Couples strolled past me, holding hands and warming each other with bedroom gazes. I sipped my Chai while observing drunken pub patrons tripping over their legs while complaining that they need something more potent than Guinness.

The moon was a sliver of a smile glowing with stars that shone brighter than the holiday lights strewn everywhere. Cinnamon and vanilla rode a wind through town while the moist night air chilled the artificial warmth provided by the heat lamps. All of these things reminded me of last year’s Winter Solstice.

Melinda and I decided to play pagan for the night. She borrowed several books from the library to prepare for our ceremony. I wasn’t sure what to expect with Melinda, she was my most unpredictable friend.

When I arrived, her bedroom was filled with warm yellow candlelight from ivory pillars resting on black iron altars. We sipped spiced cider tainted with rum and whispered our thoughts, afraid to break the sacred ambiance. In an imagined circle, I sat across from Melinda. She mumbled words out of a book about fertility and the end of darkness. There was an intensity of my faith embracing me, but I felt giddy, like a young girl playing pretend.

Listening to wordless Celtic music, Melinda stood from our imagined circle to dance. She pulled me up and swung me around in circles. I stared at the ceiling, gazing at her glow-in-the-dark stars. Dizziness infected me. My eyes left view of the stars in search of her face. Melinda grinned with red, flushed cheeks. Her gaze held mine. Desire rushed through me.

Had she always been so beautiful?

Melinda’s fingers unlinked from mine. She slid her arms around me, pulling me against her. She rested her cheek against mine while whispering Goddess prayers into my ear. Our spiral dance continued while her whispers became kisses and nibbles on my earlobe. I melted into her. Melinda’s lips moved from my ears, to my cheek and joined my lips to part my mouth with her tongue. Her tongue was welcomed by mine. Our tongues slid over and under the other. I swirled my tongue around hers, letting it roll and feed on her breath.

Melinda crushed her full breasts against mine. I reached beneath the fabric of her dress, exploring her body with my hands until I found the soft ellipses beneath her breasts. I caressed the clefts and massaged handfuls of her breasts while pinching her nipples between my massaging fingers. She kissed me harder, forcing her tongue deeper in my mouth. I pulled the dress over her head. She removed her bra and I pulled her panties down and tangled my fingers in her honey curls.

"Oh Melinda," I whispered.

I ran my finger over her nether lips. Her moisture seeped through to my fingers, delighting me. When I pushed my finger between the wet lips she groaned. I forced another kiss on her lips while she struggled to undress me. Melinda’s hands were freezing against my breasts. Her claws scraped against my sensitive nipples, leaving red lines on the white flesh surrounding my violet aureoles. I reached between her legs again, but she pulled away from my touch.

Dizziness overwhelmed me; I felt we were still dancing in circles. Her kisses covered my body while her arms helped lower me to the floor. I was lying in our sacred circle - and her hungry mouth returned to my lips while her fingers clawed at my inner thighs and brushed lightly against my pussy-lips. I tried to feel her breasts and finger her pubic curls, but Melinda’s hands kept pushing mine back. She lost her patience with me, and she pinned my hands with a knee and forced me to stare at her glistening snatch. I breathed in its sweet-spice scent while she had full reign of my body. I let go of my resistance and accepted her touch.

I stared at her gleaming sex while she reached over me, her breasts brushing against my stomach. She flicked her tongue over my hardened clitoris, as she released pinned hands, spreading her legs. I licked at the beautiful pink pussy she lowered toward my face. At the same time, Melinda inserted a pair of fingers inside me. They reached in and pulled out with the rhythm of her flicking tongue. I held her ass with both my hands, pulling her wet snatch to my mouth while I tried to keep up with her rhythm. It was so difficult to hold her; she kept bouncing and pulling away. I bit her thigh when she yanked her pussy away from my mouth. She didn’t even flinch while she continued her tongue flicking and finger fucking me.

My control slipped away, as her mouth and hand drank my strength in a fierce rhythm. My body tightened. I trembled and cried to her. She continued her love making, ignoring my nonsense. I shook harder with the ache building in my muscles. Melinda’s fingers and mouth became one inside me. I was forced to stare at a pussy I couldn’t even touch while my orgasm built and shuddered and swallowed her fingers over and over again. Melinda didn’t break her rhythm when my first rush subsided, then intensified. She kept me trembling, swimming and sucking her from the inside until I could no longer hold my cries, as the waves stormed through me.

I don’t remember sleeping, yet I awoke to harsh December sunlight. Melinda’s soft breasts pillowed my head. My hand cupped her wet sex with one finger resting between her perfect pussy lips. My lover smiled in her sleep.

Warm Chai tea filled my mouth with the final drink returning me to the harsh present. I was craving the taste of Melinda while sitting in front of the closing coffeehouse. A man stacked the plastic tables making more noise than he needed to. I suppose he was waiting for my departure.

Glancing at my watch, I decided to start the walk toward home. I pulled on my coat, swung my backpack over my shoulder and turned towards my street. I took a final look around at the glow of white holiday lights, craving candlelight instead.

"René," a familiar voice called to me.

I turned to see her vivid blue eyes and smile. Her cheeks were red from the cold, and her raspberry-red lips quivered. I felt frozen on the sidewalk. My voice caught in my throat, as Melinda approached me.

"Happy Solstice," she whispered, hugging me.

"Oh, Love," I replied, feeling the mist welling up around my eyes, "You are here."

"Of course I am," she replied, covering my face with tiny kisses.

I returned her kiss ignoring the look-e-loos walking past. She brushed the hair away from my face and kissed my cold nose.

"Oh, Melinda," I whispered, not knowing how to express the bliss she gave me.

We huddled close and began our walk home.

* * *
Copyright 11/2000 - JLM
All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced without written permission from the author.