Megumi by the Firelight - A Romance Part 4

A Recap of the previous parts:

Megumi By The Firelight - Part 1

Megumi By The Firelight - Teen Romance Part 2

Megumi By The Firelight - Part 3

A list of the characters is below.

Megumi By The Firelight is an offbeat coming-of-age teen romance that takes place over weekend in a house where 8 student girls are having a sleepover. The story centers around a new Japanese student who arrives unexpectedly, and she gets mixed up in the mischief of a jealous rival while she falls for another person.

(The story so far: the eight girls are spending a weekend on a sleepover at Ronda's house, and romance is in the air. Some relationships are starting to blossom, but Cassy and Megumi's night together is interrupted by a series of intrusions by the other girls, and then a mystery person who leaves notes under their door. When the second note is found - all hell breaks loose when it transpires that one of the girls wants Megumi out of the house...)

It was morning. The kitchen was full of noise as we all spoke over each other, sometimes talking – sometimes yelling. Eight girls all eating breakfast and talking at the same time. I think I was doing the least talking, and the most listening. Something was troubling me...

It was eight thirty, and outside it was dull and grey. It was the weekend. After my night with Megumi, and our weird encounters - no, make that weird interruptions from last evening - I was determined to explore the back garden and the outside, as I was beginning to get a distinct sense of cabin fever. I loved my school friends, and we were all teenagers and totally crazy – but I wanted a bit of space. I needed to clear my head. So before breakfast, I had a walk around the large garden, an acre of amazing garden space which was neat and looked after, with grass spreading out in all directions for a hundred feet. Shrubs and small trees were planted evenly around, offering plenty of cubby holes to hide or be by oneself. I wrapped my jacket tightly around me, envying Ronda for having such a cool house to live in. It was quiet and peaceful. And it was so damn big.

I sat now at the kitchen table. Something was bugging me bad. I looked at Megumi, sitting to my left...she looked back at me and smiled. She was so trusting. So innocent and sweet too. I felt a lump in my throat. She didn’t know yet, as I had not told her. I scraped the last of my Weetabix and cornflakes (I mixed my cereals) and announced to the kitchen full of hungry girls that I had a question. They looked at me smiling and nodding and gradually fell silent.

I had not told anyone about the second note. Not even Megumi. During the night a mystery note writer had left two notes under our bedroom door. The first note was harmless. The words written on the second note were about Megumi, and were deeply racist and offensive. I was glad Megumi had not seen it. I had read the note, then tore it up and destroyed it. Ronda, Penny, Debra, Avril, Wendy, Marla and Megumi were giving me their attention. I braced myself mentally for what was about to come.

Megumi by the firelight - Part 1
8 spirited teenage girls plan to spend the weekend in a large house. Seven arrive. Late in the evening, the missing girl turns up soaked from the rainfall, and ends up sharing the same bed room as Cassy. But how will things turn out? Is she straight or gay? And will the weekend be mad or just fizzle out...? The first free chapter excerpt from the forthcoming book.

Part 2
The evening arrives and the 8 girls are relaxing and getting to know each other. Debra gets familiar and after games, the girls retire to bed. Megumi opens her heart to Cassy. But just as the girls share a kiss, and are getting to sleep, a knock at the door interrupts them. Hilarious Interruptions and a pool of puke will steal the show...

Part 3
Megumi fancies Cassy and wants to get cozy, but constant knocks at the door interrupt them as the other girls comically mess up their night. When the two girls finally turn off the light, someone slips a letter under the door. What does the letter mean and who wrote it?

“I would like to know which one of you ladies slipped the notes under my door last night” I asked, looking round at each face of each girl.

“Notes? What are you talking about?” asked Wendy, looking round at the others. I stared hard at her. She sat opposite me, her afro hair was pinned back on her head, and she looked at me with her warm brown friendly eyes. Wendy was a nice girl, and she had dimples in the sides of her cheeks when she smiled, and I really didn’t think she was the note writer. They all looked at me, then around at each other. I waited to see a smile or snigger. Nothing.

