Naina was awake early Monday morning. Nerves had started to kick in again, so even though she had a restless night, her adrenaline was starting to flow. She had a shower and some toast for breakfast, then dressed in her hopefully Australian-appropriate business attire. A final check in the mirror, and she quickly left for the tram.

The contrast between the barren weekend and a workday was amazing. There were still fewer people around than there would be in a similar location in Bangalore, but it was reasonably busy.

She waited at the tram stop along with a few others, and soon a tram glided up. She stepped on, feeling a bit odd not paying for her trip. She had checked. It definitely was free. Russ had told her which tram she needed to catch. 'Check the number. You don't want to wind up out the back of Woop Woop - bloody hell. Somewhere you don't want to be.'

Her stop arrived, and she stepped off. A large number of people were funnelling their way to their offices. She joined the flow, high heels clicking on the footpath. Naina looked at the crowd milling around the cafe on the ground floor of her company building. It looked like a popular breakfast place. Coffee was very much in demand. It wasn't her favourite drink, but it smelled nice.

She kept heading towards the elevators and went up, where a professionally dressed young woman greeted her at the reception desk. "Good morning, welcome to International Communications Infotech. How can I help you?" she brightly asked.

"Good morning. I'm Naina Agarwal from the Bangalore office. I'm here to set up the new system and carry out the staff training."

As soon as she mentioned her name, all the blood drained out of the receptionist's face, "You're... Oh sh... sugar. Umm, I think we may have made a mistake. We thought you were landing today. Please take a seat. I'll get the office manager."

Naina was actually amused at the receptionist's discomfort at the obvious fuckup. The disaster made her meet someone refreshingly different and led to a great introduction to Aussie culture. It was 'No worries.' She furrowed her brow. That didn't sound right.

A tall Indian gentleman burst out of the office, hands held out wide as if he was pleading for her forgiveness. "I am so sorry, Ms Agarwal. There was a mix-up in the emails. The driver thought you were arriving at the airport today, not starting at the office today. Please accept my sincere apologies. I hope you weren't inconvenienced too much by our mistake."

The formality of the apology from Virat, the Melbourne office manager, was unexpected. Naina wondered how much of the error was actually his. She waved one hand to stop his apology. "It's no worries, Virat. I realised something was wrong and took a taxi. I found a shop and a restaurant, so it's ok. If you have a trolley I can use, I'll collect my materials from downstairs, and I'll be ready to start." She didn't think mentioning her meeting with Russell would be relevant.

Later that day, she sent Russell a text from her new Australian-issued phone number. 'Hi Russ, it's Naina. This is my new number. I'll see you on Wednesday at noon for lunch in the cafe in my building. Bye!'

Russell was deep into tracing a particularly irritating intermittent fault when his phone went 'Ping!' Annoyed, he stopped and opened his phone, but broke into a huge smile when he saw who the message was from. He replied with a 'Cool' and a thumbs-up emoji.

"Whatcha grinning at, Rusty?" asked his offsider.

"Nothing much, Boof. Tell you what, though, I really can't suss out this piece of shit. You reckon we could get away with just getting a half stick of geli and blowing the shit out of it?"

"Sounds like a plan," laughed Boof.

Wednesday couldn't come fast enough for Russell.

Naina, on the other hand, was getting to grips with her new team and surroundings. Thoughts of lunch with Russell flicked in and out of her consciousness, but she had to push them to one side so she could concentrate on her primary task, and it was getting bigger all the time. She was glad they had scheduled three months for the implementation and training. They were going to need every single day.

Tuesday was intense, so that night she decided to relax back on the couch in her nightwear and sip a vodka cruiser. It was the closest she could find to the rum Breezers she liked.

An old cricket match was on, and one of the bowlers was a tall, red-headed Englishman by the name of Ben Stokes. Apart from the tattoos on his arms and the beard, he had an uncanny resemblance to her white knight.

Her white knight...

She relaxed more onto the comfortable couch. It had been a long day. Naina had watched the game before, but it was interesting with different commentators. Plus, she liked watching the players. Another sip... It didn't seem as potent as the Indian version. Very easy to drink. Ben's first over started. Naina took another longer drink and watched him vigorously polishing one side of the ball on the right side of his crotch. The same colour and location of the stain Russ had on his pants the first time she saw him.

