally naked Danielle, and where exactly this was going. She managed a smile, a sincere one.

"You're here because... I like you. And I think you like me too."
"I do. I really do... just..."
"Just what?..."
"How can I say this without sounding completely old fashionned?"
"Our age difference?"
"Well, yes..."
"It's not that big a deal. I mean, I'll be fourteen in just a few weeks, you turned seventeen, what..."
"Two months ago."
"...two months ago."

As Danielle spoke, she tilted her whole body slowly towards me. Three metres separated us in the water; still, I could see the curve of her breasts rise above the water. I tried to keep my thoughts to the conversation, but my body was clearly turned on by the idea of her nudity, so close to me, so close to mine.

"It's not that big a deal, as I was saying."
"It matters to me... and there's..."
"I know. You know, before this visit, I never even thought of you that way."
"What happened? What changed?"
"I did. I think. And Rita... Rita is special."
"I can see that."
"She's already... had sex, you know?"
"No, I didn't."
"Yeah... anyway, she says she's not going to have it again until she's at least sixteen."
"That's good..."
"And I don't really want to have sex... I mean, I'm a... you know..."
"I know. I am too."
"And I'm in no rush to... have sex... it's just..."

She paused. She was having a hard time talking. I tried to be understanding in my answer.

"Hey... no rush, Danielle. You shouldn't until you're ready. I mean... until it means something and you know what you want."
"I know... and... it's just that Rita got me thinking... about you."
"About me?"
"Yeah. I kind of like you, and you're nice... and Paul really likes you, you're sort of his best friend."
"I used to be."
"Still... it's so awkward, feeling like this and... I guess, I just wanted to see if you would be here. And you are..."

I could see she was blushing. I was both flattered and flustered with the entire event. It felt great to finally connect with a girl, with someone for whom I cared and who meant something to me, but at the same time I didn't want to exploit it, and I was certain that, given my maturity, I could. She would probably submit to my charms, given the state of confusion she was in. It wasn't really an issue in my book: I could never take advantage of her, no matter the situation, but it was still somewhat ironic that my first true connection with a girl had to occur under these circumstances.

"That's right, I am. Because I care about you, Danielle. I do. I think you know that."
"Is it love?"
"I don't think we can call what we have love. I think... maybe... you like me because I'm nice to you, and I don't beat up on you like Paul does."
"You are kind of cute."

It was my turn to blush, but I also replied.

"And you're very pretty. You're going to grow up to be such a beautiful woman, I can see it from here."
"I always felt like you were watching me."
"I guess I was. But Danielle, I don't want to hurt you. I'm leaving tomorrow. I'm not going to see you for another year, at least..."

I didn't want to mention to her that I thought this would be the last time that Paul would invite me over. I didn't want to share my uncertainties about my relationship with him. I also didn't want to use her as a means to remain connected with the family, even if I did to some extent. It was so hard coming to grips with all of these different desires.

"And the other thing is, if... if you like me, it's fine, but you're still young, you still have a lot of time to learn about love and relationships, and..."

I fell silent. Why was I backing away from this when all I really wanted was to swim up to her and hold her in my arms? I would be content with simply that. I would be content with a kiss on the cheek. I was pushing her away. It was really the only sensible thing to do.

"Frank, I'm here because I wanted some time alone with you. I know you enjoy our pool so I thought it was best to meet here. Let's face it, we won't really have a chance to talk tomorrow."
"True. I leave right after lunch."
"There. Let's just hang out."
"Here?"
"Yeah."

She smiled. The shyness was slowly leaving her face. She was starting to get comfortable with me. The obvious question returned to my head, so I decided to ask. As long as we were being honest, I felt I could ask it. And if she deemed it inappropriate, I felt she would accept an apology.

"Are you naked?"

She blushed.

"Yes. Are you?"

I froze. I had actually not anticipated her asking me the same question. I blurted out a positive answer, which made her laugh. She came back with her own question.

"Does it bother you?"
"No. I mean... it's unexpected. But no."
"Would you like to see more of me?"

I had to take a deep breath before answering that one.

"Maybe not just yet."

She smiled.

"Probably better this way."

She swam to the shallow end, mindful to keep the whole of her body under the water at all times. I followed her movements, mindful to watch one of her buttcheeks peer out of the water, but nothing such happened. When she got to the edge of the shallow end, she sat down. The water actually arrived exactly above the edge of her breasts. It made me smile.

I started swimming towards her. I didn't care so much if my ass stood out. I didn't know what she saw from that angle. I was mindful to keep my lower half hidden. My erection had actually subsided. I felt more at ease with my own body. I sat down in the water as well; being a tad taller, the water levelled right under my nipples. We were roughly two metres from each other. From this distance, I could actually make out the relative shapes of her breasts. It was the most erotic sight I had ever seen.

I decided to start up the conversation anew.

"You're entering high school next year, right?"
"No, I'm already in high school. Second year next year."
"Oh right!"
"And you're going to college?"
"Yes."
"What are you going to study?"
"Languages. Well, literature and languages."
"Cool."
"Do you have such classes in the high school?"
"Well, we have the option of learning Spanish in the third year."
"Really?"
"Yeah. But I'm probably going to take another option. Maybe computer sciences. I'm not decided."
"You do have a whole year."
"I do."

As we talked, we waved our arms a little in the water, to steady ourselves. Once in a while, a beat of her arms lifted her bum from the floor, and exposed the upper curvature of her chest. I bit my lower lip at some point.

"Are you all right?"
"Yeah, sure."

She smiled at me. Was she aware of the effect she was having on me? This was better than anything I could have anticipated. Who cared about sex when you had a gorgeous, obviously intelligent girl, chatting naked in a pool with you? I didn't want this to go any further. I felt so tranquil enjoying her company, finally being able to enjoy it fully without Paul's presence over my shoulder or even Rita's stare.

"Your college, that's two or three years?"
"Two. I'm thinking of university afterwards."
"Studying what?"
"Writing."
"Yeah, Paul says you're a good writer."
"Have you ever read any of my stuff?"
"No. Paul keeps it to himself, and I'll be honest, you hero stories don't really interest me that much."
"It's okay."
"Don't get me wrong. I like listening to you talking about them, but reading... I'm not so much into that."
"Well, I'm not here to talk about my stories anyway."

She blushed for a moment, and I felt an idea had come into her mind. I stared at her, waiting for her to speak.

"Frank, would you... kiss me?"
"Yes."

The word raced out of my mouth. I quickly added something.

"If you want me to."
"I do. Just a little kiss."

I nodded and leaned forward towards her. It was hard making my way through the water to reach her. My heart was trembling in my chest; I felt my extremities tingle as I neared closer, as her shape became somewhat clearer through the liquid. I noticed she closed her eyes. I didn't. I didn't want to miss my mark and accidentally kiss somewhere I wasn't supposed to.

I was almost on all fours when my lips finally reached hers. I planted a gentle peck; her lips tasted like chlorine, but that wasn't surprising given where we were. I pulled back quickly, but settled down not as far as I initially was.

For a long moment, she kept her eyes closed, pursing her lips. Then she opened her eyes and stared into mine.

I swear that when our lips met, I felt her own heart beating against mine.

[erick92]

That installment was deep. Simply amazing, Interesting. Kudos to you, on what I think is the best installment to date. Very, very good.