Murfey's Law (7 page)

Vaguely sensing someone stood over her, Lori stirred from her nap.

‘Good evening Ms James,’ a fierce looking old woman in a lemon twinset and pearls addressed her.

‘Oh! Lori, please.’ She stood up unsteadily and held out her hand.

The woman's hand remained firmly clutched around her handbag. ‘Ms James, I'm a little disappointed to see that the tables and chairs have not been set up for us.’

‘I'm sorry?’

‘Yes, well that is appreciated, however, we still need them set up. Would you kindly do so?’

Who the hell was this woman? Lori brushed loose strands of hair back from her face and re-did her ponytail. ‘No... Oh never mind. I didn't catch your name I'm afraid,’ Lori tried a different tack.

The old woman tutted impatiently. ‘My name is Maureen Westerly, President of the Murfey's Beach Bridge Club, and your father has, for the last sixteen years, been setting up the tables and chairs for our weekly bridge night. Which is tonight.’

‘I'm not sure you've noticed, but my father is dead,’ Lori quickly shot back and then regretted it. Her mind whirred into action as she recognised that the woman was not only Zeb's aficionado but also an investor in the shop. ‘I'm sorry.’

‘Yes, you keep saying. Now how about you chop chop.’

Oh my god! If it wasn't out of necessity to please, Lori thought she may well have punched the cantankerous old woman on the nose. Instead she bit her tongue and headed through the shop and out the back. The room fell into silence as she entered and everyone turned to looked at her.

Lori felt very naked all of a sudden. What was alright to wear during the heat of the day now didn't feel quite as appropriate. Goose bumps formed quickly on her bare skin and she instinctively tried covering her bikini clad breasts.

‘So, where are these tables exactly?’ Lori turned to Mrs Westerly, keen to get out of their way as quickly as possible.

‘Under the deck.’ She pointed her mottled hand in the direction of the back door.

It took nearly half an hour for Lori to drag up six heavy round wooden tables, each with four matching chairs. Terrified of what may be lurking under the tarpaulin that covered them Lori kept brushing imaginary spiders off her face and arms. Once they were set up in the light of the back room she could see they were made by the same person that had made the armchair she'd just been asleep in. Individually the pieces were beautiful, if a little quirky, but grouped together as they were now, they looked absolutely stunning. If they really were handmade, as they looked, it must have taken years to create the set. Lori couldn't be sure, as it was now too dark to see, but she thought there may even be more of them piled up under the canvas shroud. Leaving the ladies to it, she grabbed a bottle of water and went back out the front to pack up her laptop and fan.

The welcome drop in temperature bought with it a roll of thunder. Lori stepped out from under the verandah into the driveway, and looked skyward. The milky glow of the moon cast just enough light to see grey clouds looming overhead, bringing with them the threat of a storm. A cool wind whipped up the strands of Lori's ponytail that had again come loose and made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

Over the road a car door slammed and deep clunking steps made their way across the tarmac towards the shop. It was Zeb.

‘Lorikeet.’

‘Zeb.’ She kept it courteous, he was in full uniform tonight. Shiny buttons and all.

‘I thought I should come by, check you are ok after this morning,’ he sounded genuine.

‘I'm fine, thanks for asking.’ Lori smiled, this was progress indeed.

He returned the smile. ‘How's the finger?’

‘It's good, I did as you said, I mean, the thing with the water.’ She held it up to emphasise the point.

‘Good. I've had one of those in my foot before. Made small children's ears bleed I turned the air so blue,’ he laughed.

‘Ah, yes... I'm so sorry I swore as much as I did. I'm not normally that foul.’

‘Oh, I don't know, you're pretty dirty right now.’ His eyes flickered over her face and down to her chest.

Lori's face burned as she felt his eyes boring through her skin. She didn't know what to say.

Zeb raised his left hand and pushed his fingers into the messy tangles of her hair.

Her insides leaped and jumbled and goose bumps returned to her skin making her bikini top tighten. She swallowed hard and, unable to look at his face, closed her eyes tight.

