The Skelmersdale Shuffle

By the time we arrived in Skelmersdale, the sun was just rising. Dawn had fallen asleep on my shoulder, and even Big Eddie was uncharacteristically quiet. The driver had said nothing during the ride.

We crossed a large river and pulled into what looked like a typical American apartment complex - two-story buildings arranged in a kind of maze pattern surrounded by parking lots. The driver pulled into an available space and switched off the motor. Big Eddie shattered the silence with "Here we are!" at the top of his lungs.

Dawn stirred and we bailed out of the taxi, including the driver. Dawn gave me a long, wet kiss and said, "I'll see you in a bit, love."

I stood there, entranced by the lovely dance of her glutes jostling around in her tight shorts as she walked off. The driver went a separate direction, and Big Eddie clapped me on the back, shocking me out of my fantasy.

"C'mon lad, it's bed time already. The sun's up!"

He steered me in a third direction toward one of the buildings, singing loudly as we went. For the first time in my travels, I had no idea where I was. I had never heard of Skelmersdale, though I knew we were probably about 20 kilometers from Liverpoo, but I had been distracted as we drove and I wouldn't even know which way to start walking if I wanted to escape. I was too tired and still swooning with beer brain to worry about it just then.

I followed Big Eddie up to a door. He pulled out a key and let us in, then locked the door behind us. He walked across the living room and pushed a door open.

"You can sleep here, mate," he announced, still loud, but somewhat more muted than usual. "I'll see you in the mornin'."

The apartment didn't fit him. It was nicely appointed and clean, with family photos arranged on one wall, a small kitchen opposite, a sofa and two easy chairs in an orderly grouping in the center of the room, and even nice drapes over the single window straight in front of me.

"The toilet's here, mate," Big Eddie broke my train of thought indicating a door next to the room I was assigned. Then he left and walked down a short hall next to the kitchen and disappeared into another room.

I stood for a moment, then went into my room and gratefully dropped my gear. The room was plain, but clean and orderly. I went out into the toilet and cleaned up a bit, then went back into my room and collapsed on the bed. It was soft and comfortable, and I felt gravity sucking my into its maw.

I woke up in a momentary panic, not recognizing anything. When I saw my pack, I relaxed slightly, as the events of the previous evening slowly filtered through the fog. I heard a woman's voice singing softly in the other room and the sound of pans rattling. I could smell rashers and fresh black pepper ad my stomach urged me into action.

I dug in my bag and pulled out a fresh t-shirt and went out into the living room. A cheery voice greeted me.

"Hello, love. Hope you slept well," a woman in a worn but well-maintained house dress called out from the kitchen through the serving counter.

"Hello," I said sheepishly. "I'm Rex. Big Eddie brought me here last night...or rather this morning. I hope I'm not disturbing you."

"Oh, not at all, love," she said in a thick accent that reminded me of early Beatles interviews. "Always welcome."

She was middle aged, with her hair pulled back tightly in a bun, She had an air of refinement without seeming stuffy or prim. As I stood there, she put a plate of rashers and fried eggs on the counter, and set a knife and fork next to it.

"I'm Eddie's mother, Sheila," she said with a smile. "You're welcome here, though we do see many Yanks around these parts. Where are you from?" she asked politely.

"I'm from Houston, Texas," I said. "I'm travelling and picking up odd jobs around Europe for a year or so."

"Texas?" she said, as if recalling something. I braced for it. "Who shot J.R.?" she asked, quite seriously.

"I really have no..." the front door opened and Dawn came in.

"Mornin' love," Sheila called out. "Have you eaten? This is Rex. He's a Yank from Texas."

Dawn smiled at me. "Yes, we met last night at the Growler. Eddie dragged him out here like a stray puppy." She winked at me again and came over the counter.

I was starting to see a pattern. Apparently, there were a number of people in this apartment complex that knew each other. The cab driver, Dawn, Eddie...they seemed to form a circle of folks that aided and abetted each other.

Dawn gave me a peck on the cheek as Sheila slid another plate of rashes and eggs in front of her.

"I see you've taken a shine to this bloke," Sheila said with a smile on her face.

Dawn blushed and looked down at her plate, casting a quick glance at me before digging in. Sheila placed a saucer with several slices of toast between us. She was wearing a light cotton blouse with cut-off jeans. The blouse was a conservative design, but the fabric was so sheer that I could see her red erect nipples through the material. She climbed up on the stool and her leg came to rest against mine.

"He seems like a bright enough lad," Sheila said, though I couldn't imagine how she had concluded that, since I had only gotten one complete sentence out in the entire exchange.

