Since the night of the Blackberry festival, I knew I’d fallen for Ben. I remember the day I got the nerve to ask Travis how long he and Ben had been dating. Travis laughed and said he wished they were dating, but he said that Ben was just his best friend and very much heterosexual. I was relieved and happy to learn this.

Ben flirted with me every time he came to the farm, and I found him mysterious and adorable. He had a certain quality that drew me towards him and the kids liked him as well. On August 10th, after another fun BBQ, we sat on the porch swing holding hands for the longest time after everyone had gone to bed. I asked Ben when was the last time he had a girlfriend.

He smiled and sat back. “Oh man, it was many years ago. I was living in Amsterdam at the time and met a very sweet girl named Shari who sold vegetables from her father’s farm. We dated for about two months, and things seemed to be going fine until she suddenly went mad. She started seeing visions and hearing voices that weren’t there, and was sent away to a mental hospital.”

“Oh my goodness, that’s terrible.”

“I usually don’t like to talk about it,” Ben said looking away.

“I’m sorry I brought it up. That must have been painful for you.”

“That was long ago, but let’s talk about more pleasant things like tonight. This was a fun night for me”

“Yes, I loved listening to the stories you and Travis told. You had me going last week with that tall tale.”

“When you work on a fishing vessel, you hear old sailors telling stories like that all the time.”

“Well that story was sad and frightening. You have any more stories like that Ben?”

He put his arm around me and said, “Well, let’s see. Once there was a lonely maiden who lived on a tiny island by the sea. She’d walk down to the shore and sit on the rocks wondering what her life would be like if she lived far away. She’d sing songs to keep herself company. One day while she was singing, she noticed a big fish swimming in place. It would keep her company as she sang. The next day she’d walk to the shore and the same fish would return. This went on for months. She’d pour her heart out to this fish expressing her loneliness in song.

One cold day in the autumn, the maiden walked down to the shore in a heavy fog, and lost her footing on the rocks falling into the cold icy waves. Fearing for her life, she fought in vain to reach the shore, but was slammed against the rocks by the waves. During her struggle she felt someone pulling her from the water.

The next day the woman woke up in her bed. Her mother said that a handsome young stranger had found her lying on the shore wet and cold. A few days later after the maiden had recovered, and returned to the rocks by the shore. She started to sing, but the fish was nowhere to be found. From behind some rocks a young man appeared wearing only ragged clothes and no shoes.

Startled, she said, “Who are you? I’ve never seen you on this island before.”

The young man responded, “I’m from a land far from here and just visiting the island. I heard you singing and was drawn to the beauty of your voice.”

“Were you the one who rescued me when I slipped and fell into surf?”

“Yes, that was me. I was walking among the rocks when I heard you scream.”

She thanked him and asked if he would sit with her to keep her company. He said he would on the condition that she sing so that he could listen to her enchanting voice.

As time went on the maiden met with this young man every day on the rocks. One day her brother secretly followed her to the rocks and saw her sitting with the strange young man. He reported back to his parents about what he saw and they told him to spy on the young man. The next day the brother crept down by the rocks and watched from a distance long before his sister got there. He was startled to see a great fish swim to the rocks and transform itself into a naked man grabbing a pile of ragged clothes stashed among the rocks and putting them on.

The boy reported back to his family and told them the incredible tale. They did not believe him, so the boy took his father to the rocks the next day where the father was also amazed and frightened at what he’d seen. He looked at his son and said, “I know that man. He drowned at sea when I was a kid and his body was never found.”

That evening at dinner the father asked his daughter who was the young man she was meeting down by the shore. She confessed that she really didn’t know, only that he was a visitor to the island and that she was falling in love with him. The father said that he believed the young man to be a ghost who had drowned at sea many years ago and his body was never found. The young maiden was very upset.

The next day the maiden went to the rocks crying. She started to sing a very sad song. The young man appeared from behind the rocks and asked why her songs were so sad and why she was crying.

She stopped singing and asked, “Who are you? My father says you’re the ghost of a dead fisherman returned from the deep and my brother says you’re a fish. Tell me this is not true.”

The young man sat beside her and said, “It’s true. I am a fish. I took on the form of that dead fisherman in order to save you from drowning as I had fallen in love with you.” She cried and hugged the young man and said she loved him back.

As they were sitting there, her brother and father were hiding among the rocks. They came with spears and nets. “Stand back,” her father yelled. The brother tossed a net over the man as he started to transform. The father yelled at the son to hold the fish while he stabbed him with a spear. The young maiden screamed and tried to pull the net loose from her brother’s hands. The fish was stabbed in the stomach and blood pooled on the rocks. The fish escaped and fell into the sea thrashing about. The maiden watched in horror as the fish swam off to sea. Before the two men could grab her, she plunged into the icy waters herself swimming past the waves. The father and brother screamed for her to come back, but soon she went under the waves and never came back up. Her body was never found and the legend goes that on foggy nights if you listen carefully, you can still hear her beautiful voice rising past the sound of the waves.”

I looked up into Ben’s eyes and said, “Where did you hear that story?”

“I heard that when I worked on a fishing boat once. Supposedly it’s from an old African folk tale. He held me closer and said, “So how did you like that story?”

“It was both beautiful and sad.” I said as I leaned back into his arms. We sat on the porch swing quietly holding each other until the chill of the night made it too cold.

“Well, I best be going home. It’s been a very long day. I had a wonderful time.”

“You don’t have to leave. Why don’t you spend the night?” Ben turned and cocked his head and smiled, “Are you sure?”