She looked at the bottle. Empty. She stood up and grabbed another out of the refrigerator. Ben was racing to bowl and dropped it short. Naina relaxed back on the couch, one leg up against the backrest, the other down across the seat. It was very comfortable and set just in the right position to watch TV. Ben was walking back to his mark, rubbing the ball hard against his dick and polishing it with his spittle.

'I'd love to watch Russell do that to his balls,' she sighed, taking another mouthful of the sweet drink. 'I'd let him polish me any day as well.'

"Come on, Ben, put it on his toes," murmured Naina, forgetting she was supporting the opposition. She intently watched the redhead finish his first over, then jog down to long on. Three more overs went by, along with her drink. She looked at the empty bottle in surprise, then got another. Ben was sweating. He wiped his arm across his forehead, then dried it on his backside. Naina licked her lips as the camera swung around behind him as he charged in. He had a cute ass. Russell had a cute bottom as well, from what she could blurrily remember. Another drink, this time a long swallow. She sat up to watch his action. So fluid. So precise. So... Determined.

Naina was starting to feel very warm. She sat back on the couch and exhaled slowly. She felt itchy. Probably the heat. She shuffled herself on the cushions, and her legs fell open again. 'God, I'm tired. Glad they have Uber Eats here. I wonder what Russ is eating.'

An image of him eating her pussy floated into her mind. She closed her eyes, and she carefully placed the open bottle on the floor. She laughed, 'He did say he liked eating Indian.'

The hand that had been holding the bottle went to find something else to hold, creeping under her top towards her breast. The other decided it wanted to feel something moist, so it slid under the waistband of her pyjamas and found a very damp place. She sighed in relief as her subconscious took control. She was only slightly aware of what was happening on the television, but it was enough to help her imagination. Naina watched the game foggily, Ben bowling his medium-fast from one end, a leg spinner at the other.

"HE'S OUT!!! WHAT A CATCH!!!" screamed the commentator, jolting her back to reality. The boob hand had been roughly pulling and squeezing one nipple, and the other had launched two fingers into her leaking vagina. She sat up quickly, and the room decided to spin.

"Oh, fuck. I'd better stop drinking and go to bed," Naina muttered as the room slowly returned to normal. She picked up the bottle and emptied the remaining contents into the sink, turned off the TV, and weaved her way to the bedroom. "Those drinks are dangerous."

Now it was Wednesday, and Naina was getting excited to see Russ again. She caught the lift down to the ground floor and stepped out, the memory of last night resurfacing. 'I don't really know Russ. Why would I be having those thoughts about someone I just met?' she wondered.

Her subconscious just laughed, "The bus, a BBC in Omaha, Air France..."

'Shut up!' she scolded it. She didn't need to be reminded about her one-night stands with total strangers, particularly by her own mind. Naina looked around the ground floor area and spotted Russell leaning against a concrete column. He stood out with his bright red hair and the fluorescent orange safety shirt he was wearing.

Russell, though, didn't recognise Naina. She was wearing a dark blue pinstriped jacket and a knee-length skirt, two-inch heels, and large gold hoop earrings. Her hair was down in loose curls, and her face had been lightly touched with makeup.

"Hi Russ, how are you?"

Russell jumped with a start when Naina spoke, "Oh, hi, Naina. I didn't recognise you. How's it going? You look bloody good. Have you knocked this lot into shape yet?"

Naina lifted a finger, "I'm fine. And thanks for the compliment. You look... Very bright. And what did I do?"

"Sorry. How is work? Are you getting things in place here?"

"It's ok. Some problems, but we'll sort them out. Anyway, lunch? My shout. We have a... errr... tab with the cafe."

They ordered lunch, and Russ suggested they walk down to the waterfront. "So what are you doing?" Naina asked when they found a seat. She looked out over the bay. It was very soothing, just watching the seagulls hover over the water.

"Trying to iron the bugs out of this new signalling system. It doesn't want to play the game. One of the other techs from the railway has cracked the shits with it, so I'm the lucky sod that has to sort it out."

Russ took a bite of his pie. "Bloody hell, that's hot!"

Naina laughed at him, panting like a dog, trying to cool his tongue. "I don't think your coffee will help. Here..." She handed him a bottle of water.

"Ta. Appreciate it."