‘Really, very dirty. Look,’ he breathed into her ear.

Lori opened her eyes just as he ran his thumb across her cheekbone. Untangling his fingers from her hair he showed her a big black smudge he'd wiped from her face.

Ugh! The organs that had been dancing inside her stomach now dropped to the floor in a mixture of disappointment and embarrassment. It wasn't that she cared about unknowingly being covered in dirt from her foray under the deck. It was the fact that she had let herself be so easily led on by him. He really was truly evil.

Zeb laughed hard as he turned and walked back towards his patrol car. Leaving Lori incensed by both his actions, and her own reactions.

‘Take it easy Lorikeet.’ He waved without turning around, climbed into his car and slammed the door shut.

Lori didn't wait to see him drive away. She stormed back across the driveway, picked up her laptop and the fan and did a bit of door slamming herself.

A week of morning sea swims had played havoc on Lori's skin and so when Kristy invited her to a bit of girly pampering at the spa she figured it was worth spending a little money on herself. In the last few days Lori had spent a bit of her savings and a lot of her time tidying up the shop, fixing up as many of the little unfinished jobs her father had left as she was able to do herself.

Tree Top spa was set literally amongst the crowns of enormous Eucalyptus trees, high above the eco camp where Kristy made regular Dough Raise Me deliveries.

The camp itself was unlike any Lori had seen before, for one, there was not a single brightly coloured tent to be seen. Instead, swathes of sandy canvas and crisp white muslin were draped over raised wooden platforms creating lavish boudoirs complete with full-sized bed and other luxury pieces of furniture.

‘Don't you just love the romance this place oozes?’ Kristy asked as they sat in the open air spa reception, waiting for their session to begin. The view out over the trees towards the glistening water beyond Green Bay was uninterrupted. You could see for ever, way out past the lighthouse and on to the horizon.

Lori took a deep breath, taking in the sweet woody scent. ‘I guess so, I mean I can see how it must be popular with honeymooners and dirty-weekenders.’

‘Hah! You sound like an old spinster, you don't have a lover back in the UK then I take it from the cynicism in your voice?’ Kristy gently prodded Lori in the side.

‘No, no lover as you put it. I'm currently experiencing what you could call a dry spell.’ Lori laughed.

Kristy didn't smile, she looked genuinely sad. ‘That's terrible, I simply couldn't imagine my life without Simon, regardless of the ups and downs.’

Lori just nodded, she daren't mention she was actually going through more of a drought. At twenty-nine she hadn't expected to still be no closer to finding Mr. Right, but she tried not to think about it too much.

‘Your rooms are ready ladies.’ The buff young man, Stephane, dressed in white linen on the reception desk ushered them to separate areas. Lori was to have a full body massage first, while Kristy went for her manicure and pedicure. They were to swap sessions afterwards before stopping for brunch and then finishing the morning with a joint facial.

‘Such a waste,’ Kristy whispered to Lori before giggling.

‘I know! The beautiful ones are always taken or gay.’

‘Have fun, and see you at brunch.’ Kristy disappeared off to the left down a corridor leaving Lori with the receptionist.

Turning right Lori was guided through a set of huge wooden doors into the most incredible room. Chiffon curtains billowed at the windows, out of which only treetops and sky could be seen. An enormous sofa lined the length of one wall and a stunning chandelier of sea shells and driftwood hung from the vaulted ceiling over the massage table in the centre on the room. Stephane took a thick fluffy white towel from the shelf and placed it on a little table beside the couch.

‘I'm afraid Sunny isn't here today, she had a childcare dilemma, so we have a male masseur for you instead. Your booking sheet indicated you would be ok with this.’ Stephane flashed a smile so bright it matched his shirt.

‘Oh! Well I guess so... that's fine.’ Lori had actually left the booking up to Kristy so hadn't even considered genders. Of course she didn't mind, much, just as long as he wasn't repulsed by the lack of exercise her flesh had been put through over the last few years.

