"Are you certain we are allowed to be in here, chérie?" Delphine whispered. The sweet odor of yeast hung in the damp air, its warmth cut through by bitter twinge. "It feels as though we should not be here."
"Trust me you big worry wart, jeez." Cosima looked back, grinning and rolling her bespectacled, hazel eyes. "That was the front door, I promise! We just follow the arrows." Delphine noticed weather worn and stained papers (so unassuming), half secured to and half falling from the walls. "Just stay inside the yellow tape." Cosima assured Delphine, dragging her forward through the damp warehouse, maneuvering across the concrete floor through a maze of huge stainless steel vats. The shiny behemoths radiated warmth as pressure gauges and thermostats offered their data to no one. The place felt deserted.
Cosima took advantage of the isolation, stopping as they transitioned between the fermentation vats to the overstock shelves to pull Delphine toward her and capture her lips in a languid kiss. "Mmmmmmmm. Thanks for coming with me!" she cooed, as she pulled back, her eyebrows jumping up.
"You are welcome chérie, but I hope you are not too disappointed with me; I really do not care for beer." Delphine reminded her.
"Shhhhh." Cosima's finger jumped to Delphine's lips. "Stop talking!" The blonde's eyes opened wider in surprise. "You only think that because you have never had a beer worth caring about! We are gonna find your beer identity, and this is the place to do it!" Delphine couldn't help but laugh; she bit Cosima's finger affectionately before she could remove it. "C'mon Dr. Cormier. I'm gonna get you drunk."
As they passed through the cramped gift shop, the tall and intriguing bottles captivated Delphine. She was used to seeing beer in small bottles that came in packs of six from the grocery store. These bottles however were all individually displayed; they were tall and thick, opaque (or practically opaque) and had the most amusing names. The giant pink bottle labeled "Rogue VooDoo Doughnut" she found most distracting; it sported an image of a vaguely frightening man in a top hat holding a frothing mug set against a field of bananas, chocolate bars and jars of peanut butter.
Transfixed by the idea of a beer that tasted like not one odd ingredient but three, Delphine had not noticed Cosima ascending the steep narrow staircase by the cash wrap. "Hey Delphine," she whispered from the stairs, "C'mon, you can try that upstairs."
It was a few moments before they could sit as the tasting room was very cramped. The stairs ended at a practically non-existent landing with a door to the left. Through the door was a small L shaped room. The short side held two small café tables; the long side had four picnic tables against the far wall. There was some, but not much, room between those tables and the actual bar where 10 stools stood in front of the 30 tap bar. Cosima's face beamed surveying the taps as they took their places at the two barstools closest to the bend in the room. "Yesssss!" Cosima hissed gleefully, "Look at that Delphine!" She flourished her hands and arms out wide gesturing to the 30 taps in front of them. "That is a thing of beauty!"
"If you say so, my love." Delphine leaned to wrap her arms around her girlfriend's shoulders and place a kiss at the corner of her mouth.
"Mmmmmmm," Cosima moaned appreciatively, turning her head towards the blonde. "I do say so." She closed her eyes, and leaned in for a more mature kiss; she got lost for a moment in the warmth of Delphine's mouth before she heard an unfamiliar voice.
"What can I get you ladies?"
Delphine, startled, jerked her head in the direction of the voice. "Je suis desolée."
"C'est pas grave." the man returned. When he caught the surprise in Delphine's expression he elaborated. "I just got back from Brussels; I went to do study with the Trappists. I'm Todd, by the way."
"Cool," Cosima said, "I'm Cosima." She took and shook his hand. Delphine nodded at him and gave her name.
"So what are we drinking?" Todd asked again.
"Well, my girlfriend here says that she doesn't like beer." Cosima began to explain, but Todd cut her off.
"Bro," he leaned in to play with them, "why the fuck did you bring her here?! Beer is what we do, man. Seems like you are, uh, cock blocking yourself, just a little!"
Delphine laughed at his forward joke, and Cosima played right along… "Hear me out dude! There is a plan!" Cosima joked, "I figured if I got her to sample enough of these fine brews then I could get a little somethin' somethin' in the tall grasses on the beach over the bridge, you know what I mean?!"
"Cosima!" Delphine was scandalized. "You are such a brat!"
Todd and Cosima high fived, "You're the man!" Todd chuckled and the three fell into the banter of old friends in a matter of minutes.