I looked at Penny, sitting to my right. Penny and I had this thing going. I had a school girl crush on her and it was just becoming apparent to her. And over our weekend, things had warmed between us considerably.

“Penny, honey - did you write the notes?” I asked her. “Look, I won’t be mad...but please tell me...”

She was puzzled as hell, and said no it wasn’t her. But she sounded kind of hesitant. “Are you sure, Penny,” I asked. Penny stood up. “Oh my God, Cassy. I didn’t write any notes....” She was going beetroot red, and everyone was looking at her, in amazement.

Megumi, who was sitting to my left, whispered to me – “Cassy, what was on the second note? Please tell me...”

“I can’t, Megumi. Maybe later, okay...” I whispered back, with a dryness in my throat. I saw her dark eyes go big and wide, as she looked at me. I couldn’t possibly tell her, she would have been mortified. The second note had been a deeply racist remark written by the same hand and writer as the first written note. Ronda caught the look on Megumi’s face, and she looked at me hard.

“Cassy...” Penny pulled something out of her pocket, and handed me a crumpled piece of yellow paper. It was folded.
“I wrote that for you last night, going to bed...I was going to give it to you after breakfast...sort of...when we were finished eating...I’m sorry...it’s only for you...it’s...private.”
I took the paper, unfolded it and read it.
“Is something wrong?” Penny’s voice trailed off.

The characters:

The eight girls were all girls aged 16 or over: there was me - Cassy,

Ronda (the supposed leader whenever we allowed her to lead), attractive, forceful and well-built, but somehow a bit flawed...

Penny (blond and very sweet and I had a crush on her), we had a lot in common...

Wendy (black and pretty, a wee bit frail, but smart - I liked her), borderline angel... full on sweetness and very natural in so many ways...

Marla (looked more 19 than 16, and built like a brick shit house), very ordinary and plain on the outside, but beneath the massive bulk, she is a mystery woman, a bit scary to be around, and a bundle of energy waiting to explode somehow...

Avril (Irish red-head, green-eyed, had thick accent and coarse as hell, but straight talking honest, slight in appearance, yet punched (literally) above her weight - I liked her too). Honest to a fault and just something about her...

Debra (American, blond, smart, beautiful – looked like a cheerleader or a girl from a beauty pageant. Her family had moved to the UK – I looked forward to knowing her more). The objective of this girly gathering was a weekend sleepover in Ronda’s large family home, where each of us wayward and promiscuous teenagers were "experimenting". Last of all – there was the serene, pretty implacable Asian girl, Megumi.

Megumi, from Japan. She was unusual and enigmatic – quite the mystery girl , but was she even gay ? Some of these girls were gay, some were bisexual, and some just didn't know yet...

I read Penny’s letter slowly. It was addressed for me, and done in untidy spidery joined handwriting, quite different from the phantom note writer - and had some spelling mistakes through out it. Wow. It was a “Dear Cassy” love letter. It was very naughty and very sweet.

I broke into a warm chuckle. It brought a crinkled smile to my lips as I read her words - she must have been very turned on – writing this. Inwardly, I gave her a Gold Star for this. It also made me feel somewhat embarrassed and awkward for having asked the question about the notes. Penny’s letter was signed “Miss Enthusiasm”. And had two hearts intertwined around our names. I swallowed and read it a second time. Something inside me moved...

“Wendy...I love this! Thank you!” I whispered. It was a beautiful note. Now she smiled, and she threw her arms around me. For some reason some of the girls clapped, and some laughed. I saw Debra looking at Penny with a slight smile, and she gave her a “well done, you...” look towards Penny. Debra also had the hots for me, and I definitely had a thing for her. Yesterday, we had traded kisses in her bedroom.

“This is just a note from Penny to me,” I said finally. “It’s a separate thing, it’s fine...more than fine!” I smiled at Penny.

