Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Let The Joyous News Be Spread The Wicked Old Witch At Last Is Dead!!!!

   (With apologies to Frank L!  lol)

   All that is herein contained is not for the consumption of those under
the legal age to be in possession of Adult Material or Materiel in any
wise, guise, and shape or form in any region, municipality, county, state
or nation.  If you is not of proper age or legal station, then you should
oughta not be a readin' this here!!!

   This Work Copyright (c) Khanundrum 2003



   Glasage et Noir

   Chapter 2

   The water was lovely: warm, embracing, and sensual to the Nnnth degree.
My dive was just a falling in the water; it brought me to surface a few
feet from where I entered.

   As I shook the water from my face, I found myself looking straight into
Aphrodite's eyes!  She was smiling.  Her hands were holding the lip and she
was floating the rest of herself at the waters surface.  We were
twenty-five or so feet apart, and she was more or less resting with her
tummy facing the sky.

   Her headlights were on!

   And what lovely headlights they were.  I was mightily impressed at the
strength of my response to this sight.  Being in the water almost daily, I
was accustomed to seeing women in barely there fashions; it had become a
rare event for me to feel the old familiar tingle of excitement at merely
looking upon a female.

   Now that tingle was full on; my body was as interested in this lady as
was my mind!

   From up on the deck I heard "Hey, Arthur!"

   That's me: Arthur Hayes.  I was named after my mom's favorite uncle; he
had lived and died before I entered the world, and my mom remembered him
with fierce affection.  It is good to be named after someone who was loved!

   I looked up to see Chris; he swam regularly, but did not use the water
as I did: Chris preferred running.  Swimming was his time to play and
relax.

   "Have a good run?" I asked.

   He didn't answer, but looked past me to Aphrodite; she looked back at
him with a wide smile of recognition and said "Hey, Chris!"

   "Hey, Carrie!" he replied, and made a horrendous Cannonball into the
water, just three feet from me.  Chris prefers to make a big splash!

   Christopher Allen Smith was my old pal; we had worked together a few
years back, and it was because of him that I learned of the place where I
now lived.  He had invited me over one day after work and I had fallen in
love with the pool.  Within six months, his roomie moved to another state,
and I moved in.  Two months later, I left the job where Chris and I had met
and moved to a better position: Sous Chef at the Downunder Restaurant.

   Chris and I grew to be very good friends, mostly because we had the same
schedule and ample time to hang with each other.  We found ourselves very
much alike, having one major common interest: Cooking!  We also shared a
joy in working out to keep fit.

   Living in Fort Lauderdale ("Fort Liquor-dale!" lol) has its benefits,
one of which is that unheated pools are useable from late February through
October.  I swam at a pay-by-the-month indoor club during the colder months
and that's how I kept a regular schedule of workouts through the year.

   Chris could run in snow if he had to.

   Today was Wednesday, April 5, and I was due into work in two hours. 
Chris kept much the same schedule as me where he worked.  Our arrangement
at our apartment was a very good one: we each had a bath, and we each had
our own entrance.  This is not an easy thing to find in FtL.  I was very
grateful that Chris had offered the place to me.  We shared the kitchen and
living/dining room; even so, there were often three and four days strung
together where we just didn't see each other.

   Such a period had just now come to an end.

   Chris shot up out of the water, falling toward "Carrie" (Aphrodite
seemed like a better name, but what do I know?) and splashing water on her.

   She was laughing at him, and she stood up and splashed him back as he
came up standing.  He pretended to be overwhelmed, and promptly slipped
back under the water, swimming in strong strokes toward Carrie.  When he
reached her, he came up under her and lifted her completely free of the
water with one hand on her upper arm and one on the outside of her thigh.

   I was instantly envious of his hands!

   In one smooth motion, he accomplished the lift and threw her about ten
feet through the air.  Chris stands about 6' 2", and weighs about 230, so
he did this rather handily.

   We are close to being twins, physically.

   He is very dark, where I am very blonde.  His hair is long while I keep
mine cropped close.  He has a short, full beard.  I keep my face naked. 
His eyes are green and mine are blue.  Our faces are alike, though.  And,
our appearance when fully dressed is very similar.  We occasionally wear
each other's clothes by accident, if we happen to leave something lying
around the living room.

   Which does happen in bachelor pads every now and then.

   We do manage to avoid sharing skivvies and the like, though!

