I pondered everything as I drove out to King's Bay the following morning. Did I really want to stay in California, or was I just overwhelmed with my current freedom, and Callie? Was I just caught up in the novelty in being somewhere different? I kept coming back to the fact that I wasn't sure what I had to return to. I could find a job out here, and Callie was here.

Callie . . . I couldn’t sort out my feelings about her. Everything that had happened between us was always so hot and fast and felt so good, I hadn't stopped to analyze it. I didn't want to.

I pulled up by Callie's house and sat in the car for a minute, my thoughts scattered. I shook myself and got out, remembering the first time I'd seen her place.

I had been almost surprised to find Callie had a house. She had to live somewhere, but I had first seen her as so exotic and mysterious that a house had seemed too ordinary. I had envisioned her living in a tent on the beach, or a cave along the shore or something. It turned out she lived in a bungalow not far off the beach. It was quiet and she had space to work on her weaving. She had neighbors, but none too close, so we didn't have to worry about, you know, being too loud.

Callie came out as I was grabbing my stuff from the trunk.

"Hi, handsome." She leaned against the porch rail, giving me a good view of her cleavage in the low-cut summer dress she wore.

"Hey, gorgeous." I smiled as I shouldered my bag and closed the trunk.

"I wondered when you'd get here." She met me at the top of the steps to the little porch.

I set my bags down and slid my arms around her waist. "Got here as soon as I could."

"Never soon enough." Her eyes held a sinful promise before she reached up to kiss me. I met her halfway. She locked her arms around my neck and arched her chest forward to press into me. I kept one hand on her waist and let the other roam over her back, her ass and the top of her thighs before coming back up to cup one breast through the soft material.

"No, never soon enough," I confirmed when we separated.

She held the door as I took my stuff inside. All the rooms were on the small side, but comfortable. She hadn't stuffed her place with knick-knacks like some women I'd known, but it didn't feel bare or spartan. When I'd asked her why she didn't have more pictures, she'd gestured at the windows. "Who needs pictures when I can look out and see that?" I couldn’t argue.

It was evening, and cool, so instead of swimming we went for a walk on the beach. There's nothing like a beach in the evening. The sun looks like it's sinking into the water and the sky turns all shades of pink, purple and blue. The water gets darker and darker until all you can see is the foam as the waves crash close to shore.

You didn't get that in Ithaca.

"Hey. Hey." Callie tugged at my hand.

I looked down. "Hmmm?"

She studied me. "Something's on your mind."

"Oh, sorry. Just been thinking."

"About?"

I told her about my parents and my talk with Manny. She was quiet for a while as we walked on the sand. She kept her hand in mine but mentally we were in our own worlds. I was so far in mine that I almost jumped when she spoke.

"Do you want to go back?"

"What?"

"I'm serious, Diz." She stopped and crossed her arms over her chest. "Do you want to go back to Ithaca?"

"I—I don't know. I don't!" I protested when she narrowed her eyes. "I haven't thought much about Ithaca lately. I thought I'd go back but now I don't know. I realized that there's less and less for me there. I even told Dad to take the offer on the house." I figured I could always find another place to live. "But . . . what can I say? It's where I grew up. It was my home."

"I care about you, you know." Her voice was a little unsteady. "If you're going to leave, you should have the decency to tell me."

"Callie, I'm not leaving, at least not yet." I put my hands on her shoulders. "Please, I came out here to think. Don't guilt trip me into anything."

"I'd never do that!" Her eyes flashed with anger. "You can't stay unless you choose to. I don't want you stay unless you decide you want it for yourself." She stopped for a moment and when she continued her voice was tight. "I made that mistake before, trying to keep someone with me. I won't do it again no matter how much I want you."

"Callie, I'm sorry. I'm seriously considering staying. And you'd be a big part of why I'd stay."

"Really?" She looked wary, but hopeful.

I took her hands in mine and pulled her to me. "Really. You're the best thing about this place. There are times, I swear to God, that I'd walk across burning coals to get to you." I kissed her.

She relaxed against me for a moment. Her breasts pressed against my chest, the flimsy material no barrier to the warmth of her body. She drew back and kissed me once more, quickly, and started walking back to her house.

We didn't talk on the way back but it was a comfortable silence, or so it seemed to me. Back at her place, I thought we'd kick back and talk or something, but she was edgy. When I sat, she paced. I asked her what was wrong.

"I want you to stay," she said.

"Callie, come on . . . ."

"I'm not trying to do anything to affect your decision." She held up her hands and shook her head as she came to sit next to me. "I just . . . you're the best guy I've met in a long time. I want you to stay with me."

"Thank you." I brushed her hair back and let the soft strands drift through my fingers. "Ithaca's always going to be a part of me, that's all. Sometimes it's hard to let go."

"I understand." She paused and then that sexy smile appeared. "Maybe I could make my case for you staying in California."