“Cassy, is somebody in trouble - tell me in the next room, this is my house, I have a right to know if someone is messing around,” said Ronda, coffee cup in hand. I fixed my eyes on her intently. Her eyes were steady and blinking... but there was something else there...

If only Ronda had said that as though she meant it – then I’d have truly believed her. I just looked at her blankly. God, I thought, she was so fake.

“Ronda, I don’t want to be saying that someone in this room is a coward,” I replied in a cool tone to all the faces looking at me. Marla was bolt upright in her seat. Was it her? Or Avril? Avril could be temperamental, but she had a heart of a Lion. Ronda was nursing her hangover well, and was on her third coffee. She was her usual artificial self. Nothing like the drunken yelling and antics that I had seen from the night before. Could it be her? Debra was very quiet, too quiet perhaps? I couldn’t tell. I thought back to last night, and looked at her. She seemed to read my mind and shook her head, her mane of blond hair wafting gently as she did this. Her gorgeous blue eyes were unwavering, and gazing at me intently in a way that made me feel strangely excited. I composed myself again.

“Megumi is a very sweet person.” I continued.

“What are we planning for today, ladies? Games, movies, sports?...” asked Ronda suddenly.

Everyone looked at her suddenly. Avril told Ronda to shut her face. Ronda fell silent and sipped her coffee.

“No one has any right to say nasty things about Megumi on notes. If you pick on her, you’re picking on me...” I finished.

They all looked at me. “You?” said Ronda.

“Yes, Ronda. I’m with Megumi.” I answered sternly. I looked at all of them, waiting for someone to make some pithy remark. No one did. Ronda kept her mouth firmly shut.

Wendy spoke up.

“Cassy, we like Megumi.” She turned to Megumi. “Megumi, I like you. We like you. You’re one of us. If there is a racist in here, it affects me too. I know what it can feel like when someone picks on me, cos I’m coloured or whatever. It’s not like you’ve done anything to hurt anyone.” Some of the girls glanced at Ronda as this was said.

“None of us would ever say anything bad about you. We’re your friends.” Wendy looked at me and gave me a smile. “We’re Cassy’s friends...”

Megumi blinked at Wendy, then at Avril, and looked at me.

“Hear, hear,” chimed in Avril. “That goes for me too.”

I looked at Debra, wondering if she had remembered the remark that she made last night. She was looking at me, and I could tell she was now remembering, because her whole face clouded over. She suddenly stood up. “I got something to say to Megumi,” she said, slowly.

“It was me last night. I did that.”

Ronda roared at her. “You stupid bitch! Why the F**k did you write that note, you godda...”

Debra raised her hands up in the air, shouting –“hey..hey! Knock it off, Wonder Woman! Stand down “Red Alert”! I didn’t do that note-writing crap! I’m talking about what I said last night, when ...her...”

Here, Debra turned to me with a comical expression. “...Her Majesty closed the door in my face cos I asked her to...to ... aw – sh*t ... screw it!...I said a stupid thing to Megumi through the closed door. There, I admit it. But ...”

Here she leaned over the kitchen table as she spoke. “I apologised for it, and you said no harm done, Cassy.”

Everyone looked at me. Penny whispered – “Is that right, Cassy?”

“Sort of right,” I replied, somewhat taken aback by Debra’s outburst.

“Megumi closed the door on you, Debra...not me, as we were going to bed. Please don’t call me that "majesty" nonsense, that hurts...” I glared at Debra. She looked sullenly back at me. “Also, Megumi didn’t hear you say the thing you said...only I did, Debra. But she’s probably wondering what it was you did say....”

“Huh? Didn’t you tell her?” asked Debra, bewildered.

“No, Debra. I don’t pass on things like that. It’s not ...not nice...” I looked at Megumi.

“Ohhh...shit....” Debra let out a breath, and she was looking uncertainly at Megumi..

Wendy whistled in a mocking way to Debra.

“Damn, girl...you’re busted!” Everyone looked at Debra in silence. I felt a pang of guilt gnaw in my stomach, as I remembered our kiss in her bedroom from the day before. Debra was such a gorgeous girl...

