Carol's Coffee Shop

"Carol's Coffee Caress" boasted the best coffee this side of Grayson's Gorge, located in the village on the east side of Skypierce Peak. The cafe had been decked out for weeks with colored Christmas lights, tinsel, a seven-foot tree, and ornaments hung from the walls and ceiling. Holiday music played softly in the background. Peppermint, eggnog, cinnamon, and other holiday spices found their way to the coffee bar. Customers were drawn to the warm aroma of fresh coffee, the friendly atmosphere, and the sweet pastries, but returned because of Carol. The "caress" name stuck because Carol hugged her customers when they arrived. She was everyone's favorite barista.

Carol's beautiful shape inspired more than thoughts of hugs. She had light brown hair like cafe au lait and dark brown eyes like espresso. She had a smile for all of her patrons, dark eyelashes above wide cheekbones. She could be found near a table or booth holding a pot of steaming coffee for refills. In the winter months she favored brown sweaters that subtly accentuated her breasts. Carol didn't mind the attention. Today, her sweater's v-neck dipped to show just the round tops of her breasts. She permitted her best customers to drape their arms around her narrow waist, just above her tight jeans. She enforced her limits, gently removing eager hands that tended to drift to her shapely ass without unduly embarrassing her patron. Her enviable hour-glass figure hadn't changed much during the seven years she owned the place.

The door bell jingled as Carol's best friend Jorie entered the shop. Blond Jorie was slim as a pencil and muscle trim, despite having given birth to four children. Jorie and Carol grew up on the Peak, went to the university together, and both returned after college. Jorie exercised and trained anyone with money to pay her fees but didn't really need the work. Her father was Magus Grayson, who owned Skypierce Peak and Grayson Gorge, and her husband Hervé successfully represented the mountain folk in their disputes at the county courthouse.

They embraced and traded air kisses. High-maintenance Jorie sluffed off her jacket and sat at a table near the window where she could be seen from the street. She wore jean shorts over lavender tights, tossed her blond hair, and bobbed her leg to draw attention to its slimness. Carol brought her a cup of green tea and an almond cookie, her traditional fare.

"Sit down, Carol." Jorie placed her hand on Carol's arm.

Carol checked around the shop and decided she could afford a few minutes before her next round. She slid her round ass onto the chair and placed the coffee pot on the table.

Jorie took out a six-inch handcrafted doll made of sticks, pine cones, and ribbons. Its most prominent features were two large breasts and a pentagram on its front. Jorie smiled when she gave it to Carol.

"Oh, no. What is this, the tenth time you've invited me to your Wiccan party? I'm not interested. I love you, Jorie, but it's not for me. I'm not that girl any more."

Jorie shook her head. "You can't goose a girl for trying. My father has wanted you at his annual party for longer than ten years. He thinks you would be a perfect Ice Queen, our own Freyja. What am I supposed to tell him? You don't want to party with him?"

"Your father gives me the creeps, so no, I don't want to party with him. I'm surprised you still do."

Jorie smiled like a cat on the back of a sofa. "Of course I like it. It's a celebration of the Natural. Just like you, Carol. You are naturally beautiful. You should come, one time before you get married."

"I'm sure that Derwin would certainly not approve."

Jorie puffed her lips. "Derwin. You can have your pick of any man on the mountain and you're stuck with Derwin the drip."

"He's fine." Carol's attention was caught by an arm waving at the other end of the cafe. "Be right there," she called.

"Please, Carol. Just this once. You're going to be married right after Christmas. If you think that Derwin won't let you go now, he'll absolutely forbid it after you're married."

Carol slid off her chair and went to the table that had waved. A group of middle-aged construction men on break were finishing up their coffee. She gave took out their check. While she figured it out, the man closest put his arm around her waist. She leaned into him. It was a nice feeling to have someone want her. What else was a woman's body for if not to be seen, gently touched, and appreciated?

She poured some hot water for the old crone who came daily to her shop. Baba Yomama operated the fortune telling and tarot reading shop at the edge of the village. She came because she liked the "magic" associated with this cafe.

Back with smug Jorie, Carol sighed, awaiting Jorie's lecture. It came immediately.

"I know what you're thinking, girl. You like attention from men. You like to flirt and hug. When men take you out, you have a wonderful time and so do the men. Or they used to, until you agreed to marry Derwin."

"Derwin is fine."

