Can you smell that heady scent / fragrance of the storm approaching languidly?
It's as if the elements wanted to mark the end of summer frivolities with intensity… thinks Henri on his way back from the beach.
The voice of Oxmo Puccino rises in the air at the same rhythm as the sea spray that begins to leave traces of salt on his skin.
The pressure of having to submit his manuscript to his publishing Edition house before the new term made him forget the cherry festival, a landmark event in Malmousque, the small village in the Bouches-du-Rhône where he was born.
It would be sensible to act as though he hadn't heard that music he loves… it's the 31st of August, he has two days left to submit the erotic novel he has been carrying for two years…
And at the same time, the faces of Lorie and Jason, whom he met two days earlier, come back to him.
Lorie and Jason are a charismatic Berlin couple who have come to spend their holidays in his home village.
"They'll be at the cherry festival, for sure, they're heading back tomorrow," he thinks.
The few messages exchanged following their wild dance on the dilapidated dance floor of L'Archimède at 2am leave Henri with a pulpy taste of "I want more, maybe even more…"
Lorie's full lips passionately kissing Jason's waiting mouth while plunging their piercing gaze into his. Henri replays the scene… It was an invitation to join them, she clearly conveyed it to him in a message, afterwards.
He didn't dare, and it's haunting him… The strawberry scent / fragrance of their lip gloss, their eye crinkling as they look at him, the sensuality emanating from the union of their bodies and the barely concealed invitation they threw his way…
This nagging thought has brought him to his hut without even realising it. He jumps in the shower, puts on his lilac linen shirt that reveals a chest Goldened by a summer under the sun of the South of France, and takes the same path this time to head to the cherry festival.
"Yo on my way you there?" -
Henri 7:38 pm
"Hello, we'll be there in 20 mins where shall we meet?"
Lorie 7:39 pm
"Toffee apple stand near the swing ride"
Henri 7:40 pm
"A tte <3"
Lorie 7:40 pm
8pm. They spot him leaning against a lamppost next to the toffee apple stall, rolling a cigarette, deep in concentration. As they approach him, Jason whispers in Lorie's ear that they find Henri magnetic, that they feel very attracted to him. Lorie agrees wholeheartedly about the effect he has on them.
Henri places the cigarette in his mouth, raises his head and embraces Jason, then Lorie, to greet them…
Quite instinctively, the three of them head over to the swing ride, behind the notorious haunted house, a little away from the crowd.
Henri then notices the ring that Jason is wearing on his left middle finger. Highly aesthetic, in silver adorned with a ring, it seems to tell a story...
WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Illustrations by Merle Veau-Cahon @grandechaussette 💜
Léa ☁️
A wordsmith for 10 years across a wide range of subjects, I recently moved into sexology following a training course with Mathilde Magnien. Passionate about relational dynamics, here we'll chat in an uninhibited, inclusive and (a little) funny way too.