Cosima ordered up a sample of two IPA's for Delphine to try since she had been so fond of a few very, dry white wines on their trip to Napa earlier that spring; she also asked for a sample of the Voodoo Doughnut the blonde had been so fascinated by. And because they were her favorites, Cosima ordered a sampler of flavored stouts and a full glass of the Oatmeal for herself. "It's like a fucking meal in glass, this beer!" she declared appreciatively. "Trés sexy."
When Todd poured Delphine's flight, he began to deliver his scripted biography of each beer. Cosima cut him off, her eyes wide and her tone conspiratorial, "Dude, I'm trying to get laid here. Let me do the talking."
"If you think you can handle it, Brother!" Todd said as he threw his hands up. He winked at Delphine, "When you need an expert, Delphine, you let me know!" And he headed to the other end of the bar.
Delphine leaned in to whisper in Cosima's ear, "I am so attracted to you, right now, ma belle. Perhaps we could just leave. I don't need to be drunk to fuck you on the beach." She bit Cosima earlobe playfully, who pulled away, even though core had just swollen with liquid heat, and insisted she be allowed to impress Delphine with her beer selections. Delphine reluctantly acquiesced, and tried to sit obediently and innocently upright on her stool.
Pointing to the lighter two beers, Cosima explained, "So these are both India Pale Ale's; they are very "hoppy" beers, so they taste bitter. There is science behind why, but I won't bore you with it unless you like them, which I think you will because: chardonnay. And this, darker one, is the Voodoo!"
Delphine grumbled back, pouting like a child, "I like how you taste, and you don't taste bitter or like peanuts, but if you say I have to, I will try them."
"Good, because you totally have to," Cosima held firmly to her position, though her delight in Delphine's mock misery was evident.
The blonde lifted one of the glasses of IPA. She stared through it, letting the light reveal the true deep golden color of the ale, then she brought the drink toward her lips, which sort of reached out the to edge of the glass. She cut at Cosima who was trying not to appear too eager.
"I can't do it if you are watching, chérie." she said.
Cosima looked to her own dark brown samples and chose one to try: The HOT Sriracha stout. Both women drank. Cosima, who had been anxious to see Delphine's reaction, flinched as she felt the full-bodied brew kick her in the back of the throat, an anticipated, but still alarming, fire attacked her soft palate and sinuses. "Wooooooooo!" she hooted appreciatively. "That is hot!"
Delphine giggled and countered, "Oui, chérie! It was even advertised so, right on the tap!" she winked. Cosima turned and noticed that Delphine's taste had barely made a dent in the two ounce glass in front of her. "What about you? Did you not like that?"
"I told you; I don't like beer." Delphine said, unapologetically.
"Damn it!" Cosima said, "I really thought these were going to be winners! Well, fuck the other IPA then! Try the VooDoo! "
Delphine rolled her eyes and raised the other beer to her mouth, she took a generous sip as Cosima watched, and was pleasantly surprised that she did not want to spit the liquid out immediately. To her great surprise, the brew felt less acrid on her tongue and to her even greater delight, the flavors of bananas, peanut butter and chocolate were all obvious in her mouth. It was disorientingly not sweet, but still quite fun to drink. She took another larger drink, and Cosima beamed at her?
"So I take it you like it?" she failed to contain her enthusiasm, which manifested as a shit eating grin plastered across her face.
"It is surprising, oui, but I think I could enjoy drinking this Cosima. It is an oddity, certainly" Delphine admitted without a trace of defeat. Cosima was about to summon Todd, when Delphine pointed to the large glass of Oatmeal Stout. "What is that chérie? I like the look of what you are drinking."
"This?!" Cosima asked surprised. "This, babe, is the famous Rogue Oatmeal Stout! It is an orgasm in your mouth; full bodied and thick, slightly hoppy but mostly just delicious! I'm not sure you're ready for this."
"As I recall, my love, I have surprised you before. Now, give me the glass." Delphine insisted.
Cosima could not refuse and was thrilled when Delphine not only groaned appreciatively as she withdrew the glass from her lips, staring at it disbelievingly, but also failed to remove the remnants of the thick frothy head from her lip with a single swipe of her tongue, giving Cosima the perfect opening, "Hey you can't waste that!" and she leaned in to kiss the remaining foam off of her girlfriend's lip.
After Cosima was done, Delphine affirmed, "I think I have found my beer identity, Cosima. Mon Dieu! It's like drinking champagne!" She hurried another sip.
"You like it that much?" Cosima double checked, "Cuz if you are drinking my beer I am ordering another one!"
"Mmmmm, vraiment." The blonde answered and Cosima motioned for Todd.
Thirty minutes later, two empty glasses sat atop two twenty dollar bills. Todd grinned as he glanced out the window and saw the two women hand in hand running over the bridge.
