SnEEze you at Piccadilly. Love, Laura xxx (M/F)

[countless]

This story is dedicated to Hankman, a most inspiring SFF friend …

My way to say Kudos

2 SFF members meet in London - but what a surprise is waiting there !

Gender : M + F

Setting : Piccadilly Road, London

Original fiction

Paul Detheux, 33, single. Engineer, living in Paris. Member of SFF since 2003. Into female sneezing and blowing.

Laura Harding, 30, single. Free-lance reporter and artist, based in London. Member of SFF since 2004. Into male sneezing and blowing.

Paul was sunken into deep thoughts as the train was crossing the green landscape of Kent.

It was early October and dark clouds filled the autumn skies. It was going to rain. He had definitely arrived in the UK. In a quarter of an hour he would be in London. Paris to London is not a long distance, but there is the channel in between to make it feel like a real journey. The whole thing was giving him an excited feeling in the stomach – he was a bit nervous.

HATCHUUUM !! HATCHUMMM !! In his right hand he was holding a big blue hankie. He was coming down with his first cold of the season. Tickly nose, loads of blows. *Sniff*, he had to blow again. No, he would NEVER date a girl in this condition. Except … Laura.

Even the old lady sitting next to him had stopped blessing him.

Laura. What a strange story. One day back in the summer of 2004 he had been browsing SFF and seen her first entry. ‘Self-obs from a busy lady’. And for some reason it had fascinated him. Enjoying her allergy obs on a hot summer day with a beer in his hand. It had made him smile. More posts had come and he had read them, and it was as if he could read between the lines. An interesting lady. Finally he had contacted her. After 5 days, when he had almost given up hope, she had sent him an e-mail. And he had answered it. So it had started. And so it was still going on. Laura had become part of his life … his fetish life … had been acting in his dreams – and he in hers ? … he knew so much about her … but actually he did not KNOW her… HATCHUMMMMMFF ! he sneezed again into his handkerchief.

The old lady decided to take some distance of her sniffling neighbour.

Laura had come down with a cold that autumn. And she had sent him those magical pics and wonderful wavs and even a video. The way she sneezed in a high voice ‘huutshiiiii !’ It had made him fall in … ‘fetish’. And she had been very happy to have his recordings too. He had always been quite catchy, and she had told him how excited she got from that. Humm … Hmmhumm …. UCHUCH !!

The old lady opened her handbag and offered him a cough drop. ‘Thanks,’ Paul said.

One day Laura had invited him to write a story together. Paul had always loved writing, and certainly when it was fetish-related, so they had started to do a sharing.

A space odyssee … last survivors of a nuclear war on earth find a new home on a planet somewhere in the galaxy called Zenon. And that planet is inhabited by most gorgeous creatures. But … the survivors have brought an uninvited guest to Zenon : a cold virus ! And so the extraterrestrials discover something new : sneezing !

Soon it had become a hilarious story of about 300 pages. He was very proud of the result. What a masterpiece they had written. His ideas and Laura’s together…

‘We have arrived at Waterloo Station, sir,’ the old lady announced whilst touching his shoulder.

The rain was poring down as Paul got out of the taxi in front of the Royal Academy of Arts at Piccadilly. Whilst opening his umbrella he took out a fresh white hankie from his trouser pocket to give his cold-infested nose another honk. HATCHUUUW !! His heart was beating in his sore throat. He put his black scarf a bit tighter. Where would she be ? 2 pm at the entrance gate. ‘Huuuutshi !!’. He recognised that sound. She had noticed him and came his way.

‘Paul ?’ she asked.

‘Laura ?’ he suggested.

A most gorgeous lady. Red curls playing around a pretty face. Tight jeans over boots and a black knitted jacket. A lovely orange-with-brown-flowers shawl on top. The looks of an artist no doubt. And she looked so familiar to him. She was no stranger. The next moment he looking into two big grey eyes that were filled with joy. And underneath them … there was a cute bright red nose !

‘I am so happy to finally meet you’, Paul whispered.

‘I have SO been looking forward to this moment’, Laura smiled. ‘It must be fate, Paul, but I have woken up with a hell of a cold, so you’d better keep some distance.’

‘That is n….’ Before he could finish his sentence Paul had to grab his white hankie to cover another wet sneeze. HATCHOOOOmmff !!

‘Spooky how the same thing is happening to me, Laura’, Paul sniffled whilst Laura blessed him.