‘Good well, if you get undressed behind the screen there, and pop yourself onto the table face down he'll be with you in just a minute.’

‘Ok, thank you.’ Lori tried to match the radiance of Stephane's smile.

Just as he pulled the doors too he shot Lori a cheeky wink. ‘You'll love him, his hands are divine, but I'm afraid he's gay too.’

Argh! Mortified that he'd heard her and Kristy's whispers she turned and hid behind the screen. Thankfully there were no bright lights and imposing mirrors anywhere. If she'd been able to see herself Lori knew she'd never be able to lie almost naked in front of a strange male masseur, even if he was gay.

Reaching back around for the towel Lori lifted it up and peered curiously at the little table it had been resting on. The woodwork looked very similar to that of the tables and chairs back at the shop. Identical in fact.

There was a gentle knock at the door and Lori hurriedly settled herself onto the massage table, aligning her towel across her bottom and pushing her face into the little hole which provided not only a method in which to breathe but also a way to save her blushes. Thank god she'd washed her crazy hair and shaved everywhere this morning.

‘Ready?’ The muffled voice called from the other side of the doors.

‘Ready,’ Lori called back.

The doors creaked open, then closed, causing the curtains to billow outwards and then settle. A pair of bare feet appeared on the floor just within Lori's vision and a warm male hand rested gently on her shoulder.

‘Sorry to keep you waiting,’ he said.

His voice was smooth, youngish but certainly not gay. She hoped Stephane hadn't made that part up, that was all that was keeping her from jumping up and throwing herself out the window. The voice was also a little familiar.

‘Now, let me see.’ The hand, voice and feet walked away and picked up what sounded like a piece of paper. Silence. And then coughing.

‘Are you ok?’ Lori lifted her head to see Jonah, dressed in shorts and a shirt, in the same white linen as Stephane's.

He was covering his eyes. ‘Oh my!’

Lori had lifted her head so far her breasts were now on full show.

‘Shit!’ She threw her face back in the hole. ‘I'm so sorry Jonah! I had no idea. I'll just come back another day when Sunny's available.’

‘Don't be ridiculous Lori, we're both fully grown adults. One of us clearly more than the other though.’ He burst out laughing.

She couldn't help but laugh too. ‘Look Jonah, please, just tell me, are you...’

‘Gay? Yes Lori, I'm gay. You can rest assured that as beautiful a creature that you are, I am not turned on by you, regardless of your attempts to seduce me with your incredible, umm, body.’

They both laughed again.

Lori didn't know whether she was being offended or complimented, so she took it as the latter. ‘I'm sorry Jonah, I didn't know. That you worked here I mean. I shouldn't have been surprised though, you and your brother both seem to live bizarre dual lives.’

‘Ah yes, Zebediah. You should go easy on him Lori.’ Shutting off the conversation of his brother, he patted her ankle. ‘Now, let's just do this shall we?’

‘Ok, you're right. We are both grownups. You are a grown up right?’ Lori giggled, although she was serious. In both guises, policeman and masseur, he still looked barely out of high school.

‘I'm twenty. I left high school to train as a Massage Therapist, completed the course but some family issues came up and so I decided to join the police force. I'm lucky enough to be in the situation where I can still do what I love on my days off. What about you? What's your story?’

A little about her childhood, and about how she ended up in Murfey's Beach was all Lori opted to share with him. She didn't want to go into great detail, and certainly not in this setting, she wanted today to be happy. Besides, even if she wanted to tell him more, she couldn't concentrate on speaking. His hands really were as divine as Stephane had promised.

‘You have great skin Lori, you must look after it well.’ Jonah's hands pressed hard in sweeping movements, up her thighs and down between her legs.

Groaning inwardly, Lori felt like such a pervert, she was enjoying his touch way more than she thought was acceptable. He was gay, yes, but he was also a very attractive man and she was still a woman. A woman who hadn't had sex in fourteen months. The mechanics of her body were well out of practice and now crying out for a test drive. Caring about cellulite and wobbly bits was all but gone.