The salty breeze coming off the Pacific, cut through their beer buzz just enough to keep Cosima and Delphine both firmly grounded in the present and each other.
They had crested the largest dune and seen and network of rolling sand hills, covered in varying degrees by varying types of grass. The tallest grasses cut their arms like razors as they walked by, learning quickly to void them altogether; smaller tufts of long leafed vegetation grew in puffs, peppering the landscape, the detritus collecting at their roots had been made home by every manner of crawling insect and arachnid on the beach. The shallow woven rooted grasses, however, made a stable and soft carpet upon which Cosima and Delphine had sat, holding hands, and then kissed lazily, then with more passion. On this green bed, Cosima laid her girlfriend down, easing her onto her back as their mouths continued to explore each other's. Delphine almost immediately spread her legs wider, wrapping them around Cosima's hips and pulling the brunette's hips into delicious friction with her center.
"Mmmmmmm," Cosima teased Delphine appreciatively, "someone is eager."
"Oui, ever since you told Todd you wanted to have me on this beach I have been thinking about nothing else. Cosima," Delphine bathed her lover's neck in warm, wet kisses, ending at the juncture of her ear and neck, "Cosima, Baise-moi" she whispered.
"Delphine," Cosima moaned, feeling a bolt of lightning pierce her center as she pressed down into Delphine's heat. "Fuuuuuck."
"Oui, Cosima, yes. Fuck me." Delphine demanded. She rolled them over, uncharacteristically aggressive and practically ripped open the closure of her jeans, grabbing Cosima's hand and moving it to where she needed it. "Touch me, Cosima." she begged as she looked into Cosima's now dark eyes, an expression of greedy wanting implicating all of her features.
Cosima's eyes closed instinctively as her fingers, slightly chilled by the ocean air, slid into Delphine warm, slick folds. Her breath hitched, she breathed the word again, "fuuuuuuuuck, baby, you feel so good. You are so swollen."
"Oui," Delphine affirmed, "I told you, I have been thinking about this." She rolled her hips, attempting to feel Cosima with the entire length of her sex, bumping her clit against Cosima's hand as her own wetness spread down into her palm. She had wanted Cosima inside of her, but the cold air had done something to Cosima's fingers… she wanted them to stroke through her, to find her clitoris, which was already throbbing for more contact from the slightly shocking touch. "Don't move, mon amour. Let me."
"Fuck, Delphine, you are so hot, babe." Cosima complied. Delphine had not taken this much control of love making before, and it was doing Cosima in. She braced right her hand along her own thigh and hip, giving Delphine full control. She moved her other hand under her clothes and between her own legs. "I am going to try to come with you. Is that ok?" Cosima asked.
The questioned melted Delphine's brain; the idea of Cosima, getting them both off at the same time was something she had not considered. She braced her elbows in the sand on either side of Cosima's shoulders, dropping her gaze to see the evidence of Cosima fingering herself in conjunction with the roll of her own hips. "Yes, Cosima, yes!" she answered as she kissed Cosima once more, before breaking the contact to focus on controlling the roll of her own hips and communicating to Cosima about her impending orgasm.
It only took moments for this entirely unique love making experience to send both women crashing into their climaxes, and as they came together they kissed, haltingly and deeply until their shuddering stopped altogether. With their bodies calmed, Delphine, collapsed on top of Cosima, who waited several minutes before nudging Delphine to sit up, straddling her hips. Cosima reclaimed both hands from between their bodies and was about to wipe the evidence of their arousal away when Delphine stopped her. Taking the come soaked fingers on each of Cosima's hands to her mouth in turn, she tasted first herself and then Cosima. Cosima rolled her eyes at the agonizing arousal of the gesture. Delphine lay down, then, beside Cosima, her head on the brunette's shoulder as they admired the evening sky.
"Thanks for today," Cosima said, dropping soft kisses into Delphine's hairline.
"It was my pleasure, mon amour," Delphine purred, "but I would like to correct you about one thing."
"Oh yeah, what is that?" Cosima asked, amused.
"Well, Cosima, the Oatmeal Stout..." Delphine paused
"Yeah?" Cosima asked puzzled, her eyebrows drawn together.
"It was absolutely delicious and I believe I have found my Beer Identity, as you say, but it is not nearly as satisfying as an orgasm in my mouth."
Silence hung in the air for a moment, before Delphine snorted at her own joke and Cosima burst into a fit of laughter, the two women filling the air with sounds of joy for the second time that afternoon.