Simon had been right: there was a new hollow in the surface of the earth, torn out of it by the violence of the gale the night before. Inside it the sand was pristine, smooth. Elena stood with him for a moment looking down into it, wondering at it. Behind them the beach was bare and hostile, swept by the icy wind that still blew strongly in the aftermath of storm that had created this new place.
Her hand in his, Elena allowed Simon to lead her down into the hollow, to its centre, where they stood looking around them. They could not see beyond its rim. The air was completely still where they stood, utterly quiet, as if it were part of a different world.
"We're completely out of sight," Simon said. "It's our own private place."
Elena leaned her body against his, feeling its strength and angularity and hardness. They had been lovers for only three weeks, giving each other their virginity. At nineteen, Elena knew well that she had remained virgin far longer than her friends; Simon, a year younger, had been acutely conscious of his own inexperience. His body was to Elena still a thing of wonder and delight; she rejoiced in it, explored it, marvelled at it.
They had told each other that they loved each other three months ago. Together they had travelled down the path towards the inevitable that they both desired; and then it had happened, quite unexpectedly for both of them, one afternoon when Elena's mother had gone out and left them alone. When her mother returned Simon and Elena had installed themselves in the sunroom, ostentatiously watching a video; Elena remembered her mother pausing on her way through to the kitchen as she caught sight of them; she had looked at them searchingly for a moment, then smiled quietly to herself.
There had been no objection from Elena's parents when she announced shortly afterwards that she intended to spend a week alone with Simon at his parents' house at Cape Schank.
Elena loved making love with Simon. She loved the feeling of him entering her; every time it was fresh and new, this hard, warm bar pushing inside her, filling her completely. She loved to feel him move inside her and his sperm flood into her. She loved the satisfaction and relief she was able to give him. They made love as often as they could find the opportunity; down here on their own, they made love several times every day.
Elena had not expected to have orgasms with him. She had never had one, not even when she masturbated, which she had occasionally done since she was a child. She experienced pleasure from touching herself down there, from being touched down there, and eventually would feel a sense of relief, relaxation of tension; but she had read about orgasms and she had heard other girls talk about them and she knew that what she experienced was not the same. She did not regret the absence. It was enough for her just to be with him. It was enough for her to be made love to by him.
"We're the first people ever to be here," Elena said. "Until now, this place did not exist. I feel like an explorer."