“For the record, Debra is correct – she did apologise to me before going back to her room, I heard her say sorry....” I added, silencing Wendy. “That part is true. But it’s Megumi who needs the apology, not me...”

Megumi looked hard at Debra, then at me, then at Wendy. She looked a lot smaller than usual, just sitting there. She was close to tears. I sat down and put my arm on her shoulder.

“What horrible thing did you say? I am not sure I want to know...” said Megumi slowly, her voice breaking. “Things you say, notes being written and shoved under our door, my being given the wrong address...getting caught in the rain trying to find this house...” I noticed Ronda yawning through this and I gave her a stern frown. I felt a sudden urge to walk over and slap her. Ronda gave me a “duh...whatever!” look. Megumi didn’t see it.

Debra walked around the table to Megumi, and the blond American girl took Megumi’s small hand. “Hey, Megumi...” she said.

“What I said last night, it wasn’t because of you, it was because of Cassy. I was annoyed at her. I just said something silly through the door and I apologised...I didn’t know you hadn’t heard. I’m sorry. I don’t hate you. Actually, I think you’re kinda fun...you’re alright. Cassy likes you a lot, and that says plenty to me...”

Megumi looked at her, then at me, and a big tear squeezed out of the corner of one eye.

“Hey, ya wanna take a swing at me? Go ahead, you can do that...after my shitty “Tora, tora, tora” joke from last night - you have the right....” Debra said good humouredly to the Japanese girl. Everyone watched Megumi size up Debra. Megumi gave Debra’s hand a sort of pinch . Debra just looked at her in surprise, as though she was expecting a left hook to her jaw or something. I saw Ronda and Marla chuckling.

“I am not a bad person...” whimpered Megumi, and then she burst into tears.

Wendy and Penny clambered out of their seats and came round the table. We all comforted poor Megumi, who was now sobbing and mumbling words to herself in Japanese. “Megumi, this is so wrong. We’ll find the person who wrote the note,” Said Wendy. Penny looked around the room, and soon everyone was consoling Megumi. Penny glanced at me, she looked very annoyed. “Jeez, Cassy – who wrote that damn note?”

“We have to find out...Miss Enthusiasm...” I replied with a slight sexy lilt to my voice. She grinned at me with a sudden brilliant smile that made my heart almost stop. I could feel the stares of Debra on the back of my neck, and when I turned, Debra was looking at me, with a strange look on her face.

“Let’s all think carefully about what happened here...” I said to everyone present, as I helped Megumi out of her seat, and we headed towards the door.

“I wouldn’t blame Megumi for wanting to leave this house...but I really like her....and I don’t want her to leave... .we're all friends.”
They all looked at me. I could see Avril was close to tears. Ronda’s face looked as though she was bored, and she was looking at her nails. Wendy and Penny were comforting Megumi, and I felt such a wave of love wash through me at the sight of them all together.

“And I have always thought of you all as my friends...please don’t let me lose my faith in you...and this is for the note writer...please don’t put any notes under our door. What you are doing is wrong, and it’s just childish and hurting everyone’s feelings. Besides...we’d only catch you and then it would be you leaving the house, not Megumi.”

“Amen!” said Debra.

I put my arms around Megumi and hugged her. “Megumi, I don’t blame you for feeling like leaving...but ...I feel...” I swallowed. How did I feel, I suddenly thought.

“I feel responsible for you...me and my friends do...well...do you want to stay?” Penny and Wendy looked at Megumi anxiously.

She looked at me, and she hugged me like a child would hug someone, and she whispered to me – “Yes, I will stay, I will stay with you Cassy. You are my nicest friend in the whole world now...” Her words brought tears to my eyes as she said this. Penny looked like she was about to cry. She hugged Megumi and me.

Everyone rallied around Megumi and we all gave her a group hug. Well sort of. I noticed that Marla hung back somewhat, and for whatever reason...I didn’t know. I thought nothing of it.

