Of all the trees that are in the wood
The holly bears the crown
– The holly and the ivy

Ivy had always worried that she was boring. It seemed to her that everything she did was a bit bland. Her hair wasn’t exactly brown and it wasn’t exactly blonde. It hung in a straight sheet and stayed tucked behind her ears. She wore cardigans and sensible shoes. She lived by herself in a lovely flat, but her view was over a car park and the angles of the building meant that she was often in shadow.

All in all, she had no real complaints, but she still looked at other people and saw vibrant colours that left her feeling grey. Her small circle of friends didn’t understand, and Ivy almost envied that more. They were so content that Ivy’s restlessness seemed to make them nervous. She tried to shake off her dissatisfaction but couldn’t find comfort in the things that the others could. She smiled at their jokes, but the laughter never quite met her eyes. She wished she could be happy like them, comfortable and at ease with themselves.

But Ivy wanted to be brighter. She wanted to shimmer and shine. She wanted to try new and exciting experiences, and taste new and exciting flavours. She just wanted to be new and exciting, but she wasn’t brave enough and didn’t know where to start.

So Ivy found another way.

***

Holly leant back against the bar and looked about her. She could see herself reflected in the slightly mirrored surfaces and smoothed out the fabric of her jade green dress where it had ruffled over her hips. She loved this dress. It was fitted enough to show off her delicate curves, but not so tight that it rode up when she walked. The colour also brought out the best in her colouring, turning her not-exactly-brown-not-exactly-blonde hair into a more luminous shade of gold. She had curled it into waves that tumbled around her ears like a crown.

She had barely finished her glass of wine when she was approached. He was the stereotypical tall, dark and handsome stranger, and she couldn’t yet see anything new about him. No, she wasn’t sold. She had originally started coming to these bars to just absorb the atmosphere, but she found that she was never short of company when she wanted it.

‘What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?’

Holly sighed. No, she wanted more. She smiled at him but turned away, and found herself face to face with Stephen.

Now her smile was real. They had met here two weeks ago and she had hoped that he would be back. Her thighs had ached for days after that last night together, and she had come over and over since then remembering what just his hands had done to her. Hands that had expertly teased her. Fingers that had curved inside her and fucked her until she was shuddering and quaking in his arms. Hands that were now holding out a glass of wine to her.

He led her across the bar to a booth where they sat opposite each other, not quite close enough to touch. She couldn’t have told you what they talked about, small talk about work maybe and other trivial chitchat. She couldn’t have told you how long they were there or whether the wine was good, because all she could remember was his hands on his glass and how he didn’t touch her. No, she couldn’t take it anymore. It was time they left.

Without asking if he wanted to come or not, she got up and led him out of the bar. Once outside, she led him away from the main road and away from the crowds. She grabbed the lapels of his coat and pulled him down to kiss her. It was a long and hard kiss, but she broke away as his hands moved to hold her waist.

She jumped up to sit on the top of a wall along the roadside. He stood in front of her, watching her, but didn’t move in closer. Deliberately placing her hands on her knees, she began to spread her legs until they were almost as wide as the smile on her face. The light of the street lamps reflected off her glistening cunt and the look on Stephen’s face instantly confirmed that she was right to have left her knickers at home. She wiped her finger up between her lips, opening them before beckoning him towards her. Once he was within reach, she pushed her fingers into his mouth so he could taste her and taste how much she wanted him.

Her fingers were still hooked into his mouth when she unzipped his trousers and pulled out his cock, dragging him closer. With her legs wrapped around his waist, she guided him into her, both of them groaning as he stretched her open, pushing deeper inside. Biting his ear lobe, she began whispering everything that she was going to do with him as he fucked her harder, her arse scratching against the rough concrete of the wall…

***

Ivy stepped out of her heels and let her dress slide into the floor, smiling at the bruises and grazes on her pale skin, before wiping off her eye liner and mascara.

Each time she went out like this, some of Holly got left behind when she washed off the mask. Ivy now wore multicoloured cardigans with her sensible shoes and occasionally left the curls in her hair. Her laughter was real and infectious, and her friends admired her renewed spirit. The gap between her fantasy and her reality was narrowing, and the lines were blurring more each day. In forgetting herself, she had let a beam of light into her shadows and had built mirrors to reflect it into every corner.

Oh no, Ivy didn’t feel boring anymore!

***

Gosh, this Christmas erotica meme that Exhibit A is running is a lot of fun! Check out the other prompts and see what else has been written, they’re all so good!

Can’t wait to see what comes next…