Of Milk And Honey

Silk.That?s what encrusted Talia while she drifted. Long wavy locks of soft charcoal hair were both a cushion and a stream on her pale cheeks and over her High Holiday best. Two piercing eyes carved from jade peered over the crest as she got on hands and knees and crawled towards them over the infinite carpet, heels thrown off to the side, her top cardigan button undone.Olive skin and full lips greeted her over the nose bridge."To a sweet New Year."A melodic voice like honey melted over her."To a sweet New Year," she replied.And like the voice, honey began to drizzle from the oversized lips, Talia no larger than an index finger. Down it cascaded, up it trickled until the amber substance pooled over her hands and the knees of her pantyhose. She lifted her hand to reach towards the lips, sticky honey webbing and trailing. The green as green as new growth in Spring flicked its gaze towards Talia as the honey continued to pour and seep into the formalwear she had brought from home to her first semester of college. She may have been Jew-ish as in not a very good Jew on the practicing front, but Rosh Hashanah was not the holiday to skip."I?ve wanted this for so long." Talia licked a large strand of honey as it dripped from the bed of sandy-blonde curls atop her head and traced her fingers under her long ruffle skirt. "So so long."In the distance a ram horn sounded. The ancient shofar and the melodic voice flowed and flowed and flowed and?"Crap!"Talia looked around the sea of bobbing kippahs and lace head coverings donning the congregation of Beth-El and realized she was the only one still standing, without shoes on at that. She shot a nervous glance towards the bimah where she caught the gaze of same bright green eyes from her daydream, those of Leah Hyman, the Rabbi?s daughter. Leah continued to sing commands for her father to blow on the shofar in her conservative creme dress and matching blazer.Talia had introduced herself once, briefly, during a Friday night Shabbos when she?d first moved to the small East Coast town before the start of classes, but had since done her best to pretend she wasn?t completely captivated by the charismatic charm of such forbidden fruit.She?s probably a daddy?s girl and straight.Embarrassed, she sat down and buried her face in the prayer book, hoping her spot at the back would be enough to avoid standing out more than she already did. The sticky gush of her own honey milked from her ill-timed fantasy seeped into the seam of her pantyhose. Talia was hyperaware almanbahis şikayet of the rough nylon pressing up into her pantyless, unkempt bush. Of all the days to run out of quarters for laundry, she sighed. Her cheeks flushed a brighter shade of pomegranate upon realizing her cardigan buttons had also managed to undo themselves and hastily rebuttoned them, but every heartbeat only pushed her swollen nipples further out into the fabric of her thin blouse like small, pointy dates.A faint smile flickered over Leah?s lips while she observed Talia?s predicament from afar.~~~After the service, everyone shuffled out into the atrium for a toast. Talia swirled the Manischewitz around the little plastic cup, not unlike the ones used for cough syrup, which just about described the sickly sweet flavor of the wine ubiquitous at Jewish gatherings. She barely caught the end of Rabbi Hyman?s schpeel as she took her spot closest to the wall away from the hubbub at the center."Today marks the Day of Judgment where God opens the Book of Life and chooses who will live and who will die. For the next ten days until Yom Kippur and our fates are sealed, we take the time to reflect and repent. Let us celebrate." He raised an ornate silver Kiddush cup, "L?chaim?to life.""L?chaim." The congregation returned the cheers and drank from their small plastic cups.The adults shifted into conversations amongst themselves and gathered around the seasonal catering. Apple slices, bowls of honey, and round challah loaves studded with raisins lined the tables that had been set up during the service. Little kids scrambled trying to be the first to get a slice of the buttery brioche after being made to sit still for three hours straight by their parents while Talia kept to herself. She didn?t know anyone there and felt like she was watching the festivities play out through a camera lens. She only wished that the wine had been more generously poured to try and wash away some of her budding anxiety."Shana Tova. Talia, was it?"Talia looked up to return the traditional greeting and flushed. "Yeah. Shana Tova to you too. Leah, right?"Leah?s lips curled and Talia found her eyes drawn to the sapphire-encrusted Star of David dangling enticingly above the gentle heave of her modestly covered breasts."Did you enjoy the service?"Talia?s eyes shot back up to the darkly framed ones in front of her. "Yes. You, um, have a lovely voice." Her words faltered as Leah took another step closer, brushed a flyaway curl off of Talia?s face almanbahis canlı casino and tucked it tenderly behind her ear with her hand."You didn?t