   "Chris, be gentle with me, you bum!" Carrie shouted as she came up for
air.  Chris for an answer grabbed her in a bear hug and kissed her on top
of her head.

   Gosh.  I had never set eyes on her before and here is my roomie gettin
up close and personal like with her?

   What a world.

   "Don't sweat it, 'Cuz', that's as rough as I get today" he told her.

   ("Cuz"???, I thought!)

   "Well, I'm glad to hear that.  A girl can only take so much rough
housing, you know.  I am a delicate flower, easily bruised!" she said,
laughing.

   "Oh yeah, very delicate!  So delicate you beat me to a pulp until I was
twelve!" he replied.  He was grinning from ear to ear.

   "Arthur, my man, have you met my Cousin, Carrie?" Chris asked.

   "Umm..  no, not as yet" I said.

   I smiled my best smile at her, and held out my hand.  She promptly took
it, and said to Chris "I think we kinda already met, we just hadn't gotten
to names as yet".

   I actually blushed!

   She smiled even wider as she took this in, Chris being oblivious to my
state.

   "Well, cool!  Arthur is my main man!  I was wondering when we would
finally meet up, now that you live here," he told her.  "How do you like
the place?"

   Carrie gently let go my hand and answered him, "It is just lovely.  I'm
happy the apartment became available when it did.  I thought I might have
to impose on you for a place to live my first year here!"

   Chris made a mock shudder.  He said, "No way, Cuz, I ain't havin no
woman move in with me and cramp my style.  You woulda had to stay at the Y
or something, us bachelors need our space!" He chuckled as he said this,
and winked at me.

   "You've been planning to move here for some time, Carrie?" I asked.

   "Since last September, Arthur.  I start school next month, and I wanted
to be comfortably in place before my first day."

   "Start school?  In May?" I asked.

   "She's goin to Art type school, my man" said Chris.  "She is a
Ar-teeeste!" he said with a laugh.

   "They run their school with an unconventional schedule, Arthur," said
Carrie.  "Their courses run from May to December, and then start again in
April for second year classmen.  I will be down here for the next few years
while I obtain my Degree in Art."

   "Yeah, man, she's gonna major in cartoons!!" laughed Chris.  Carrie made
sounds of disgust at him and splashed him again.  He laughed harder and
jumped away into the deep end.

   Carrie turned to me and said "Chris told me he had a roommate.  Have you
known him very long?"

   "About four years, now.  We met at the restaurant called Yesterdays,
when we were both still line cook grunts" I answered.  I wanted to know
more about this Aphrodite, so I asked her "When did you decide to go to
school in Lauderdale?"

   Carrie told me "At first I was going to attend one of the school's
northern campuses, up in Jersey.  But this past September, a school
counselor told me that there was a cancellation at the Lauderdale campus
and I could switch here if I wanted.  I didn't hesitate, especially because
I knew Chris lived down here.  Having some family in the area made all the
difference to me."

   I wondered aloud if Chris had arranged for her to get an apartment here.
"He set me up with the property manager; she made it easy for me, arranging
all the application and lease stuff over the fax and through the mail.  My
folks paid the first year's lease in February, and I will have an option to
continue another year with no increase on rent.  I feel so lucky to be
here, especially because of how nice this place is and, of course, this
beautiful pool!" She said that last with a slight smirk on her face, and
added, "I used to swim on my High School team, and I always like being
wet."

   Yikes.

   I must have been blushing from the water up to my ears.  Carrie just
smiled wider and dropped down into the water, slicking her hair back away
from her face, as she promptly stood upright again.

   I was captivated with this picture; she looked like a goddess as she
came up out of the water, and her headlights were on bright!

   I could not help staring at her, and she just grinned at me.

   "See something you like?" she laughingly asked.

   I must have been turning purple by then.  I answered her "Uhhh....  um,
er...".  "YES" I finally growled out.

   She giggled.  It was a very nice giggle.  I could listen to it for
hours.

   Carrie looked over at Chris, who was now climbing out of the deep end.
"Hey, Chris, what are you doing after work tonight?" she asked him.  "I
have nothing planned after my shift, why don't you and Arthur come over and
do a proper house warming?"

   "That sounds like a winner, Cuz.  What time?" he asked.

   "Well, I get done at 9:30, so just wander over when you get out?" she
suggested.

   "I'm up for it.  How's about you, my man?" he asked me.

   This was a no brainer if ever there had been a no brainer.