Jorie leaned forward so no one else could hear. "So you're willing to have only one cock in your pussy for the rest of your life?"

Carol shot back. "You do. You're married to Hervé."

"That's why I celebrate the winter solstice each year. It's a chance to be a little crazy, a little wild, and completely natural. It's a celebration of the sun coming back. It's a festival that has been going on for centuries."

"I'm not a witch. I'm not a Wiccan. I think what you do may be a sin."

"Wiccans don't believe in sin. Our creed is Do No Harm. Come on. Don't let your pillowy round thighs go to waste. You need at least one more real man to lie on them, right?"

Carol flushed while listening to Jorie. The image of an excited sex partner, stripped, his long dick bobbing, kneeling between her legs, wanting her, then lying on top of her, brought back a decade of fantasies. Jorie had a vigorous sex life; Carol was lucky to have slim, gentlemanly Derwin as a friend and fiancé. She hoped someday soon he would be her lover.

Then, to add to her discomfort, Derwin's entrance sounded the tinkling bell. Carol beamed a broad smile when she saw him, which quickly died when she saw his brother, Brock, behind him. Brock, who grew up with Jorie and Carol but who left the mountain seven years ago, with not a word since then to Carol. He broke her heart by leaving but she had gotten over it. Really, she had. She told herself this every single day. Now, here was Brock, looking even sturdier, studlier, and more handsome than he had seven years ago.

Damn him.

Carol had a way of sliding off her chair that emphasized her curves, with a sinuous uncoiling. Her hips were wide, it was true, but her waist was so narrow that a man with large hands could encircle her waist completely. Brock had been able to do so. When Brock used to hold her in his arms to dance, he knew the compactness of her ribcage. Then there was her erotic surprise--her full, firm breasts which completed the hourglass figure. She remembered how it felt to be held close by Brock, her boobs squished firmly between them.

Carol took a deep breath, which made her sweater bulge a little more. She smoothed her hands over her hips before taking a step toward Derwin and his brother. The winter air had come into the shop with the brothers. Derwin looked happily into her eyes and smiled. Brock noticed that the cold air turned Carol's nipples into hard little pebbles, and gave her a lecherous smile.

She hugged them both as a welcome. Derwin kissed her cheek. Brock held her a bit too long, then let go. She swallowed hard and tucked at her hair as though he might have mussed it.

"Sit anywhere. Coffee and muffins?"

They both nodded. She turned and gave a little more swing to her ass as she left. Nothing too vulgar, but enough to tease. She filled their order and came back. Derwin looked at her face with a loving smile. Brock's gaze was lower. Lower even than her brown sweater. His eyes watched the way her thighs alternately moved closer to him with each step. When she stopped at the table, Derwin put is arm around her waist. Brock studied the zipper on her very tight jeans.

"So, what finally brings you to town, Brock?" She tried to sound nonchalant as she poured the coffee.

He looked into her brown eyes with his devilish blue ones and flashed a broad smile that surely had a few extra teeth in it. Carol had to remember to stop pouring before she spilled coffee onto his long, muscular thighs. Filling Derwin's mug was much easier. "I had to wish my little brother the best wedding, and perhaps kiss the bride. Show me your ring."

Carol held out her hand so Brock could appraise the diamond. "So, you'll be here for the entire week. How lovely. Not much has changed around here though. A few cell towers, a Dollar Store, but we're pretty stable compared to Chicago."

He took her small hand into his larger paw and held it. "I came exactly for that reason. For some stability. To appreciate my roots. To connect with old friends. I might have to leave before the end of the week, though." His large hand, with tiny blond hairs on it, covered Carol's smaller hand. "I'm so glad to see your coffee shop finally. Derwin's told me all about it."

Carol pulled her hand away, with a polite smile. "Derwin will show you around town. It should take all of an afternoon to see everything."

Derwin laughed. "Brock and I plan to shake things up a bit."

Jorie eased over to their table to say hello. She looked even blonder and more trim than she had in college, her eyes sparkled bluer. "I'd say you've already shaken things up." She held out both arms for a hug from Brock, then from Derwin.

Brock hesitated, then stood up. He leaned in and gave her a quick hug with two pats on the back, although Jorie burrowed into him like a badger to a tree trunk. Brock sat down, watching Carol's reaction to the greeting.

