“Ow. That’s too tight.”
“Sorry.” Lydia* loosened my corset a bit. I could breathe again, and now my boobs weren’t hiked up so high they grazed my chin.
I looked at myself in the mirror. It showed a midsize blonde in a purple corset with a sage green maxi skirt.
“Thanks to your sister for letting me borrow this.” I began gathering my hair into a mess of barmaid curls atop my head.
“You look hot.”
“I look like my tits are gonna need sunscreen.”
“Oh, they will.”
“Hmmm. Anything else I should know before my first Renaissance Faire?”
“Yes.” Lydia stepped up and helped put in some bobby pins. “Everyone at the Faire loves money. But their second favorite currency is flirting.”
“Nice.”
“But there’s nothing behind it, Emma,” Lydia warned me. “It’s not like quietly flirting during one of our lecture halls. Everybody flirts with everybody. Have fun with it, but don’t take it too seriously.”
“Huzzah.”
“That’s not how you use that word.”
About an hour later we were kicking up dust at the local fairgrounds, the sun peeking through plentiful oak trees, throwing back goblets of mead.
“So I think that if I study with Dylan next semester I should—BIRDS!”
I looked where Lydia pointed. Off to the right, there was a man with a tiny owl perched on his leather-gloved hand. I took a closer look at him. Holy mother of God, that was a Good. Looking. Man. Trim, like he had been poured into his custom made leather period jacket and peasant top, with a lush mop of curly brown hair, hazel eyes, and a smirk that was a prescription for pure, uncut trouble.
He cocked an eyebrow at me. “I seem to have left your friend speechless,” he gestured toward Lydia.
I was glad I had a long skirt on so he couldn’t see my knees shaking. “Environmental science major. She’s really into birds.”
Lydia, oblivious, cooed at the bird. “He’s so cute! What’s his name?”
“Her name is Pips. Short for Pipsqueak.”
I was about to pet her, but he stopped my wrist with his free hand. His touch was warmer than the mead in my belly, and I wanted more of it. “No petting of my wild fowl. But if you’d like to see my falcon in action….”
I cocked an eyebrow back and quickly sized him up. “Is that what you call it?”
He grinned—bait taken. “Now now, there are children about, love.”
“My apologies…”
“Tyler,*” he offered.
“Tyler. Emma—and Lydia.”
Tyler brought Pips closer to his face and petted her chest delicately with the back of his index finger. “Well, if you two fair maidens would like to learn more about my work, we have a falconry show in the jester’s arena at two.” He locked eyes with me. “I do hope to see you there.”
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
Within an hour, we were at his show, marveling at the majestic creatures. With a wink, Tyler pulled me from the crowd with about nine other fairgoers for the volunteer portion of the show. We formed a pair of rows, with me at Tyler’s left shoulder.
The main falconer had us volunteers stand two feet apart as his magnificent beast, a sable-colored falcon named Fable, was going to demonstrate how she could glide silently through us like a row of trees. I looked over at Tyler, who pushed a piece of meat out between his thumb and his index finger. The gesture was strangely erotic, and he winked when he caught me staring. I felt myself blush so hard I was probably the same color as my corset.
Fable flew between all of us no louder than a whisper. A feather lightly brushed my cheek as she passed. I was entranced. She landed on Tyler’s forearm and grabbed her prize as he quietly cooed and congratulated her.
I cannot lie—’twas hot as fuck.
After the show, Lydia headed off to browse the leatherwork shop. I told her I’d catch up in a sec, making some excuse to linger a little longer in hope of catching a moment alone with Tyler.
A few minutes and zero sign of him later, I was just about to abandon my post. Turning around to find Lydia, I instead found a pair of hazel eyes suddenly locked with mine.
“Hey, Emma, before you go—do you have plans tonight?” Tyler asked. “After the faire, we usually take off the frills, make a bonfire and have a few beers to take the edge off."
“Beer? Not mead?”
“Too sweet for me,” he grinned. “Come back just after sunset? I’ll wait for you at the ticket booth.”
I paused, then curtseyed. “I would be honored, m’lord.”
Hours later, having ditched my corset for a miniskirt and jean jacket, I found myself stomping across the parking lot towards the Faire entrance again. Was I being crazy? Going to swill beer with the equivalent of a medieval carnival worker I barely knew?
But as I rounded the corner and spotted Tyler, he turned around to greet me with a smile and I instantly felt safer.
“Glad you made it.” He gave me a warm hug. “They’re just starting up the fires.”
As the stars peeked out, Tyler led me out into a circle of oak trees, the meadow punctured by the fledgling bonfire. The vibes were bawdy yet hippie in nature. Tyler and I laughed and chatted as we threw back cheap beer and some extra-crunchy Ren Faire workers started up a drum circle.
Fueled by the cheap booze, I got up and started twirling and dancing to the rhythm of the drums, head thrown up and watching the embers dance with the stars. I felt a strong hand wrap around my waist. Tyler, smiling, pulled me close and we began to twirl together. Soon he was leading us farther and farther away from the flames and the others, back into the trees.
Then, with a sudden passion, he confidently pushed me back against an oak and kissed me, hot and sweet and ravenous. I kissed him back, moaning into his mouth.
He broke off and started tenderly kissing my neck. “Does this feel good?” he whispered, pushing his impressive bulge up against my body.
“Yes. Oh! Yes!”
Tyler’s full lips strayed further down, brushing along my breasts at the edge of my top.
“Does this?”
I felt my body rise to his lips, a soft sigh escaping my own. “Oh, God, yes.”
And with a sudden swiftness, he got down on his knees, his fingers trailing their way up my bare thighs towards where my legs met. “Would touching you where my hands are leading feel good?”
My breath caught in my throat, my head twirling around. “Here?”
He looked up at me, hazel eyes glinting with light from the bonfire nearby. “No one will hear you over the drums.”
Challenge accepted. I nodded, and his mop of brown curls disappeared beneath my skirt. He gently nudged one of my legs to go over his shoulder, moved my panties to the side, and licked and sucked and caressed like it was his fucking job.
A gasp escaped my lips. Between the thrumming of the drums and the echoing laughter and the growing heat between my thighs, I felt absolutely primal.
Fuck it. “Fuck me,” I uttered.
He came up for air and kissed me deep, still working at me with his long fingers for a moment before pushing up against me again. My eyes still closed, I heard the familiar crinkle of a condom being pulled out of his back pocket. We broke off our kiss and I looked down as he whipped out and wrapped up his cock. Ooh—average length, but nice and thick. This was gonna feel good.
I pulled off my panties, balled them up in my hand, hiked up my skirt, and…“Fuckkk, you feel so good.”
Tyler felt hot and hungry, inching into me and pushing me back against the trunk. He went for my neck again, biting a bit this time and sending sweet sensations spinning down my spine. I grabbed his ass and tried to pull him deeper into me, bearing down as I did. I felt my heart rate rising with each thrust, the thrill and touch and joy bubbling up in me so much that I felt deeply alive, moaning and burning and gripping and kissing and writhing until I came, not caring if the stars or the grass or if anyone in the world heard me.
My orgasm pulled a guttural groan from Tyler as he quickened his pace, finally crying into the hollow of my shoulder before his sweaty body went limp against mine.
I gently pulled on his curls to bring him back face to face, tracing his lower lip before kissing it. After some tender aftercare, we made ourselves decent. The party was starting to break off and I could feel that it was time to go. With one last embrace, I kissed Tyler’s face, told him to say hi to Fable for me, and walked back towards my car, into the thick darkness of the trees.
I guess some Ren Faire flirting is real after all.
*Name has been changed.