I leaned back on the couch and put my arms out at my sides as though I was surrendering. "I'm open to hearing your presentation."

Callie laughed at that and relaxed. We drank some wine and had a late dinner. I had lots of opportunities to touch her; I'm pretty sure she provided them, although I wanted to think I was being slick and teasing her. She touched me, too, and I didn't object.

"Come on, baby. Let's go back to my room." Callie leaned in, ran her tongue along my neck, then stood up.

"Yes, ma'am." I followed her.

Once in the room, she shimmied out of her dress and I was hard by the time the dress hit the floor. She looked up at me from under her dark lashes wearing only underwear. "Do you like what you see?"

"How could I not?" I stepped forward but she shook her head and held out her arm, stopping me with one finger in the center of my chest. "What?" I asked.

"Come here." She drew me closer to the bed and motioned me to take off my shirt. I complied and she threw it on the end of the bed. "Lay back." I did, watching her the whole time. She laughed. "Relax, Diz."

I laughed, too, but I knew she was up to something and I was curious to find out what. The bed, like her room, was plain but comfortable. I watched her walk across the room to get something, admiring the way her ass and hips moved. She came back holding something like a rope. As she got closer I realized it was a surfboard leash.

"What's that for?"

She dragged one end of the leash over my chest and gave me a coy smile. The non-answer only heightened my excitement. My cock twitched as she trailed the leash down my arm. She tightened the ankle strap over my right wrist, then tugged on the leash. I let her pull my hand back and watched with surprise and fascination as she ran the leash around a post in the headboard and secured the other end around my left wrist.

"There." Callie nodded in satisfaction, then got on the bed. She swung one leg over my waist and straddled me. She wiggled her body until her pussy was on top of my cock. I hissed out a breath. Even with her underwear and my shorts between us, I could still feel the heat of her.

"What's this about?" I raised an eyebrow. I'd never done anything like this, but I was game.

She leaned forward, her hands on either side of my shoulders. I had an incredible view of her breasts as they swayed in front of me. Her lips curved up in a promising smile. "I want to make sure you pay attention to my presentation."

"Trust me, you have my undivided attention." I raised my head to kiss her, but she pulled back just enough that I couldn't reach her.

She laughed, a sultry sound that sent more blood racing to my groin, and rubbed herself over my cock. I'd end up light-headed if she kept this up and couldn't stifle a groan.

"Relax, sweetie," she said. "You're going to enjoy this."

I had no doubt.

Callie began with a deep kiss.

It was odd to lie there and respond only with my mouth. With my hands restrained, I couldn't hold her or touch her as I usually did. I couldn't help it when my hips arched and I groaned when she flicked her tongue over my nipples. She sat up and matched my rhythm, rubbing herself against me. The friction was torture, especially when I knew what she felt like with nothing between us.

After a few moments, she had mercy on me and took off my shorts. I gave a long, audible sigh of relief. She climbed back on the bed, straddled my leg and reached for my cock. Her hands were cool against my skin, which felt feverishly hot. She slid her hands up and down in a rhythm that was almost soothing but kept me on edge.

"Good?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Fantastic. Oh, Christ." She began a dual stroke—one hand rubbed circles on the head of my cock while the other stroked the shaft. I wonder where she'd learned that. She captured some of the pre-cum on the tip and continued the circular motion with lubrication. I thought my eyes would roll back in my head and I'd see my brain.

As lost as I was in sensation, I noted could tell she was excited, which aroused me more. I watched through half-closed eyes as she rubbed her pussy on my thigh. Her nipples were hard and her eyes bright. Her breath was as ragged as mine. I'd always liked knowing the woman I was with was as excited as I was, but it had never affected me like this before.

Watching Callie above me, knowing she was hot and wet from what she was doing to me made me want to explode. The way her hands moved in coordinated circles and strokes kept me on edge but wouldn't let me over. She must have sensed my thoughts.

"Not yet, honey." She leaned forward and gave me a quick but deep kiss, then rose up again.

I strained against the leash but it held, preventing me from touching her. She shook her head and made a tsking noise as though I'd been caught taking an extra cookie. "You're going to kill me," I told her.

That laugh again. "I hardly think so. Where's the fun in that?"

She slithered back down my body and licked up the length of my cock. I grunted and shoved my hips forward. She ignored me and took her time. Her tongue traveled up and down the sides of my cock, then on the sensitive underside again. I said something like, "Oh, fuck!" when she sucked one of my balls into her mouth, and then the other.

I felt her moving on the bed, but wasn't sure what she was doing. When she put her mouth around my cock, I forgot everything else. She took me in, then slid up, teasing me with the tip of her tongue on a sensitive point behind the head. Down again, then up, this time swirling her tongue over the flat head. I wondered how it was possible I hadn't come yet, and didn't see how I could last much longer. I warned Callie.

