The View From A Darkened Room

Things can't go on like this. After losing her boyfriend, her job, and her confidence all at once, Kate needs to escape from her lonely apartment. In a rustic retreat she finds a welcoming group of hot people, and they involve her in hot, unprotected sex with men and women that pushes her boundaries.

~~~~~ Excerpt ~~~~~

Kate found her suitcase lying on the bed. She opened it, thinking that maybe unpacking would help her get relaxed. The small closet and dresser provided plenty of space for the little she had brought. The bathroom was tiny, and she sighed when she saw there was no tub. So much for the idea of spending relaxing hours in the tub with a good book. A lot of good it did that she had remembered to bring bubble bath and a number of good books with her; the dream had to adapt to the place.

She noted a sign on the wall titled Guest Services. A quick look told her that someone named Betty drove to town on Wednesday mornings. For a small fee, she would pick up groceries or things needed from the store, and take in and pick up laundry. That was helpful. She wouldn't need to go into town unless she wanted to.

Besides her clothing, she had brought a few other necessities. She found her box sitting on the counter of the tiny kitchen. She opened it and took out a coffee press, kettle, ground coffee, three bottles of wine, corkscrew and some cheese and crackers. Enough, she thought, to avoid the necessity of going out to eat the first night. With luck, she'd find a deli in town and be able to stock up on some other food and hunker down in her little mansion on Helen's Hill.

She opened a bottle of red wine and poured a big glass. “The first course of my nutritious meal,” she laughed and took a close look at the place that would be home for month. The front porch occupied a corner of the house, with the bedroom taking the rest of the space in the front. The bedroom had two windows. One looked out to where her dusty car sat in the afternoon sun; the other opened onto the passage between houses. A shuttered window faced it on the other side. Kate smiled.

The front door opened from the porch into tiny living room and the bathroom and kitchenette were opposite it. The living room had one window. Like the one in the bedroom, it faced a shuttered window on the shack across. If the shacks were similar in layout, she decided that her bedroom window would face a living room window on Helen's shack, and her living room would have a view of the neighbor's bedroom window. She thought of Helen's comment about the view. It didn't seem like much.

The back of the living room had two back doors. “Curious,” she muttered. Sipping her wine, she opened the one on her left. This was the one she and Helen had used coming in from the public space. At the bottom of the stairs were some of the lounge chairs she had seen earlier. Across the way, a dark-haired young woman with short hair sat reading a book. She wore a skimpy bikini and had her chair situated in a sunny spot.

Kate went back inside and tried the other door. “What's behind door number two?” she murmured, and found that it led inside a darkened room.