• Don't Fall In Love

    "Let's go have some fun," he said in a husky slightly accented voice.

    I turned to see a tanned young man leaning against the lockers.
    "Who are you?"

    "Does it really matter?" he murmured slowly and deliberately.
    "It's the start of vacation tomorrow and you haven't had much fun yet," he continued.

    I didn't respond. Despite my urge to deny it, it was true. The year was ending and there was nothing special I could say about it. I had become this straitlaced person who spent most of her free time reading romance novels. Over the last year or so several guys had approached me but I never thought they were good enough. None of them even came close to the strong, handsome, sensitive heroes in the novels. One was even so nervous he stuttered. I remembered that encounter because I was particularly mean to him. I felt bad afterwards and because of that I started simply ignoring their approaches. If they were really worth my time they would chase me. After all that's what the heroes in those books always did.

    I started to walk away.

    "It isn't because you are unattractive, " he whispered as he caught up to me.
    "It's because you never take risks."
    His voice had a low controlled timbre. There was no hint of doubt or arrogance.

    "Have you seen the view from the Cliff?"
    Despite my reluctance to respond, I found myself shaking my head.

    His voice had a sensual hypnotic quality.
    "It is quite beautiful at this time of the day."
    He held out his hand. I tried to ignore it.
    He gave me a warm and charming smile and I felt myself taking his hand.
    We took a tram up the hill. He pointed out interesting landmarks as they came into view.
    All the while speaking slowly in his beautiful mesmerizing voice.

    "Not many know it, but this is the best place," he said as we reached a secluded viewpoint at the Cliff.
    I wasn't exactly sure what he meant it best for. In the few minutes I had been with him,
    I learned that he enjoyed playing with double meanings.

    The view took my breath away.
    "I never knew the town looked so beautiful," I heard myself say.

    A cold gust swept through my thin dress and I shivered.
    I felt a warm jacket being placed over my bare shoulders as he came up behind me.
    "Yes, quite beautiful," he whispered close to my ear. I felt his warmth on my back as he came
    closer and began running his fingers through my hair. Soon I felt slow kisses on my neck.

    "No don't," I whispered instinctively.

    "But you are enjoying it, no?" he whispered, not stopping for a moment.

    I sighed as I allowed the last vestiges of self control slip away. I was consumed with increasing desire. Turning to face him I looked into his eyes hoping he would see what I wanted.

    "Don't fall in love," I heard him say as he brushed his lips against mine.
    His words confused me but I didn't care about words anymore.

    I wanted him to take my lips. But he only continued to brush them, occasionally licking them with the tip of his tongue. Slowly, irritatingly slowly, he took more until I could savor the taste of his mouth. He tasted sweet, like honey. It was strangely but beautifully different from the minty inexperienced lips of my past encounters. I had lost track of time by now. I could not remember when my consciousness disappeared.

    I awoke in an ambulance. "What happened to me?" I asked a white uniformed lady.

    "They found you unconscious at the Cliff. You were lucky, if they hadn't found you, you could have died of hypothermia by the morning. But, don't worry you're fine now. You'll be able to go home in a few hours."

    I tried to find out more, but no one knew anything. The uniformed lady told me that it looked like I had simply fainted. As was standard procedure they had examined me for signs of sexual abuse. They had found no trace of any kind of external physical contact. Even my lipstick had been untouched.

    She did mention in clinical terminology that I had been extremely aroused. To my extreme embarrassment she even asked if I had been masturbating.
    "Sometimes you can pass out during orgasm," she had said.
    She gave me a card with a name and number.
    "Call this detective if you want to report anyone," she said.

    I was confused and angry.
    'Why had he left me? What had made me pass out? How was my lipstick still perfect?' I thought.
    I could still remember those long deep kisses which surely would have smudged my lipstick.

    The next day I searched for him everywhere. No one seemed to know of anyone who matched his description. It was infuriating. Part of me just wanted to scream insults at him... The other part just wanted to see him again.

    As a last resort I took the tram up the hill. As I approached the viewpoint a chill ran up my spine. There were flowers around a memorial picture of someone who had fallen off the cliff a year ago. It was the young man with the husky voice.


    the end


    Epilogue:

    There was an older woman looking out over the Cliff. Her head tilted as if in silent prayer. As I approached the memorial, she turned. She bore a striking resemblance to the young man. When she saw me her face lit up in surprise then happiness.

    "You finally came to see him," she said. Then looked up towards the sky and made a silent prayer.

    "I don't understand," I said. My voice was shaking.

    The lady pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to me. It was a beautifully sketched picture of a woman... It was me.

    "It was in his pocket when they found his body. I think he was in love with you. But he was so shy he would stutter around girls," she said.

    On the back of the piece of paper was a handwritten prayer.
    "Dear Lord, please make me the kind of man she would desire. If only for a few hours."

    My knees buckled and I sank to the ground next to his picture. I began sobbing.