They looked over the bay. Melbourne being Melbourne, clouds were rolling in. "What's the closest beach?" Naina asked curiously. "It doesn't look like you can swim here."

"Yeah, nah, not really a good idea here. Port Melbourne round to St Kilda, I guess. You can get the tram to either, but you'll need a ticket."

"Oh, ok," Naina took a bite of her chicken salad roll.

"So what are you doing at night? Thinking of going swimming?" Russ asked.

"Yes, I'd like to, if the weather warms up. It's so unpredictable, though. The weather is all over the place. Hot one day, raining the next. At night, I've just been watching television and found reruns of IPL games. I didn't think they'd be popular here."

Russ chuckled, "Any sport is popular in Oz. Curling, darts, and two flies wandering up a wall. I didn't think you'd be that interested in cricket to watch reruns."

Naina just shrugged, replying sarcastically, "If you don't like cricket in India, you're treated like a pariah. Besides, I enjoy the... ummm... athleticism of the players."

"Which is code for you, like perving on the players. Watching the players really closely." Russ corrected as she put up a finger.

"Oh, well, maybe I like watching an athletic man. Or men. Do their work..."

Russ watched Naina stammer the last sentence and look down at the ground. He grinned at her, "Tell you what. If you want to get away from here for a bit..." waving his hand around Docklands, "and watch some average cricketers play average suburban cricket, why don't you come out with me on Saturday? No pressure, no expectations. No one really comes to watch us play, but we have fun. And we have sandwiches for lunch."

He checked his phone's weather app. "Saturday looks good weather-wise. I usually hit the beach after a game. If you don't come to the game, I can still circle back and pick you up and go to the beach. Then we could do the Aussie tradition of feeding seagulls hot chips."

Naina looked at a note on her phone and recited, "Mate, you lot are bloody weird. No worries." She smiled at Russ, who was having a hard time not laughing, "That sounds great. What time on Saturday?"

"How about eight? I usually get some breakfast on the way."

They agreed on the time and place, and they went back to their respective offices. Naina looked at the weather app on the way. High teens on Friday, mid - 30s Saturday and Sunday. She grimaced. Melbourne's weather was strange, just like its people.

That night, Naina was watching television while cooking dinner and found 'Bondi Rescue.' It was fascinating, but she was glad Russ had advised against going to Sydney. There were so many people on the beach, and the water was so rough. She knew how to swim, but only in smooth water like rivers or lakes. The surf looked too hardcore for her, and she could see why tourists got into trouble. She did realise that her swimwear needed an update for Australia. Shopping needed to be done and soon.

Naina was waiting for Russ outside her building on Saturday morning. She had purchased an all-white outfit for the cricket - white linen shorts, a thin white cotton shirt unbuttoned to show her cleavage, and a white lace Victoria's Secret bra and panties set so they didn't show under the top layer. The outfit contrasted nicely with her light brown skin. And a nice pair of sunglasses and a hat. She had learned from her first day that these two were essential on a hot day, not just a fashion accessory.

"You look fantastic, Naina. You'll be the best-dressed woman at the game. Mind you, you'll probably be the only one," Russ said, admiring his passenger. His eyes lingered on the deep cleavage and the way the thin fabric clung to her body in the heat.

'One week,' he thought, 'I've known her for only a week.' Sue had never come to his games; according to her, cricket was dull.

They stopped for breakfast at a small cafe whose owner, Russ, knew - a bacon and egg roll for him, a fruit salad container for her. Naina couldn't really face bacon for breakfast, maybe for lunch. She did get a cappuccino, which she liked.

They arrived at his team's home ground, located in the middle of a quiet residential area. Russ introduced her to everyone on both teams. All the guys looked at her curiously but were very polite. They did have a hard time dragging their eyes up from her exposed cleavage.

Naina was surprised at her reception. There were a few young Desi men on the teams, and they didn't seem to care that she had arrived with Russell. Like the others, they chatted politely with her and were quite amazed she had only been in Australia for a week.

"You'll enjoy your stay, I'm sure," laughed Sanjay, a young spin bowler on Russell's team. "I miss home at times, but there's a really good community here. You should come to one of the Bollywood movie nights in Dandenong with Rusty. He'll love it!"