"Well, then, guess I'd better move things along," she said. She dragged her tongue once more over my balls, one by one, then up the ridge on the underside of my cock. Done with that, she crawled forward, eyeing me as though I was her prey.

I lifted my head, wanting to feel her lips on mine. I thrust my tongue in her mouth as soon as our lips touched and made a primal sound in my throat. I didn't know where it came from or if I'd ever done it before. Callie made me feel things I never had—just as she'd promised.

"Do you want to fuck me, Diz?" She lowered her pussy against my cock and rubbed.

"Christ, yes."

"Do you want me?" She slid along my length but didn't take me inside.

"Yes. I want you, Callie. Let me fuck you." She waited and I looked at her, then let out a breathless laugh as I read her expression. "Please."

"Since you asked so nicely." Callie rose up and grasped my cock in her hand, moved it into position, and enveloped me.

For a moment she was still, then with a sigh ground herself against me. I felt her slick muscles pulse around my cock. I could only lay there at first; those first sensations took my breath away. Callie leaned her head back and ran her hands over her breasts, tweaking and rolling her nipples since I couldn't. I imagined my tongue teasing the hard nubs and got my breath back.

I braced my feet on the bed, raising my knees, and she leaned back against my thighs. I had better leverage this way and stared at the sight of my cock sliding in and out of her.

"Yes, Dizzy. Yes. Don’t stop." Callie dropped one hand between her legs and began to rub her clit, every so often making cool, slippery contact with my cock.

I gritted my teeth and kept going. I longed to run my tongue over her body, to nip and suck at the spots I knew were so sensitive. It was true—you want what you can't have, and I wanted her like nothing else in the world.

Whether she read my mind again or just wanted it, I didn't know, but she fell forward and braced herself on her hands. Her breasts were within reach and I took one in my mouth, savoring her cry of pleasure. I sucked hard and rubbed my tongue over her nipple and the skin around it, making her moan for more. I released one and took the other, did the same thing and then grazed my teeth over her nipple. She keened.

The sound broke me. "I can't stop, Callie. I'm going to come."

"Me, too." Her voice was breathy and rough. "Don't stop."

She raised and lowered her hips in time with my thrusts, both of us moving as fast as we could. My muscles tensed, my balls tightened and I exploded inside her, pressing into her as though I couldn't get close enough. She closed her eyes and continued rocking against me at an almost frantic pace.

"Yes, yes . . ." she murmured in a soft, high-pitched voice and then drew in a sharp breath. Her whole body tensed; her pussy squeezed my cock and she cried out as she kept moving. I matched her but didn't need to. Her muscles rippled along my shaft and I thought I might come again from the sensation.

At last she collapsed on top of me, her breasts crushed against my chest, my cock still inside her. I stared at the ceiling and waited for my breathing to even out. I'd forgotten my hands until she reached up and released them.

I flexed my wrists and fingers but there were no ill effects. Letting out a long breath, I stroked my hands through Callie's hair and over her back. She shifted a little and I slipped out of her but otherwise we stayed as we were.

"Well, that was something," I said. I was drifting into that calm, pre-sleep phase.

"Something good?" Callie sounded more awake than I felt, but not by much.

"Something fantastic."

"I bet the girls in Ithaca don’t do that."

I laughed and she did, too. At some point she moved off and lay next to me and fell asleep.

My own sleep was restless and full of dreams. I couldn't remember them, but they disturbed me and I kept jerking myself awake to get out of them.

I wasn't sure what time it was when I gave up on sleeping, but I saw Callie wasn't in the bed and got up to find her. It was easy to see she wasn't in the house, so I stepped outside. The moon was bright and reflected off the waters in the bay. Still groggy, I followed the path down to the beach and stopped, puzzled at what I saw.

Callie stood naked on the beach. Between her and the water was a huge bed of hot coals. It stretched left and right. You couldn't get to the water without walking over it. The embers glowed like red stars.

I had to be dreaming, but I felt more lucid and awake than I ever had before.

"Hi, Diz."

"Callie, what's going on?"

"I wanted a midnight swim."

"Oh. What's this? It wasn't here before." I gestured at the coals. "How are we supposed to get to the water?"

"You walk over them." She said it as though she did it all the time.

"Why? We never did before."

"Maybe you just never noticed."

I started to say something but shook my head. It didn't feel like I was dreaming, but I didn't understand. "This never happened in Ithaca."

Callie threw her head back and laughed. "You're not in Ithaca anymore, baby. California is a place all its own, especially King's Bay."

"Tell me about it."

She chuckled and stretched; her body shone in the moonlight. "I'm going in the water, Diz. Come with me. Stay with me. Please." She reached up and kissed me on the mouth, then turned towards the ocean.

I watched, agape, as she walked across the coals. She turned to me with a hopeful look when she reached the water, then dove into the waves.

I didn't need Ithaca anymore. I walked to the water and followed her in.