"Sorry if I'm a bit confused," I confessed. "I'm not sure what I expected when I followed Big Eddie home, but this certainly wasn't what I was thinking," I said, indicating the breakfast and surroundings. "Thank you for the breakfast."

Sheila laughed just as the wall clock struck 2. "Hardly breakfast, love, but you're welcome all the same. Please, eat up. You look starved."

I began eating, trying not to look ravenous. Dawn's leg rubbed against mine as she ate, and she occasionally cast a seductive look at me.

"Where's Eddie off to," Dawn asked after a moment.

"Oh, he popped down to the pub's to collect for the football team again," Sheila said, as she cleaned up the kitchen. "I expect he'll be 'round shortly."

"Eddie helps out with the neighborhood junior league football team," Dawn explained. "He collects donations to help pay for jerseys and away games."

"Well, that's interesting," I said earnestly. It added another dimension to his character. "He's quite a gregarious charater," I noted.

"Oh yes, he's well known in these parts," Sheila added. "My boy never sits still for a moment. He's always off on a mission."

"Does he bring home strays often," I asked, somewhat embarrassed by the intrusion.

"Oh, not often," Sheila said. "He occasionally helps a friend in need, but you're the first actual stranger he's brought in."

Dawn smiled sheepishly. "I asked him to bring you along," she said quietly.

"So what's your business, love?" Sheila asked.

"Mostly I'm a stagehand," I replied. "But occasionally I do a little acting or design work."

"Oh, you'll fit right in, then," Sheila said. "We're all film people, though my boy spends more time with his football club than with gainful work." She laughed with a hint of concern behind it.

"Really?" Dawn asked. "I guess I didn't ask last night. I'm a production assistant and Eddie's a scene carpenter," she added.

"When he find time," Sheila chimed in.

"Very cool," I said, staring at Dawn. "I'm heading for Germany right now. I'm supposed to have a carp job waiting in Munich on a production of "Die Fledermaus". I'm supposed to be there next week," I said, warming considerably to my situation.

Dawn's leg began jumping excitedly next to mine as we continued eating. Just then, the front door burst open and Big Eddie appeared with a large coffee can in his hand, wrapped in a label that read, "Skem JFL". He shook that can indicting it held a few coins.

"Cheap bastards," he bellowed. "Couldn't part with a few pea for the home league." He crossed the room and plopped on the sofa, the can rolling off onto the floor.

"They'll open up when the season starts," Dawn said. "It's the same every year."

I sopped up the last of the egg yolk with a piece of toast, as Dawn took the last bite of rasher. Before I could offer to wash the plates, Sheila had grabbed them and set to washing.

I started for one of the easy chairs, but by the time I had reached it, Eddie was snoring like a Harley-Davidson with an empty oil pan. Dawn took my hand, indicating with her eyes to follow her. "We.re off, Ma. Back in a bit," she called to Sheila.

"Alright dear," Sheila replied over her shoulder, still washing. "Drop the rubbish in the skip, there's a dear."

"Got it," said Dawn and pulled me to the front door. Just outside, she stooped and picked up a small bag of trash, which she threw into a dumpster a short ways up the walk.

She held my hand in silence for a time, bouncing lightly as she walked, as if holding my hand was the only thing keeping her from floating away.

"So, what would you like to do?" she asked, trying to be nonchalant.

"I have no idea," I said, not wanting to betray the rising passion that was threatening to burst out of me. "I don't know anything about Skelmersdale, and I feel a bit like I'm intruding on everyone."

Dawn stopped nd turned to face me. "Not at all, love," she said, her sweet warm breath tickling my nose. "No plans, no schedule, just time to smell the flowers."

I was suddenly aware on the lavender bushes nearby and the heady fragrance fogged my brain. Dawn picked a blossom and waved it under my nose.

"I love lavender," she said. "Makes my tummy tickle." She pulled my hand and placed it on her belly. I slid it around to the small of her back and pulled her against me.

"I want you," I said before I could stop myself.

Dawn planted her lips on mine, her hips grinding against me. She took my other hand and placed it on her barely covered ass. Her firm but smooth flesh set my mind on fire and I forgot everything around us and focused only on her moist, hungry lips.

I was vaguely aware of someone walking past. "Get a room, you two," said a male voice with a laugh, and he kept on walking. Dawn pulled back for a moment and stared me in the eye.

"Do you want to see my place?" she asked.