Naina laughed and shrugged her shoulders. Their attitude to her was surprising. They had the relaxed Australian way that Russell and that Sikh Customs Officer had. 'It must be something in the water,' she thought, pleasantly amused.

Russell's team lost the toss and was sent into the field first. He jogged over to her, "Them's the breaks. I had hoped to chat with you for a while, but never mind. I'll see you in forty overs. If you want, sit next to Les, the scorer. He'll talk your ear off about cricket, and..."

"COME ON, RUSTY! GET THE LEAD OUT. YOU'RE OPENING!!!" yelled his captain.

"Coming!" Russ yelled back.

Naina stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. "Take a hat-trick. You've already bowled this maiden over."

"Ooooo!!!" went the other players, watching their kiss.

Embarrassed, Russ turned and ran onto the ground, nearly falling over as he tripped on the drainage ditch surrounding the oval.

"Geez, Nanii, whose side are you on? Don't break our star bowler!" the captain, Bruce, called out. "Ok, guys, let's knock this lot over so we can get to the pub early. Too hot to be mucking about."

Naina watched him over, then he jogged down to the third man. She wiped her head and went to sit next to the scorer. It was starting to get hot.

"Hey," she said, sitting down in the shade. "G'Day, Nanii, isn't it? Les. Nice to meet you," said the scorer, watching the game intently.

He was an old man, tall, broad in the shoulders and with white hair. He had piercing blue eyes and a deep, gravelly voice. He looked vaguely familiar to Naina.

"It's actually Naina. Nice to meet you," she corrected him.

"Leslie. But please call me Les. I'm Rusty's Pop."

Naina looked at him blankly.

"Grandad. I'm the reason he plays here. I've been in the club forever. Used to be a fast bowler myself. Actually played a couple of Sheffield Shield games way back when," He flicked a glance at her while watching Sanjay's spin attack. "So, Nanii, what brings you to our little piece of heaven?"

"It's Naina," she insisted, then gave Les a quick summary of what had led her to watch a suburban cricket match in a town she had never been to.

"Well, you've had a busy week, haven't you, Nanii? And yes, I'm sorry, I know it's Naina, but I'm too old to break a habit. Everybody gets their name shortened or given a nickname around here. Unless they really, really don't like it. So, Sanjay's bowling. They call him San, or Sanny. Russell, Russ or Rusty - because of his hair. Don't know where that colour came from. Me - Les, Leslie. The captain, Bruce, is Boof. Keeper is Dave, David, Davo. You get the picture? We're not being disrespectful; it's just a natural thing. You'll probably get called Nanii or Nans from nearly everyone you'll meet."

His eyes had never completely left the game, but he turned back to watch Russell's next over. After a few balls, he commented, "Your boyfriend..."

"He's not my boyfriend."

"Your friend who's a boy, then. Good bowler. Could be better. See, he doesn't get completely side-on when he releases the ball. Too stiff. Not flexible. Here, look," He handed her a pair of binoculars.

She took the glasses and focused on Russ steaming in for his next ball. Hmmm. Tasty... His powerful thighs and the way his shorts tightened as he ran sent a warm flutter through her core. But Les was right. He was stiff in the back compared to Ben Stokes' fluid action. 'I wonder if he's stiff anywhere else?' she idly thought. "Can I borrow these, please?" she asked.

"Sure. No worries."

Naina walked around the oval to a point in line with the wicket and focused on Russ's action. He caught the ball on his way back to his mark and started to polish the red cricket ball on his crotch. She nodded. The red stain.

He finished his over and took his hat from the umpire, then jogged down to third man where she was watching. "Hi, Naina, enjoying the game?" he puffed.

"It's Nanii, and where's my hat trick?" she scolded, then smiled.

"I knew I shouldn't let Pop talk to you. Geez, what'd he say? And what happened to Naina?" he yelled as he chased a ball that had been clipped to fine leg. He scooped it up and flung it back to the keeper, who whipped the bails off.

"HOWZAT!" the keeper yelled, and the umpire raised a finger. A loud cheer went up from Russ's team, and the unlucky batsman slowly trudged back to the pavilion. The team crowded around Dave and Russ, congratulating them on getting a much-needed wicket.

Russ jogged back to his fielding position on the fence with a big smile. "I would have preferred to have been the bowler, but I'll take that." He started doing some stretches before his next over, and Naina carefully watched him move. An idea had started to form, but she needed to discuss it with an expert, preferably while watching those muscles flex up close.