doze off or anything?""What?! I, no, my feet just got tired, and maybe I did, a little." Talia?s breath caught, not wanting to admit to fantasizing about Leah in front of her, and she suddenly became self-conscious about the musk sticking to her thighs. Fresh wetness leaked through the black nylon and mixed with what had dried and flaked over earlier. She shifted her legs around, but the tight wrappings only shoved the seam further into her folds under her skirt."Well, I know you?re new here, but you don?t need to be a wallflower. We?re a community at Beth-El." Talia subconsciously took a step back so she was against the wall while Leah inched closer and raised a green apple dipped in honey up towards Talia?s full lips with her other hand. A long, viscous strand had already trailed from her slender fingers and onto the laminate wood floor. "And I wanted to wish you a sweet New Year, in the spirit of sharing, personally."Talia darted her eyes around, but no one seemed to notice the undercurrents of sexual tension rippling around her."Open your mouth, Talia."Juicy, firm flesh pressed its way between Talia?s lips, thick nectar coating them like lip gloss. Leaving the apple wedge in place, Leah grabbed the flustered Talia?s hands and gently led her down an unlit hallway towards the back of the synagogue. The honey parched her throat while her heart threatened to burst forth like a tidal wave.~~~Street lights flickered through the hazy September evening as Talia left shul and began the long schlep back to her college dorm. She was the last one to leave other than the Rabbi and his family. Her curls lay disheveled and her cardigan buttons were crooked. Close to her chest, she carried a paper bag filled with leftover fruits and an unopened bottle of Manischewitz. The soft clack of her heels echoed off the sidewalk pavement while her insides bunched in confusion."Do you know what the pomegranate means?"Leah had led her to the kitchen. Buttons were unfastened, zippers undone. Deep blood-red juices had pooled over Talia?s face as Leah grabbed a handful of flesh-covered seeds like a handful of jewels and crushed them slowly between her palm and fingers."It?s abundance."A kiss, languid. And her taste?tart, sweet and heavenly.The ruby stain still marked Talia?s blouse like an illicit love-bite, but she couldn?t figure out why Leah had almanbahis casino so suddenly come on to her. Sure, Leah had mentioned working on her masters at the same college, but she doubted they would have run into each other, especially not at a Rainbow Raiders meeting, the on-campus LGBTQ group. Maybe she knew. She noticed me staring every week and knew.Overhead, clouds thickened and started to drizzle. Talia sped up her pace as rain glistened off the pavement in small pools of dull orange glow. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone huddled under a large oak tree. She recognized it as the Jewish cemetery she had passed on her way to Beth-El. Rabbi Hyman often talked about how the community here traced their roots back to the early nineteenth century, with many joining later after World War II. Talia didn?t know much about her family?s history or the old country or language and felt like she had floated her whole life, distanced from any big communities like Beth-El, somehow ending up thousands of miles away from everyone she knew. Maybe Leah could be the anchor to finally help her settle on herself.The new moon made it difficult to see more than a shadow sticking out in front of the gravestones, but the chill rain sent goosebumps down her spine, and she worried that the person under the tree may be worse off. Rosh Hashanah was the time of good deeds and mitzvot, after all. She couldn?t tell if it was a man or woman, but they appeared short, stout and sat curled in the fetal position.The rain began to pelt down harder, so she quickly ran towards the oak, its branches a protective awning in the spate.Talia sat on the grass next to the grey, sickly figure. Indiscreet facial features like an unfinished sculpture waiting for the details to be carved out and a slit where the mouth should be were all she could make out in the dark."You look hungry. Rough night?" Only the patter of the rain answered. "Hello? Shana Tova?"Raindrops fell heavy from between the leaves. Dirt trailed down where the droplets hit her silent companion, letting off an earthy petrichor scent. She shivered as her drenched clothes clung to her body and placed her hand on one grey cheek."You?re really cold." Unease glued Talia?s throat together as she took out a date from the soaked paper bag and placed the dried fruit between the figure?s stony lips. It fit perfectly. "For a sweet New Year." Faltering a smile, she quickly got up and left, half-running half-walking all the way back to the dorm, praying she hadn?t stumbled upon a dead body.Muddy footsteps followed not far behind.~~~Talia tossed and turned in bed that night. Strange dreams interspersed with memories of Leah?s expert fingers tugging at her nipples and sliding between the velvety wetness of her sex.