‘Mmmmmm,’ Lori's eyes snapped open, ‘mmm what a lovely breeze coming in the window.’

He wasn't fooled.

‘It's ok Lori, it's a perfectly natural reaction. The release of endorphins can come from many different actions, exercise, laughter, pain, sexual excitement, they all end in the one same feeling,’ Jonah spoke in a hushed voice as he ran his hands gently up the outside of her thighs lifting them briefly over her knickers before placing them back down just above them at the top of her buttocks.

As he worked on her back and neck, she tried hard to relax.

When it came time to turn over Lori kept her eyes firmly closed. Like a child she figured that if she couldn't see him then he couldn't see her. Just imagine you're at the dentist she tried telling herself.

The towel had covered her bottom perfectly when she was the other way up. Now though, it had to contend with keeping her dignity in two areas. Having not had the time or transportation to go underwear shopping like she'd promised herself she was still making do with over-washing the pairs she'd bought with her. No longer black, they were more dark grey and beginning to lose their elasticity. She tugged the fluffy white towel down a little, ensuring Jonah wouldn't catch a glimpse of the monstrous pants as he ran his hands expertly over the length of her legs.

The feeling of awakening that had abated a little on the switch in positions soon returned when Jonah moved round to stand directly over her head, working on the front of her shoulders and neck. Each time his fingers pressed down across her décolletage towards her breasts she felt her skin tighten against his.

‘Are you cold?’ Jonah asked, presumably noting her goose bumps.

Lori opened her eyes.

He took his eyes off what he was doing and peered down at her as his arms stretched forward again. His features really were like a younger version of Zeb Lori thought. He didn't have his brother's broad shoulders or gruff personality but looking into his eyes she saw just how alike they were.

‘No, I'm just fine. Thank you,’ she beamed sincerely.

Jonah gazed into her upside down smile before returning to concentrate on his work.

‘I like you Lori,’ he breathed through a sigh.

‘Uh, I... like you too Jonah.’ Lori didn't quite get his meaning.

‘I wish I felt more for you than I do. Believe me. I would love nothing more than to ravish you here on this table right now. Help you with whatever it is you are clearly dealing with. But I can't.’

‘Jonah! I want no such thing!’ Lori instinctively sat bolt upright, grabbing the towel around her. Her hands grazed her nipples which she now realised were hard and erect like beacons. Ah!

‘Thank god for that!’ He laughed nervously, glancing at her breasts.

‘Oh Jonah, did you think these were specifically about you?’ Lori glanced down to where her fingers were barely covering the flushed red of her areolas. ‘Look, let me be honest with you, for which you should feel privileged believe me! I haven't felt a man's touch for so long I'd almost forgotten what it was like. Every brush of skin, every glance at my body sends me into meltdown. A short fat Danny DeVito look alike could have been my masseur today and he still would have gotten the same reaction from me.’

Jonah frowned.

‘Well ok, maybe not the exact same reaction. You are beautiful and amazing with your hands, and you said it yourself, the body has many different ways of reacting to endorphins. I guess I'm just in the dirty old woman bracket!’

‘Sorry.’ He gave a rueful smile. ‘I'm really not that well practiced at this stuff. I'm happy talking the talk but well, you know.’

‘What? Oh! I see, you're still a vir...’

‘Please, don't say anything to anyone,’ he begged. His eyes implored Lori's.

‘Of course not!’ Lori took one of his hands in hers, carefully covering her breasts with her other arm. ‘Both of our secrets can stay right here, in this room.’

After the session swap Lori met back up with Kristy over brunch, which was served on the deck.

‘How was your massage?’ Kristy spoke through a mouthful of Simon's Ciabatta, spread generously with Tapenade from a local Olive grower.

‘Interesting.’ Lori suppressed a blush.

‘Interesting? Well mine was downright almost orgasmic. I wish Simon knew how to use his hands like that Jonah boy. All I usually get is a little kneading. Ha ha!’