   "Ummm.  Er.  Sure!  I'd love to!" I stammered.  "You get done at 9:30?"
I asked Carrie.  "Do you work at a restaurant?"

   Carrie smiled.  "No, I work at the Ben Franklin over by Sears, off
Sunrise and Federal" she said.  "I work in the Fabric and Art Supply
department.  It was part of how I chose this campus.  The job was listed
with the counselor's office, and I got the job over the phone because the
store manager is an old friend with the school counselor.  I moved in on
the first of April, and went to work the next day."

   I smiled, and said "Well, at last - someone who does NOT work in a
restaurant or hotel!  How do you like your job?"

   Carrie said, "It's fine.  I help mostly old ladies who want to keep
themselves busy doing something useful.  They come to us to find materials
for all kinds of projects.  So far, I find most of them to be charming. 
I'm only four days in the job, so who knows what will come tomorrow?"

   I grinned real big and said "If I had a severe craft attack, could you
get me a fix?"

   She laughed, a deep belly laugh.  It was marvelous to hear.  "You don't
know how true that is!  Most of these ladies behave like they are seeking
the true manna of craft or something!  Its scary!"

   I was having such a good time talking to Carrie, yet the time was
getting tight.  I preferred to shower and dress for work by three.  I knew
it must be moving on toward 2:30, so I asked Carrie "What time do you start
your shift?"

   She said, "Most days will be 5, but some weekends I will work from
opening till 6.  Why, you thinking of coming in for a quick fix?"

   I smiled.  "Nope.  Gotta get to work myself.  We start dinner prep at
four, and usually have the kitchen mostly cleaned up by 10 on weeknights.
Our busiest times are typically Friday and Saturday nights.  Sometimes we
even break two hundred.  That is not much for some restaurants, but we
don't cook like most restaurants.  We are primarily French, and it takes
time.  We charge for that time!"

   Chris had come to sit on the lip of the pool, ten feet away from where
we stood in the water.  "Yeah, them guys at the Downunder have a very
select clientele: only people who MUST waste money go there!!" he said with
a guffaw.

   I splashed at him and told Carrie, "He's just jealous.  He works over at
the Chez Josef, where they pack 'em in by the hundreds.  We do quality,
Chez does quantity!" With that statement I splashed at him again.  "We
better get goin and get ready to earn our pay."

   Carrie turned, stretched out in the water and swam to the shallow end; I
just stood there and watched.  My attention on her backside was not lost on
Chris, who chuckled and said "Careful, roomie, she bites!"

   I blushed again, and swam the other way to the deep end ladder.  I
climbed out and walked over to my things, putting the towel around my neck
and laying my shirt over my arm.

   Carrie and Chris were walking up to me as I readied to head off.

   "I look forward to seeing you later, Arthur.  Just come over after your
done: I'm in 21520, apartment A3" Carrie said.  "I will have some chips and
dip or something, so don't worry about snacks?"

   I smiled.  "We make sure to leave work without hunger!  At least, I do!"


   "Yeah, Arthur would be a true fat body if he didn't work out like he
does, Cuz.  The poor boy would be a regular walrus!" Chris laughed as he
said this.

   I shrugged my shoulders.  "Food is for cooking, but then it is for
eating!" I said.

   Carrie smiled at me and said "Well then, just come on over.  It will be
nice to get to know you better.  Any friend of Chris's is a friend of
mine."

   "I will see you tonight, Carrie.  Welcome to the complex!" I said.  As I
said that, I reached out to take her hand.  I could tell she thought I just
wanted to shake; when I lifted her hand toward my lips, I felt her hesitate
for just a fraction of a second.  Then, she let me have it completely.  I
pressed my lips to the back of her hand very slowly and then carefully let
it down, releasing it back to her.

   "Gosh, Cuz, you didn't tell me he was such a smoothie!  Should I be
watching out, here?" she asked Chris with a smirk.

   I blushed again.

   "You keep this up, Arthur, and I may never get dry!" she said with a
giggle.

   I turned crimson, I'm sure.

   "Gotta go, see ya later!" I said.

   I turned away and headed toward my apartment, wondering why Chris had
not said a word about Carrie.

   I'd no idea he even had a cousin.

   I couldn't help paraphrasing the old guy on the radio, thinking,
"There's more to the story"...



   ALL RIGHTS RESERVED KHANUNDRUM 2003
   khanundrum at yahoo dot come