Carol played it cool. She excused herself to wait on other customers. The morning rush was over and the place had pretty much emptied out. This was the time Carol used to prepare for the lunch hour crowd--not huge but still profitable. While Carol worked, Jorie sat down with Derwin and Brock to catch up. Carol glanced at the table occasionally, wondering what in the world they found so darn funny. She'd have to ask Derwin later. Alone.

The place cleaned up pretty well with the help of her three employees. There was one woman still squatting at a table to write the Great American Novel, another man reading the Wall Street Journal, and a two-some involved in a job interview. And Baba Yomama, of course. No one needed her assistance. She drifted back to her friends.

Jorie beamed as she saw Carol. "Guess what?" Without waiting for an answer, she continued. "I've invited Brock and Derwin to the Winter Solstice Celebration. And they're coming! Isn't that great! First time for both." She leaned across the table and put her hand on Brock's arm. She didn't seem to notice that the brothers were both blushing. "I hope it won't be the last time they decide to come. It'll be a night that they will never forget."

"Will your husband be there, Jorie?" Carol asked, oh so innocently.

"Gosh, no! He can't stand those things. It makes him intensely jealous for some reason."

Derwin leaned closer, conspiratorially. "Is it true the witches go naked there? Sorry, Carol, I just wondered. That's been the rumor forever!"

"Gosh, no! First, this is a Wiccan party to celebrate the winter solstice and the return of the sun. Second, it's winter and cold outside, right? Third, why not just come and be surprised? Okay? Carol always turns down my father's invitation, but I've invited her again anyway. I think she may come this year."

Derwin and Brock both looked surprised and studied her. Carol didn't know how to react to their scrutiny.

"You, Carol?" Derwin said.

"Well, why not?" she said defiantly.

Brock smiled at her, appraising her from head to toe. "I, for one, hope you'll be there."

"Well, I haven't decided."

Carol left her friends discussing the party while she prepared for the lunch crowd. She occasionally glanced their way, just to make sure they didn't need anything. Each time she did, she saw Derwin and Jorie head to head jabbering away. Brock sat back and watched her from his tilted back chair. It was a little disconcerting, but Carol's shop was a welcoming place, so she shouldn't really complain. Despite the warmth in the kitchen area, her breasts still showed the hard little pebbles where her nipples should be. Brock noticed, she was sure.

The lunch crowd started to arrive. It gave her something to do. She no longer studied Brock's broad shoulders, his blond hair, his large hands, and his thighs--oh, those thighs! The brothers got up to leave to give over the table to the lunch crowd.

"Oh, you can stay," Carol said. "It won't be that crowded."

Derwin leaned to kiss her cheek again and she blushed. She tried to kiss his cheek but missed. Then Brock stepped forward. He wanted a hug. Again. Her breasts ached already from their tautness but she opened wide her arms and allowed him another hug. His arms encompassed her as he kissed her neck. Not her cheek, her neck? Was that his leg finding space between her legs, pressing closer? Was she pressing closer to him at the same time? Damn, her breasts ached!

Then the brothers were gone. The air seemed to have been sucked from the room. Carol shuddered a bit. She smoothed her sweater and the sides of her jeans. She readjusted her v-neck so her mounds barely peeked out. She pasted on a smile for the lunch crowd. "Frosty the Snowman" played over the speakers.

The pebbles on her breasts had left when Brock did. Thank God, she thought. She filled a lifted mug for a customer.

After the lunch crowd ate and left, the cafe settled down to a relaxing hum. A few loyal customers spread around the shop. Jorie nursed another cup of green tea and an almond cookie. Carol sat down with her and Jorie smiled expectantly.

"So, you're coming to the Winter Solstice Celebration. My dad will be so excited!"

"I haven't said I would, Jorie. I'm still considering."

"Did you see how nervous Derwin seemed about you showing up?" Jorie laughed. "Brock, on the other hand, was drooling to think you'd be at the Celebration."

"Stop."

"Brock has been gone for seven years, hasn't he? Has he been in touch with you during that time?"

Carol shook her head with a sigh. She didn't mean to sigh and it caused Jorie to laugh.

"Do you remember when we all went to the lake together after graduation for that summer solstice? I was celebrating my degree in biology and nutrition."

"Of course I remember. My degree was in Business Administration." Carol waved her arm around the shop. "See what it's gotten me?"

Not a day passed that she didn't think about that summer solstice party.

Jorie sat back, reminiscing. "We were so young."