After breakfast, Megumi and I went back to our bedroom. The room was neat, as we had made the bed, and the curtains were open, and I had opened the window. A breeze blew round the room, but stopped as soon as the door was closed. I asked Megumi was she okay. She sat on the bed, and nodded and smiled. “Thank you Cassy for what you said to everyone.” She smiled the first smile I had seen in a while. I told her I was worried she’d run out of tears from crying. I told her that her eyes might get rusty. She laughed. She motioned me to sit beside her. I sat and looked at her. She leaned into me and kissed me on the lips and nestled her head in the crook of my neck. Her fingers were holding my fingers and she was squeezing them into shapes. We sat like that for some moments, until she looked up at me again, she looked at my lips and touched them, then she gazed into my eyes. I felt my body relax. All I could do was look back into hers. I could see so much happening in her eyes.

“I feel so strange...” she said. She looked at me – her eyes were so beautiful. “I love you, Cassy...” she said slowly. I took her hand and placed it against my chest.

“I love you too, Megumi Fukiyame.” I replied – I was completely in rapture with her. She smiled at me for using her full name. We kissed and it felt so wonderful. “You taste like Weetabix” she said, and we both laughed.

“You’re like a coffee with two sugars instead of one – extra sweet...” I chuckled. She giggled, and I tickled her and we fell on the bed, tickling and touching and holding and kissing. Every now and then my hand or palm would brush against her tanned smooth legs. She was in skimpy white shorts that came up high on her legs, and a rumpled chequered green shirt open at the neck. (Somewhere down stairs, her remaining clothes were drying from yesterday’s rainstorm.)

She opened two of her shirt buttons, and as she lay on the big soft duvet – she pulled my hand inside her shirt, and I felt smooth bare skin, and her warm breast. She encouraged my hand inside her shirt and I kissed her and we lay side by side, our foreheads touching and our eyes meeting. She moaned softly and seemed to hum whenever I touched her a certain way. She opened the top of her shorts with the flip of a finger, and slid down the fly and took my other hand and pulled my fingers inside her clothing. “Touch me there...” she whispered, her voice sounding like a million miles away.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door...

Quick as a flash, I grabbed the whole duvet and pulled it over so that it completely hid Megumi under it, leaving just my head and chest above it and a strange moving lump below.

“Come in!” I shouted. The door opened, and in walked my cheerleader babe Debra. Wow! How lucky was I this morning?

“Hy Cassy, where’s Megu...?...Oh..!” Debra stopped in mid flow as she noticed the moving lump beneath the duvet was obviously Megumi. Megumi was meanwhile inside the duvet and had found my shorts, and was busy opening them, and kissing my bare legs. It felt sensual and ticklish. Seeing Debra looking at me and my large mystery lump under the moving duvet must have been quite a sight to the blond American girl.

“Uh...am I interrupting something?” asked Debra, with a laugh and a smile, as I motioned her to lock the door. She smiled for a moment, as if deciding something...then turned the key, and just stared at me as I tried to act normal, as Megumi now began to tug at my panties under the duvet. I tried to look casual.

“I just wanted you to know something, Cassy,” began Debra, smoothly she was trying hard not to be too shocked or surprised by us both. “I had an idea about how you might catch your mystery note writer...”

Oh yeah?” I asked slowly, my eyes half closed as Megumi began doing something very naughty with a finger deep below.

“Well yeah, Cassy! We could catch the person using something like talc powder, it’s a bit hair-brained...but it would work, I think...I got the idea while looking at the pool of puke outside your...your...you’re not even listening to me, are you...?” Her voice trailed off.

“Oh yeah, baby...that’s it...” I murmured with slow deliberate satisfaction, as I felt something wet touching me in a certain place far beneath the warm duvet.

“Holy sh*t!” gasped Debra with a laugh. She stared at me like she was seeing a mirage.