‘Huuuutshiiii !!!!!’ she sneezed into an Atishoo-design hankie he had bought her for Xmas. And he blessed her too.

They were both delighted because of this coincidence.

They were walking down Piccadilly Road and talking and talking, and sneezing and blowing, together under Paul’s umbrella. All of a sudden Laura stopped, took a deep breath and looked straight into Paul’s blue eyes.

‘Paul’, she continued a bit nervous, ‘there is a reason why I wanted you to come over now. I should have told you. What I did could be wrong. But now there is no way back.’

Paul did not feel at ease. ‘Are you married ?’, he asked.

His reaction made Laura laugh. ‘Oh, no, that is not what I needed to tell you !’

She took his hankie-filled hand and leaded him to the window of Hatchards, an old-fashioned bookstore with those typical English green windows. ‘Look’, Laura pointed at some books in the right corner of the window. And Paul read what was on them : ‘Betrayal’ by Laura Harding. ‘The thief’ by Laura Harding. And next he looked at Laura again.

‘Laura, you are an author !’ he said in a respectful voice, whilst putting his arm around her. HATTCHUUUMMFFF !! *sniff*

She blessed him and rubbed his back as to give him some comfort.

‘Yes, that is true, Paul, but there is Huuuuthuuuuu !! … more. Look at that.’

And whilst he was blessing her and she was blowing her cute nose into the design hankie Paul’s eye caught another title in the window.

And there it was : ‘Newbies’ by Laura Harding and PAUL DETHEUX !!! Silence.

‘Yes, it is our story …’, Laura whispered, guilty.

Paul’s face was a bit pale when he realized what was there in front of him.

‘Hey, this must be a joke !’, he continued, not knowing how he should feel about that.

‘My editor read the manuscript and he was incredibly enthusiastic,’ Laura explained.

‘Laura, this cannot be true ! We were just having fun !’ Paul uttered.

‘Paul, I am so sorry about not asking you first’, Laura apologized again.

‘It is OK, dear !’ Paul laughed. ‘Actually I feel very honoured to be in an English book shop.’

‘Paul, I do not know where this will lead us,’ Laura said.

‘In one week only the first 30.000 copies have been sold !’, Laura continued.

‘No … no…’, Paul sighed.

‘ The second edition is being printed at the moment. The press is wondering who you might be … ‘

‘So I am the big mystery writer ?’ Paul suggested.

‘Yes, you are, sweetheart ! Britain wants to know you. You … are … gonna … be … famous, OK ?’, Laura confirmed.

‘Oh dear ! ‘ That was the only comment Paul could still give.

This was just unbelievable. They were standing there in front of the shop window and dreamily staring at their book. Paul put his hands on Laura’s shoulders and could not resist the urge to kiss her red curls. As if this were the sign Laura turned towards him and put her arms around him. Her face was very close to his now, and he could see a fire burning in her lively eyes.

‘We have an appointment with our editor at 4 pm, Paul. To discuss your contract and your part of the profit, darling. And I arranged a surprise dinner for two afterwards.’

‘And …’, Laura continued with a naughty look in her eyes,’it is quite possible that you will have to come to London several times in the near future.’

‘Will I ?’ Paul sniffled in her ear, and his eyes were twinkling.

‘Sure ! Signings, interviews, …’, Laura explained in a warm voice.

‘You know what, Laura ?’ Paul whispered.

‘Noooo ??’ Laura teased.

‘That is the best thing that could happen to me !’ Paul said, and held his lovely girl very tight. Her eager lips found his and they were kissing tenderly … xxxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

only interrupted by HATCHUUUUUU ! huuuuutshiiii ! … a sneeze …

The end (no, the beginning ...)

Countless

14/12/2006

[count tiszula]

Simply lovely; double colds, different sneezes, adn plenty of hankies. And the science fiction story sounds good , too.

Lots of nice local London colour, tooo. But I always go to Waterstone's in Piccadilly, because it must surely be the only bookshop in London with its own bar!

[allergyboy2001]

Very nice story, though I would have freaked out if someone had published something like that with my name on it!

[And Beat Him When He Sneezes]

Wish I could read Newbies myself.

[honkmaster]

good job countless.

[countless]

Thanks, I am glad you like it !

[The Sneezster]

Thanks for the story.

[haeeshoo]

I have really enjoyed this story.

You know how to captivate the attention and keep the story going until the end.

Very well done!

(Looking forward to reading another story now )