I smiled reached for his hand. Ben winked and took my hand as I led him up the stairs. He took me in his arms and kissed me passionately at the top of the stairs. I felt an electricity tingling through my body as his hands moved across my back pulling me closer. I could feel the hardness of his erection against my stomach as he kissed me. My body melted into his. I wanted him inside me and was wet with an excitement I hadn’t felt in a very long time. We stumbled into my bedroom, our arms all over each other’s sweating bodies. We hurriedly pulled our clothes off and tossed them haphazardly upon the wooden floor. Ben was on top of me holding my hands back behind my head kissing me. I could feel his penis starting to grind. His muscles were rippling just under the skin.

“Make love to me, Ben. I want you inside me,” I whispered.

His eyes were intense as he kissed me. Suddenly, without warning the spell was over. With a worried expression on his face, he shook his head and released me saying, “No, no, no, I can’t do this.”

“What’s wrong? Why can’t you?”

“It’s too soon. I don’t have condoms.”

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’m on birth control pills.”

He still didn’t look satisfied and then I told him that I had condoms as well. As he was lying there on his back and very erect I decided to suck his cock, but just as I was about to go down on him he stopped me and suggested we cuddle instead. He spooned me and held me very close. I could feel his hard penis next to me, but he didn’t grind me, but just lay there holding me close. I was so very turned on and also quite confused. All the other guys would not have hesitated and just took me, but Ben was different. That night I had sexual dreams about him. That was something I rarely ever have experienced. Something about Ben made me want him.  

The next morning we woke up together spooning. It felt so nice to be lying next to him. I stirred and Ben awoke stretching and yawning. He grabbed me in his arms again.

“I’m sorry about last night. Did I come on too strong?” I said.

Ben turned me around to face him and smiled. “You were wonderful. I just didn’t feel like it was the right time or place. If you like, let’s plan something at my place next weekend. I’ll make it very special.”

I smiled back and gave him a big hug. But then I said, “What was wrong with last night?”

Ben slyly looked at me and said, “Well, there’s something about me I must tell you. Every woman that I’ve ever had sex with would either howl or scream at the moment of climax.” He looked somewhat serious when he said this.

“Oh please Ben, I’d never figure you for a braggart.”

“No, it’s true. I wouldn’t lie to you.” He smiled and turned over grabbing the covers.

“You ass!” I said letting out a giggle and hitting him with my pillow.”

“You’ll see,” he said muttering under the covers.

Ben dropped by a few times during the week to steal a few kisses. I liked the way he flirted with me. The very next Saturday Ben promised a special night for the both of us after selling his furniture. Travis agreed to watch the kids. I got dressed up wearing my favorite blue dress and underneath my sexy black panties. I was all excited. I’d been thinking about our special date all week.

                              August 18

I pulled up in front of his house. He arranged his mannequins and dressed them in tuxedos, white gloves and black top hats. It was all made of construction paper, felt and thrift store items. One of the mannequins held a sign that said, “Welcome, Suzanne. Come on in.” I saw various wood sculptures on his lawn and parts of the furniture they were working on covered in blue tarp on the front porch. I opened the front door and walked in. Ben had lit up the entire living room in candles. He set a table up in the middle of the floor with a vase of fresh flowers. There was a black table cloth and dinner for two placed on the table with a lit candle. I smelled fresh baked bread and some sort of chicken. I heard the oven door close then Ben’s voice saying, “Just in time for dinner.”

Ben sat me down to a nice Italian meal with chicken parmesan, pesto, garlic bread and some spinach salad. He put on some old ballads and Renaissance type music, most of which I had never heard before. We had pleasant talk at dinner and he told some funny story about a farmer, three ducks and a goose. After dinner we smoked some pot and made out on his couch. It got a bit passionate and he led me to his bedroom. He lit some candles and slowly undressed me piece by piece and kissed me each step of the way. Then he let me undress him and I did the same to him. The kissing became more and more passionate. He was rock hard and I was moist. I remembered what he’d said about making women howl and scream. I wasn’t sure if I believed him, but the idea of it made me want him inside me. He rubbed his crotch against me and I was wet with his precum.

“I want to feel you inside me,” I said. Ben smiled and put on a condom.

“Okay, I’m giving you fair warning. Every woman I have ever been with has either screamed or howled when I have sex with them. He kissed me, holding my hands back behind my head. As he kissed my neck, his beard tickled me. Suddenly I felt him enter me, and gasped. Kissing deeply, he started to pump in a rhythmic motion. I felt a charge of electricity flowing through my body. My heart raced like a small bird. I smelled Ben’s musky aroma and it drove me crazy. His penis did something that made me spasm with unbelievable pleasure. Ben was like a wild beast grunting and strutting on top of me, so primal and raw. Then something strange and magical happened. Colors seemed brighter, sounds were distorted. I saw tracers of colorful light. Ben’s flesh sparkled and shone as beads a radiant light formed around him. If I didn’t know better, I’d have swore I’d been given LSD or mushrooms. I was hallucinating. The sex got more frenzied and Ben’s body tensed and stiffened. I was so stimulated that I let out some type of scream deep within myself. Ben collapsed on top of me with a heavy sweat. The sparkling beads of light vanished and we both lay there on his bed spent. I could still feel some sort of rhythmic contractions of pleasure continuing in my vagina. I’d never before experienced that level of intensity involving sex in my entire life. Ben rolled over and held me in his arms. I felt safe and content. As I lay there I was puzzled by what I had experienced during sex.

After that night, sex was always wonderful and mysterious with Ben, yet something didn’t feel quite right. He was being extra careful with the use of condoms and he really didn’t want me to give him oral sex. Every single man I had ever been with would either force my head down that way or try to talk me into doing it, but Ben was adamantly against it. Something about it troubled me and stuck in the back of my mind.