Naina didn't get a chance to talk to Russ before he was called back to bowl. She walked back under the trees and frantically composed a WhatsApp message to Neha. 'What are the best positions for cricketers?'

A reply came back from Neha, 'And good very early morning to you. Cricket players are just men. You should know the best positions. You have tried all the Kama Sutra!'

'No. Not sex, yoga. Yes, I know the best sex positions. Russell is a bowler and needs to improve the flexibility in his back. I need suggestions from an expert!'

'So I'm a yoga expert now? I'll send you a link after I've had some breakfast.'

'Thank you! :)'

She put away her phone and wandered around the perimeter of the ground under the tree canopy, just watching the game occasionally and the few people out walking their dogs. She finished her circuit and sat with Les for the final overs of the innings.

The team trudged off the field. Naina thought they looked hot and dejected. A couple of opportunities had gone begging, but it was what it was. Everyone went to the "Esky" to get some cold drinks before attacking a tray of triangular cut sandwiches.

Russ looked pretty depressed, sitting in the shade, moping and munching on his corned beef and pickle sandwiches. Naina sat down beside him and patted his knee. He looked up at her, surprised at the touch.

"Cheer up, Russ," she said brightly, "I thought you bowled well. You got a wicket and helped with a runout. That's good."

Russ waved at the wicket, "I bowled like shit. I just couldn't get my act together today," he said morosely. He took a sip of water and looked at her, "I dunno. Some days I'm bang on the mark every time, then I have days like today where I scatter them everywhere."

"Can I offer my observations?" Naina asked.

"Sure," he shrugged, "I'm open to any ideas."

"You are too tight in the lower back. You don't twist enough. Do you do any flexibility exercises?"

"No, not really. Just gym work," Russell admitted.

"Ok, so would you like me to teach you some yoga? It will definitely help."

Russ looked at her dubiously. "I dunno..."

"Have you ever tried yoga?"

"Yeah, once. An old girlfriend conned me into going," Russ sighed at the memory. "I didn't like it."

"Why not?" Naina asked, curious.

"Ummm... well, I wasn't very good at it," he replied, looking very embarrassed.

"It takes some practice... Wait... " She noticed Russell was turning red. "There's more, isn't there? It's ok, I can keep a secret."

He looked down at the ground. "I was a fair bit younger, and the class was full of girls wearing tight clothes and," and he dropped his voice to a whisper, "I, umm, got a bit excited and I had to leave."

Naina stared at him, trying not to laugh. The thought of this tall, strong athlete getting hard in a room full of women in tight yoga pants made her own thighs press together with sudden heat.

She took a long, slow drink to get her composure back before she replied quietly, "Ok. Well, so it wasn't the yoga, it was the surroundings? And because I have a little trouble understanding your weird Aussie accent, I would like to confirm something. Did you, ummm, let's say, explode, or did you just create a large hill?"

She couldn't believe it, but he went even redder. "I can't believe I'm having this conversation with someone I've really just met. A hill. Just a very prominent hill, which the instructor and the girls around me noticed. I faked a cramp and left."

She bumped her shoulder against his arm. "I wanted to do something special for you for helping me and showing me around. Something more than just saying 'Thank you.' Come around to my apartment tomorrow night around 6 o'clock. We can do some basic yoga, then I'll cook you a meal. And I promise to wear the most unsexy clothes I have."

She looked up as the opposition ran onto the ground. "Where do you bat?"

Russell looked up at the wicket. "Normally at six. And that sounds pretty good." He turned and smiled at her, the red slowly fading from his face. "And forgive me for being a bit forward, but you'd have to try pretty hard not to look sexy."

It was Naina's turn to blush.

Russ stood up, "Excuse me, I'd better get my gear. Back in a tick."

He returned quickly with his kit bag and sat down, this time much closer to Naina. It was as if the little revelation about part of his private life and her response had broken the remaining hesitation between them. He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "Thanks for coming to watch. And I'll take you up on your offer. I'd love to see as much of you as possible before you go home."

Naina raised her eyebrows at that last comment but didn't say anything. She did answer an earlier question of his, "Les said Aussies shortened everyone's name, so I'm happy with Nanni. Also, what should I cook?"