"And naive. Although I can't say we were innocent." They both laughed.

"My tiniest bikini was hidden from my father among my other decent suits. You had at least five sexy bikinis, didn't you?"

"That should have been enough, don't you think?" Carol laughed.

"Whose idea was it to go skinny dipping anyway? Brock? Derwin? Somebody else?"

"As I recall, the whole thing was your idea, Jorie. That was a Wiccan thing, right? It was the Summer Solstice we were celebrating. I don't think Derwin was even there for some reason."

"Brock was there. He couldn't stop staring at your, Carol."

"It was on the very day of the summer solstice. The sun set and the lake was warm. You, for some crazy reason, started stripping at the end of a pier. I think everyone knew that was your plan all along."

Jorie put her finger to her lips, pretending to remember. "Me? You really think it was my idea?"

"You loved 'communing with nature.' You always had a body to die for, and still do. Once you were naked, the boys followed your lead pretty quickly. Then the girls disrobed, too, but a little more slowly."

"You were the last holdout. Bad idea, because then everyone watched you ease out of your top and your bottoms. You had a pretty nice figure back then, girl."

"You ripped my bikini off me. And gave everyone a sex show when you started in to kiss me and fondle my boobs."

"Grrrr. I remember. You still have a great body." Jorie sat straighter, her hand between her thighs. "That settles it. I'm planning another road trip to the lake this summer for us!"

"What will Hervé say? What about your four kids?"

"He'll watch the four kids. You know how jealous he gets when he sees anyone paying the least bit of attention to me. Don't worry. It'll be all arranged. Now, should I invite Derwin or Brock to come with us this summer?"

"I'm sure I don't really care." Carol tried to sound disinterested, but her tongue played on the edges of her lips.

"Then I'll invite both." Jorie went on talking about her plans for the summer road trip. She seemed to have forgotten about the Winter Solstice Celebration. Which was fine with Carol. Her mind traveled back to that summer when she and Jorie were just twenty-two. Taylor Swift got it right when she sang, "We're happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time, it's miserable and magical..."

That was before Jorie had kids, although she was dating Hervé. At the lake, Carol had rejoiced that she was through with college, and wished her parents had lived long enough to see her graduation. Their death in an auto accident had been traumatic for her, but their estate and insurance proceeds had funded her coffee shop. Jorie kept everyone busy with calisthenics and challenges until that evening of the solstice. Brock celebrated the sun, the lake, the trees, and pretty girls. He told everyone of his plans to go to Chicago to use his newly minted Architecture degree to reshape the world. In fact, every person at the lake had big dreams at twenty-two.

The final evening had been perfect. They barbecued. They drank beer from long neck bottles. They listened to music played on guitars while most everyone sang. And just as the sun was setting and the sliver of moon was rising, an exciting idea spread among everyone--it would cement their college friendships to go skinny dipping. Sure, there was a healthy curiosity about the other person's body, but the sexual rules had relaxed in college to the point that anyone, except Carol, could bed anyone else for the price of a Marguerita and a nice smile. Sure, Carol had her own questions about the size of various parts of certain particular men's body parts. She was confident that most of them were eager to glimpse her body unclothed, for the first time.

When Jorie removed Carol's top unloosing her plush breasts, Carol glanced around. The horseplay had stopped and the boys were gawking. Then, Jorie slowly pulled down Carol's bottoms. The boys stopped breathing for a magical moment. Carol was bare, naked, exposed, vulnerable, accessible. But she didn't feel weak. Instead, she felt like a warrior queen, like the ones drawn on paperback novels and comic books, women with wildly perfect thighs, dainty ankles, gravity defying breasts supporting tiny metal bras, and Earth Mother hips carrying a golden chain bikini bottom. Her light brown hair was long and windblown. The warrior queen carried sharp dangerous weapons as she crouched, the better to illustrate the muscles of her legs.

Yes that was Carol, a modern Freyja, the Norse goddess of love, war, fertility, magic, and death, with the ability to foresee the future. Carol could pretend to be a powerful woman, in control of her destiny, practicing a form of magic called Seidr, which could change fates and the course of the world. Jorie kissed her mouth, her neck, and her shoulders. Carol was keenly aware that every man at the lake wanted her. When Jorie knelt down to kiss Carol's breasts and nuzzle her muff, Carol was sure that more than a few of the young men used the cover of the lake to explode the sexual tension that had built in their loins.