I couldn't answer. My powers of language had evaporated from the heat in my head. I nodded weakly. She grabbed my hands and began pulling me along, then released my hands, turned and nearly skipped up the walk, pausing after a moment to look back at me.

I started running after her, and she dashed away like a rabbit from a hound, giggling wildly as she did. I let her stay just far enough ahead to feel pursued, but close enough to let her know that I was close behind.

She turned the corner and ran up a short flight of stairs and into a door at the top. I followed two steps at a time and entered shortly behind her.

I stopped, looking around at the seemingly empty studio apartment, then I heard the door slam and she ran up and jumped on me, wrapping her arms around my neck and locking her legs around my waste.

I grapped her ferociously and squeezed her against me, while we swabbed each other's tonsils with hot and eager tongues.

I moved slowly and deliberately towards the bed that jutted out from one wall. I bent down placing her on her back, though she had not relaxed the death grip her legs had on me. One of my hands slid down to her lower back and pulled her hips against mine, while the other grabbed a knot of her blonde hair and pulled it lightly. She moaned in response, with her tongue still flailing wildly in my mouth.

One of her hands released my neck and began rubbing my crotch, which by now was straining to contain my lust. Suddenly, she pushed me back, removed her blouse revealing perfect cream-colored breasts with pink, firmly erect nipples. She grabbed at my shorts and practically ripped them off of me. She knelt down in front of me and in a single motion took my entire throbbing tool into her mouth. At the moment I was about to cum, she pulled back and I released an explosive orgasm on her perfect breasts. She threw her head back and giggled, and rubbed my juice over her breasts and belly.

I pushed her back on the bed and yanked her shorts off, exposing her creamy, completely hairless body. She was dripping with lust as I knelt down and planted my face into her steaming folds. I brought her to screaming climax several times, then just as she was about to release another one, I plunged inside her. We came together in a massive explosion of passion, both of us unable to hold back our moans of pleasure.

With hardly a break, she rolled me over, took me in her mouth again and soon had me fully erect and ready for more. She gave me a deep kiss, sharing our mingled flavors as she mounted me and rode me like a rodeo pony.

This went on for some time, though I have no idea how long. Eventually, we both collapsed in a panting heap of sweaty flesh and clouds of lust. Her smooth, firm body fit perfectly against mine as we lay there. Time had stopped, the world had vanished and the Universe had gone on to other things.

After a time, Dawn stirred and rolled on top of me. "Shall we shower up?" she asked, with a Cheshire cat grin on her face.

"Sounds perfect," I replied, suddenly finding my language skills again.

She jumped up and pulled me up with her. She kissed me deeply as she backed toward the bathroom, not wanting to lose contact with me, even for a moment.

We got into the shower and in the process of soaping each other's bodies, became aroused again. She bent over, exposing her eager folds and I entered her like a barely civilized beast. We exploded again and she stood, turned and took my tool in her soapy hand and stroked me to yet another orgasm. I had lost count of how many times I had released my joy juice, but I was sure I had never experienced anything like it before.

When we finally finished bathing, we stepped out and dried off.

Just then, there was a loud pounding at the door and a familiar voice bellowed,"Open up in there!"

Dawn wrapped herself in a towel and went to answer the door, while I quickly gathered my clothes and dashed back into the bathroom to get dressed.

When I came out, Big Eddie was standing there with a wire basket holding six large bottles of beer in one hand, and two large joints in the other.

"If you two are finished brutalizing each other, we're going mushroom hunting!"

Bog Eddie took a beer bottle, bit the cap with his teeth, ripped it open, and handed it to me. He did the same with two more bottles for Dawn and himself, then lit one of the joints.

"So, did you get it out of your systems?" he asked laughing.

"For now," said Dawn coyly. "I'll need him later, so don't damage the goods." She looked at me with a beaming smile.

"Right, then, we're going to the Beller after dark to pick shrooms. You up for it?" he asked, looking for my reaction.

"Sure, I'm up for it," I said, not sure what I was agreeing to, but if Dawn was in, I'd follow like a love-struck puppy.

While we smoked and drank, the phone rang and Dawn answered.

"Yes?" she said, and paused for a moment. "Sue, c'mon. Eddie's here with Rex the Tex," smiled at me, pausing aain. "Oh, you have to meet him. He's a dream. Bring you black light yes, we'll need it tonight."

I couldn't decide if I had landed in some ongoing routine, or if was just a new plaything in an otherwise bland existence. Even more, I wasn't sure if I cared one way of the other. This was starting to seem like great fun and I was always up for that.

In any case, I knew I wanted more Dawn.