Russ slowly nodded, "Fair enough. No worries then, Nanii, it is. And I'm not picky. Whatever you'd normally have will be fine."

They sat under the trees and watched the game slowly unfold. Naina really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere after her hectic week. It had been a wonderful week, though. She looked at Russ, who was intently watching his teammates bowl. She had been hoping for a quick fuck on the way to Australia, and maybe a one-night stand like the one she had with the black guy in Omaha. Slowly falling for an Aussie Knight wasn't something she even considered. And that Knight is treating her more than just a fuck toy? Wonderful.

Russ sensed her looking at him and turned. "Hi Sunshine, how's it going? Having fun?"

She leaned into him, "Yes. It's nice and relaxing here. Why sunshine?"

He smiled and kissed her forehead, "You're beaming. And hot. Just thought I'd say that. You are, overall, fantastic. I'm so glad that idiot driver left you on the side of the road so that I could meet you."

He gingerly slid an arm around her waist, which extracted "Oooo, Rusty's got a girlfriend!" from his teammates. Naina felt a thrill run through her body at the possessive touch.

"Oh, fuck off, you lot. You're all jealous," he laughed.

Naina moved closer to Russ and slid her arm around his waist. They remained like that for the rest of the game, not saying much, just the occasional yell as someone hit a good shot. But not good enough. Russell's team avoided losing too many wickets but didn't score enough. Naina stood up and applauded both teams for a good game.

Sanny, the Indian spin bowler, came over and shook Naina's hand. "I'm sorry we didn't win, but it was great having an audience. I hope to see you again. Are you going to come down to the pub with us?"

"It was a nice day, Sanjay. I don't know what I'll be doing in the future. I guess it will depend on work and Rusty." Naina looked at Russ, who had just walked over. "As for going to the pub?"

"Yeah, nah, I don't think so, Sanny. I promised Nanii we'd go to the beach," Russell replied as he stuffed his gear into the bag.

"Oh, ok. No worries. I'll see you at the next game, hopefully. Catch you then. Have a good one." Sanjay waved and strolled over to his car and followed his teammates to the pub.

Russell stood up and swung his bag over his shoulder, "I'll just say bye to Pop - Les, and we'll be off."

Les was wandering around trying to get the two captains to sign the score sheet. "It's bloody well like herding cats," he complained. He shook Naina's hand. "Great to meet you, Nanii. Hope to see you again."

"Same here, Les, it's been a good day. Bye!"

Russ went to say goodbye to his grandfather, but Les jerked his head towards the change room. "Need a hand with some gear. Can you give me a sec?"

Russ nodded, "No worries, Pop, can do. Back in a sec, Nanii." He followed Les into the room and looked around, "I thought everything was away. What's up?"

Les leaned towards Russ and said in a low voice, "Rusty, mate, you've really brought home some rippers in the past and not in a good way. Nanii, she's not bad. I'd like to see her around a bit more if you catch my drift?"

Russ nodded, "Yeah, no, I was sort of thinking the same."

"Good," said Les emphatically, "see ya on."

Russ waved goodbye and walked back to his car, Naina beside him. "I should have asked earlier. I guess you're not going to the beach like that?" he asked, nodding at her white outfit.

"No, I was hoping to change first. I wasn't sure what was appropriate for the beach. What about you?" Naina tentatively reached out and gently grasped Russell's free hand.

"I've chucked my bathers in the car along with a couple of large beach towels - one's for you, but we can nip back to your place, and you can get changed into whatever you're comfortable in." Russ squeezed her hand in response to the gentle touch. "You up for some takeaway for dinner? Nothing fancy."

"No worries, takeaway sounds bloody good." Naina laughed out loud at how absurd what she just said sounded. "Yes, go past my place, and you can get changed also. If you want..."

"Yeah, might just do that. Not a fan of getting changed in the dunny - public toilet. I really need to focus on my speech, but you're such an easy person to talk to."

Naina furrowed her brow. "Thanks for the compliment. I think... Why dunny?"

Russ shrugged as he opened the car. "Dunno. One of those little mysteries Google will know the answer to, I'm sure."

Russ shot out of the car park, and the stragglers waved as they left. "Okey-dokey, your place, then St Kilda. I'm warning you now - it will be packed."

