There she sat; Summer...a picture of loveliness, a sweet look of innocence upon her face as she ate her breakfast whilst watching I Love Lucy on the TV. Her turtleneck sweater hugging her body without a wrinkle, showing off every wonderful curve and then beyond...down to her long, tapering legs. Travis Scott felt like the luckiest guy in the world to be dating such a hot chick....not only dating her, living with her as well. He inhaled deeply, sucked in his stomach (which, to be honest, he struggled to keep in shape) and prepared to sidle next to her to enjoy some intimacy on the couch...."here goes", he thought.
But just as he was about to sit right next to her the third member of the household, Liberty, had sprinted into the room and plonked herself right in the spot that Travis was eyeing up.
"Heya, roomie!" said Liberty. "Lovely day today, got anything planned...hey, Travis, come and sit down next to us!" she said, patting the seat next to him which put Liberty in between Summer and him.
"Yeah, great" he said, unconvincingly.
"Summer and I have a day off today" continued the effervescent Liberty. "What about you? Hey, we could make a day of it, just the three of us!"
"I have to go to work in a couple of hours" said Travis, trying to figure out how to drop a subtle hint that he wanted some time with Summer alone whilst he was still here. That was the trouble with this house share: Once romance had entered into things, privacy and intimacy became complicated.
"Oh, that's a shame" said Liberty. "Still, Summer, you up for a girl's only day of fun?"
"That sounds great!" said Summer, but as she looked towards Travis she could detect a hint of sadness in his face: He wanted to be part of the fun, she knew it and her instincts about people were seldom wrong.
Summer finished her breakfast and went to the kitchen to tidy up...even though they had a maid who came in to clean the place, Summer couldn't help herself tidying up here and there: It was the way she was raised.
Summer wanted more one on one time with Travis but she too felt the 3 way house share often got in the way. As she finished washing her breakfast plate she turned her head towards Travis, who was still sitting on the couch, and batted her eyelashes at him as a signal to "come hither". He took the hint, made his excuses to Liberty, and walked over to the kitchen.
"Hey, you" said Summer. She took his hands and held them.
"I wish I didn't have to go into work today" said Travis.
"I know...I know, but we can make the most of the time we have until you have to leave"
"I really want to spend more time with you, Summer; it's frustrating that every time we get a quiet moment together...something happens or Liberty walks into the room. You know, we just got together...I never properly asked you if you wanted to go steady with me"
"Well...here's your chance" said Summer.
"Summer....I dig you like no other girl. Will you go steady with me?"
"I thought you'd never ask"
"Let's retire to the study for a bit of....erm...study" said Travis, winking at her. They scurried off whilst Liberty seemed oblivious as to what was going on.
That hour went all too quickly and Travis had to head to work, leaving the girls to plan the rest of their day.
"I miss him already..." Summer sighed.
"Aww, bless. It's so cute when you two get all sentimental for each other" replied Liberty.
Summer shut her eyes, took a deep breath and opened them again. "You know what, Libs...we've been stuck inside for too long. It's here, work, here again. We need to get out and get active!" she said.
"Oh I know that look!" replied Liberty, a note of caution on her face. "You want to go to..."
"The...GYM!" replied Summer. "Work those muscles! Tone that body! Feel fresh and alive!" she continued.
"Fresh and alive? How about worn out and half dead..." replied Liberty.
"Come on!" said Summer, lightly punching Liberty on the arm. "We need to GET ACTIVE!"
MOVERS & SHAKERS GYMNASIUM, 11:23am
"How about we head over to The Blue Velvet club instead?" said Liberty upon arrival at the gym.
"This early? No, we need to work up a sweat!" replied Summer.
"Sounds icky" said Liberty. "OK, how about instead we head on over to the river for a nice stroll and a chat?"
"Are you wimping out on me, Liberty Lee?"
"Not so much wimping out more like...suggesting alternatives" said Liberty, trying to sidestep things.
"Come on, I promise you we'll go somewhere to drink AFTER the exercising. My treat"
"Your treat? Why didn't you say so earlier...let's go!" said Liberty, eventually caving in.
The girls ran upstairs to the locker room and changed from their trendy street clothes into their exercise gear: Summer in her sleek, form fitting leotard that was especially designed and made for the gym, yoga and dance class and Liberty in a pair of old shorts she had, some long socks left over from her college field hockey days and a lightweight singlet vest. Summer knew that the treadmills were a members favourite: They were the new, electrically powered ones instead of the old ones which were mechanical and powered by running itself. Liberty looked around and saw a vacant weight lifting apparatus. She moved the pin that adjusted the amount of weight on the device to the minimum setting.
Summer had managed to involve the personal trainer for Movers & Shakers in her running routine.
"INACTIVITY!" he bellowed to her. "The curse of the modern American lifestyle....now pick up that pace, lady!"
Liberty, in the meantime, had her own challenge.
"...Ugh.....hngh....eeeeaaarrrggghhhhh....ONE!" she said, as she did her first lift of the weights. "...nggghhh....hnghhhh....aaarrggghhhh....two...whoa, pause there for a moment" she said to herself. As she sat there, resting, she noticed that Julia Epstein was also in the gym. She was doing some stretches and sit ups instead of using the apparatus but whilst Liberty's muscles ached she thought that she could combine being at rest with being friendly.
"Julia! How are you?" said Liberty, enthusiastically.
"I'm fine, thank you...I am halfway through my exercise routine...you?" Julia replied.
"Me? Phew, I'm putting in the effort, the hard yards, the distance, you know" said Liberty, in a voice that indicated that she'd done 20 times more effort than she actually had.
"Look at Summer there!" said Julia, pointing to their friend who was still being cajoled by the instructor. "She's really going for it!"