“Cassy... I can..uh...I can come back...” Debra said slowly. I tried to answer her, but I was too busy being in total ecstasy to be able to respond to this, as Megumi was now using her tongue as a finger below, and I was having trouble focussing on Debra. I was totally turned on and beginning to loose the power of speech. I have no idea what or how Megumi was doing it, but I could barely contain myself.

Debra kept looking at me and she moved closer to the bed, until she was standing above me. She was in a cream yellow tight-fitting T-shirt that had the words “8 Wonders of the World” printed on it, and wearing a sexy light grey dress that stopped halfway up her thighs. Her thighs were cheerleader thighs, and very sexy.

Suddenly I moaned loudly as a hand – almost like a small animal - appeared to sprout out of the top of my shirt. Debra gave a start, then seemed to relax, seeing it was Megumi’s hand inside my shirt, roving around finding flesh to press, and her fingers dove under my clothing and down under the duvet – Megumi was busy – rolling in the deep - hunting for a target.

I stretched my hand out of the duvet, and touched Debra’s leg. I looked up at her, longingly. She didn’t pull away. She stood there as I let my fingers snake along her skin. I so wanted to kiss her. I begged her with my eyes. She leaned down and looked into my eyes. I saw her blue eyes staring at me, and there was mirth and humor there, as she chuckled. She was breathing hard.

“Geez, you are totally getting it on there, sister...”she said with a devilish grin. I laughed in a low husky voice at this, and pulled her down to me, and I could smell her perfume. She smelled amazing. I didn’t need to tell her, just our eyes staring into each other was enough. Debra leaned down all the way and kissed me. Now I had two girls working on me.

Suddenly a mop of tangled black hair surfaced and Megumi’s face, red and flush – appeared above the duvet. It was a comical sight. She muttered a low “Hello” to Debra, then totally ignoring her, she kissed me, then bit my ear hard, making me clench my teeth...then she muttered “Tor, Tora, Tora”, and disappeared under the duvet once more. Debra’s eyes blinked in the light as she whispered to me –

“Did she just say...”

“Yes, Dive, dive dive, in Japanese...” I finished, with a smile, as ripples of pleasure burst through my body now, since Megumi was working her tongue into some special place.

Debra looked at the duvet as it rumbled and tumbled about on the bed, then she looked at me. I must have looked so funny to her. Whatever it was I will never know, because Debra suddenly whispered –

“Aw, screw this...” and she undid her dress and stepped out of it and I caught a flash of shapely bare legs and white panties, then she climbed into the bed beside me. She scrunched her body up against the duvet, and said “can I get in with you?” I kissed her lips and nibbled her neck as I nodded. I could see her eyes twinkle with excitement as she climbed inside the duvet. Debra pressed herself against me, enjoying our closeness. Her blue eyes were so attractive and friendly...her expression so inviting...

“If that girl touches my ass, I’m gonna....” she began, then she stopped as something moved under the duvet towards Debra, and Debra looked at me, her eyes bulging slightly.

“Whatever happens, honey...just go with it....” I whispered, as I felt someone trying to force my legs apart under the duvet. Debra and I kissed, our tongues lancing each others mouths. She took huge biting kisses of me and ravaged me with her mouth - and it was so sensual.

“Oh Cassy...what is that?...you naughty girl...” She smiled widely at me. “That is so beautiful...don’t stop...yes...I like that...right there...oh yeah...”

I looked at Debra – eyebrows raised. I wasn’t doing anything except kissing her. Debra was sliding herself against me, and wriggling her butt in sheer bliss. Then she caught my quizzical look.

“Those are your fingers inside my panties, right?” she asked.

I giggled at her, and wiggled my ten fingers back at her just above the lip of the duvet. Debra looked at me, then she gasped – “oh my Gaawwwwd...”

To be continued.

Part 5 is here.

Taken from a forthcoming novel by Cassy Mantis and edited by Cathy Nerujen. All text and images copyright (c) 2010 to 2016 Cassy Mantis. All rights reserved.

News about this story and the book will appear here and in Flashstar magazine.