Pierre Frei - Berlin - A Novel

Laughter and shouting came up from the water. These hard times could not spoil the pleasure of the bathers. Ben kept away from the bank so as not to be hit by someone's wet ball, but just close enough for the public to be able to react with speechless admiration to the appearance of the gentleman in Prince of Wales check. Public reaction was not very forthcoming. 'Hey, aren't we posh!' someone called after him. Ben replied with what he hoped was a scornful smile hovering around his mouth.

'Rather overdressed, eh, kid?' grinned an elderly man in a towelling wrap, but Ben loftily ignored him. Nothing anyone said could affect his suit. It symbolized a world in which everything was all right, where there were elegant people and enough to eat. He skirted the puddles left by last night's rain; they would have done the suede shoes no good. The fenced clearing rose gently from this bank of the lake. Ben avoided the bramble bushes and slipped through the young birch trees which could do no harm to his suit.

He didn't see Heidi until he had almost reached the hollow. She was sunbathing in a two-piece, blue bathing suit. Ben saw her full, half-opened lips, which she had quickly moistened as he approached, and her breasts rising to an amazing height with every breath she took. She had closed her eyes and appeared not to have noticed him. He cleared his throat. 'Oh, it's you,' she murmured sleepily, as if she were not very interested.

Ben was hurt. 'I can always go away again. Though we did have a date.'

'I know.' Suddenly she was wide awake. 'Looks really good, your suit.' She invitingly patted the ground beside her. He sat down, arms folded behind his head, and looked up at the sky. He had never been so close to her before. She smelled of walnut oil with a faint lily-of-the-valley fragrance, the pharmacist Schmidt's own concoction.

What happened next? Did she expect him to kiss her? Or would she rather they talked, and if so, what about? Perhaps she'd like a cigarette? He still had a packet with a couple of Stellas in it. On the other hand, you weren't allowed to smoke in the wood.

Suddenly her face was very close. She pressed her lips to his. He wondered how long she would keep them like that without taking a breath. She didn't go that far, but told him, 'If you open your teeth it works better.'

He did as she wanted. Her tongue darted out like a little snake and felt for his. He got the idea and let his own tongue wriggle vigorously. It set off a pleasant tingling feeling somewhere else entirely.

'Much better than Gert Schlomm.' she assessed his efforts in a pause for breath. 'Do take your suit off or it will get all crumpled… and then there's the grass stains. ' These were convincing arguments, particularly as he had his bathing trunks on underneath. Minutes later the precious garments were hanging on a young birch tree and the suede shoes were lying on the moss. Leaves rustled somewhere; it was probably a deer.

He pushed her down in the grass, and they went busily on exploring each other's mouth with their tongues. The top half of her bathing suit had slipped, because she had carefully unhooked it. Her breasts were warm and soft, a little slippery from Herr Schmidt's sun oil, but all in all very pleasant.

'It's much nicer with nothing on,' she whispered, slipping the bottom of her bathing suit off too. He removed his bathing trunks, hesitantly, because he felt ashamed of his erect penis. She took it in her hand with interest. The deer was rustling in the background.

He stroked her mound of Venus. The little hairs were silky soft. Only five minutes before he would never have believed he'd ever touch her there. He did it with a heart beating fast, and she seemed to like it. Her hand gently rubbed him. 'Did you ever do it before?'

Something told him that this was a moment for honesty. 'Not really, no,' he admitted. 'But I know what you do.'

'I know too.'

'I mean, did you ever.?' He swallowed. 'With Gert Schlomm, for instance.'

'What, with the ridiculous way he carries on?' she exclaimed, her hand rubbing harder to encourage him.

Ben knelt between her thighs. 'Help me a bit.' She showed him the way. He felt her damp warmth — and slid out. Patiently, she helped him in again. He tried once more, in vain. His sheer anxiety to do it properly had made his prick go soft. 'Oh, shit,' he muttered.

Heidi was disappointed. Was this going to be all? No, certainly not. Instinct guided her. She bent over him. Between her lips he grew large again. Ben let her do as she liked. As she sat astride him, and he found his way back into her with amazement, he realized that he had made a start. He braced himself against her, moving in time. Her little squeals spurred him on. It got better and even better, and the world around ceased to exist, including the sounds of the rustling leaves and cracking twigs which, as it happened, were not made by a deer. Afterwards they lay there flushed, holding hands.

'Was it good for you too?' whispered Heidi.

Ben was his old non-committal self. 'It was OK.' He thought of the condoms. Should he put one on now? 'So that most precious part of you doesn't catch cold,' Herr Pagel had said, as it easily might now after what had happened. The box was in his jacket pocket.

He stood up to get it, and froze to the spot. His suit and shoes were gone. The young birch tree swayed innocently in the October wind.