"That's our Summer!" said Liberty, wondering where Summer got her energy from.
Summer stopped running and but instead of staggering over to the others covered in sweat and with a face the colour of beetroot, she bounded over with a skip and a jump with only slightly pinker cheeks to show for her exertions. She lit up when she saw Julia.
"Julia, fancy seeing you here...give us a hug, it's been too long!" she beamed.
The three of them chatted and swapped recent stories of what they'd been up to but they hadn't realised that time was marching on and that it was nearly 1pm. Summer suddenly had a plan.
"Say, what are you up to this afternoon?" she asked Liberty and Julia.
"I'm working the evening shift so, nothing" replied Julia.
"Now we're all fired up, how about we have a little fun? What about we all head down to the Orange Peel club?"
"That sounds acceptable" replied Julia.
"I arranged to meet Gary this afternoon but I could call him and arrange to meet us there" said Liberty.
"Sounds like a plan!" said Summer.
They all rendezvoused at the Orange Peel club but on seeing one another, Gary and Liberty were overcome with affection for one another and rushed into each others arms.
"Hey sweetie, so good to see you. Mwah!" said Gary, kissing Liberty squarely on the lips.
"Hmmm, It's wonderful to see you too" said Liberty, holding him tight to her.
"Harumph!" muttered Julia, quietly to herself. She really didn't like public displays of affection.
"Let's get inside before the dance floor fills up" said Summer, grabbing Julia gently by the elbow and escorting her inside the discotheque before she became ill.
Everyone was having a fab time but when Summer and Julia went to the bar for some food and drink, Liberty and Gary used the opportunity to sneak off to an alcove where there were some very comfortable love seats designed for two...
After a few moments of smooching Gary said to Liberty "What's with your friend and her kissing hang up?"
"She's just more of a prim and proper type. In another dimension she's Mary Poppins" replied Liberty. "But other than seeing people kiss...or cuddle, or stroking each other's hair, or touching knees (she really hates that) she's great company...a good joke teller."
"Oops, watch out...she's coming back...time to hit the dance floor again" said Gary, taking Liberty by the hand and leading her.
After another hour of dancing both Gary and Julia had to leave for work. Gary offered to escort Julia part of the way as she was unfamiliar with Newcrest. That just left Liberty and Summer and the latter's energy levels just hadn't dropped all day.
"You know what I'm thinking?" said Summer, with a mischievous smile on her face.
"Oh no, what have you got planned now?" asked Liberty in trepidation.
"DANCE OFF!" cried Summer, punching the air.
They challenged each other to the Watusi, the Mashed Potato, The Twist, The Go-Go before Summer pulled out her trump card by smashing the Hully Gully. Liberty conceded defeat. The girls decided it was finally time to head home.
Travis was already home and having his dinner.
"Hey...what did you two get up to today? Oh, by the way, the coffee machine is broken" he said.
"Why didn't you fix it? You're an engineer" said Summer.
"I didn't want any coffee" said Travis with a shrug. "You're looking perked up, Summer but Liberty looks tired out"
"Oh we just went to the gym and had a dance off at the Orange Peel club afterwards" said Summer.
Liberty said nothing but instead opened the cupboard under the sink and reached for the toolbox. She then proceeded to fix the coffee machine.
"How was your day, Trav?" said Summer.
"Oh you know...circuit boards, punch cards and reel to reel tapes...the usual" he replied.
While Liberty was focussed on the repair Travis and Summer managed to have a hushed conversation.
"I missed you today, Trav....Liberty had Gary to dance with but I didn't have you" said Summer.
Travis said nothing but instead reached across the table to stroke her cheek. Eventually he said "well, the evening is still young...you and I can still do something together".
Summer yawned. "I'm sorry, Trav, I don't mean to imply I'm bored...I'm so tired after everything I did today. Can we not go out but instead stay here tonight? I think we should move our conversation to our bedroom"
"Our bedroom?" said a puzzled Travis, who still...technically...had his own bed and room. "Oh...I see" he said as the penny finally dropped. "Our bedroom. I hope you have enough energy for one more thing..." he continued in a suggestive tone.
"Oh I have enough energy for that!" said Summer, cottoning on. Travis then whispered something in her ear.
"You're right! It will be our first ever time" she replied.
"Hey...I've finished fixing the coffee machine!" said Liberty. "Oh...they've left the room" she added after looking around the kitchen.
Summer and Travis didn't spend much time in the bedroom either in conversation or with beginning intimacies. As soon as the door had shut, they were taking each other's clothes off and kissing passionately.
"I can't believe....it's taken us this long....to do this..." said Summer in between kisses and gasps of excitement.
"The wait is over, baby" replied Travis. Once they were both fully undressed they fell into the bed, clutching one another as they began to woohoo.
It was Travis who woke first. He looked over at Summer, who was fast asleep with a smile upon her face, and gently brushed a strand of loose hair out of her eyes. He turned to look at the bedside clock: It was only 9:30pm and he decided to get up for a while. Putting on his pyjamas, he went into the kitchen to get a glass of water and think about the fantastic time he'd just had: Summer didn't disappoint in the bed, that's for sure.
There was a knock at the door. Travis looked through the window and saw it was Jeremy.
"Hey buddy" he said, opening the door to his friend and neighbour.
"Just a friendly call...how are you doing?" said Jeremy. "Wait a minute...you look like the cat who got the cream"
"Oh I most certainly did" said Travis, grinning broadly.
"You mean? You haven't...you know...done....'it'....with Summer before now?" said Jeremy, fumbling over what words to use.
Travis shook his head. "It gets pretty hectic around here, man" he replied. "There never seemed to be the right time when we were both together and alone until now".
Jeremy nodded and patted him on the shoulder. The two friends didn't need to say another word on the matter.
