Alone: An Encounter
By Amo Amare
Copyright 2012 by Amo Amare
Smashwords Edition
There was something erotic and unsettling about the smell of damp earth and flowers. This wasn’t the cloying, sickly sweet fragrance of an old perfume, but rather the rich, deep musk of a tropical flower in full bloom. The overpowering scent made the air feel thick, and her head spin. She focused on the cool, rough stone of the bench beneath her and took slow, steady breaths to calm herself.
A conservatory was a rather odd place for a tryst, but still, it was beautiful. The center of the circle was dominated by gigantic palms and fruit trees: dates, oranges, and bananas. Giant green leaves reached up toward the roof while thick, tangled vines dragged down to the ground. Orchids the colors of jewels were tucked into the nooks and crannies of the rock wall encasing the gardens and low, creeping ferns and mosses filled the spaces in between. It was strange to be alone here, and to not know for who or for what she was waiting.
Shuffling from one foot to another, her heels clicked against the paving stones beneath her. The air around her was still and silent and the only sound beside her own deep breaths was the occasional flutter of wings far above her head. She leaned her head back to look for the little birds that must be nesting in the rafters, but all she could see was the expansive canopy of green palm fronds and, beyond that, the black night sky. The stars were out, casting a fuzzy glow expanded by the ancient, distorted glass of the greenhouse panes.
It would be peaceful here, if it weren’t for the pounding of her heart.
Calm down, Anna... She chided herself. You’re here to have fun.
Though that wasn’t quite what Lydia had said--she hadn’t exactly said it would be ‘fun’. A new experience, she had called it, a gift to me.
A gift for Lydia’s 40th birthday. How could she refuse? They had been together a year, and Anna was quite sure it was love. She’d never experienced anything like love before, but the way that Lydia made her feel...
Surely she could do this one thing for her: a midnight tryst! Lydia’s fantasy fulfilled. She wouldn’t lie and say she didn’t find monogamy to be the more challenging aspect of their relationship. Lydia was away so much, and Anna was used to lots of attention. If it hadn’t been for the excited glint in her eye when she’d told her about this ‘gift’, she would have sworn that Lydia was doing this for Anna’s benefit. But when Anna had begun to ask questions about what was to take place, Lydia had made it clear: part of Anna’s gift to her would be obedience, and that meant doing what she was told without asking questions. She’d issued the reprimand with a smile.
Whatever was going to happen tonight, it had had Lydia very excited indeed. Just remembering the way she’d talked about this evening sent a thrill through Anna’s belly.
Not much longer, she reminded herself, with an eye towards the enormous clock above the greenhouse door--a door that was locked, she tried not to remind herself. It will be midnight soon.
Just three more minutes, and it was supposed to begin. She stood up and paced, trying not to scuff her Italian leather shoes against the flagstone paving. She really wasn’t dressed for this moist, thick air: her silk dress was clinging to her body, and her makeup all but melted in the humidity. He--or she--had better get here soon, or they’re not going to find a pretty picture when they get here... She smoothed over her long blonde hair with one hand, and dabbed at the makeup under her eyes with the other.