Naina flicked her hand dismissively in the air. "I'm from India. I'm used to crowds."

Russell wove his way back to her apartment using a different route. He provided a running commentary on where they were and what was in the area. Naina was fascinated with the architecture and the leafy tree-lined roads. "Is all of Melbourne like this?" she asked.

"No, these are the older, really expensive areas. Once you get more than about 15k out, it changes. Not good or bad, mostly just different."

Naina had tried to follow Russ's progress on her phone's map but gave up and just looked out the window at the changing view. Soon, they arrived back outside her apartment. "Come on up. You can change in the bathroom if you want to. I won't take long."

Russell quickly grabbed his beach bag and followed. He didn't need a second invitation.

Bree brightly greeted them at reception and raised her eyebrows when Russell followed Naina into the lift. 'Bloody hell, she's a quick worker. Good on her!' she thought, scratching her ear.

Naina was pretty excited at the thought of visiting the beach. Bangalore was a long way from the ocean, and her previous visit to New Jersey didn't leave much time for swimming. The beach on 'Bondi Rescue' looked great, but the water was pretty rough. She hoped St Kilda beach was the same, but the water was calmer.

They left the lift, and Naina quickly opened her door. Russ wryly noticed that she didn't have an issue with the lock anymore - if she ever had a problem in the first place. Her earlier 'problem' did look rather contrived, but he didn't care. He probably would have done something similar to invite her into his place.

Naina quickly disappeared into her bedroom, and Russell turned into the bathroom. He stripped out of his cricket gear and put on a pair of board shorts and a t-shirt. He heard Naina's door open, so he stuffed his whites into the bag and stepped out into the living area. Naina had her back to him, looking out over the bay through the glass patio doors. He was a bit disappointed to see she was wearing a baggy blue and white striped shirt, a pair of knee-length denim shorts and sandals.

"Righty-o, let's go. Are you ok getting those wet, or do you have a change?"

"Oh, it's fine, I don't mind. And what the hell are you wearing?!? Oh my God, really??? Is that normal???"

Naina had been looking over the blue water of Port Phillip Bay and turned, smiling, to greet Russ. She was confronted by a man wearing a bright blue t-shirt with a surfing Pokémon Squirtle on it, multi-coloured check, nearly knee-length shorts and a pair of black Crocs on his feet. She doubled over laughing when she saw that each checkbox on the shorts had alternating pictures of the 1960's TV Joker and a stylised picture of a dog with a musical note coming out of its ass.

"What's so funny?" asked Russ, confused at her reaction.

Naina just pointed to his shorts, giggling, "The dog's farting on the Joker!"

He looked down. "Well, yes. Yes, he is. He deserves it. Shall we go, you little gigglepot?"

Bree looked up and sniggered as they got out of the lift. "Have fun at the beach!"

"How did you know we were going to the beach?" Naina asked.

"The Mambo dog boardies. They're pretty cool! It was a fair guess that's where you're going," she replied, trying to stifle a bout of giggles.

The two got into Russell's car and drove off in yet another direction. Naina had seen more of Melbourne in a week than she had seen of Omaha in her whole stay. She had an adventurous spirit, and she was enjoying the guided tour and, being honest with herself, the company. She glanced over at her driver, who seemed to know all the back streets of Melbourne.

He sensed her looking and winked, "Nearly there. May need to walk for a bit. Hopefully, I can get a park fairly close. Too hot to muck about walking."

They had turned onto a road running parallel with the bay. Naina could see glimpses of the water, which looked very calm, almost like a lake. Kitesurfers were skimming over the water, and further out, small yachts were bouncing across the surface. People were walking or riding their bikes along the path adjacent to the beach, and kids were chasing their dogs over the grassed areas. For someone who had never spent much time at the beach, it was a very idyllic scene.

Russell's head was like it was on a swivel, trying to scan for a car park, "Thought it'd be a bit busy. Everyone hits the beach when it's like this. I'll go a bit further. Might be lucky and grab a spot if someone leaves for dinner."

Naina didn't mind. She'd opened her window and inhaled deeply. The smell of the sea caressed her senses. She sighed deeply and said, "I think I'm starting to understand 'Don't work too hard' when you have this to look forward to. Why would anybody wanna stay at work?"

Russell nodded in agreement, then swerved into a parking area and raced towards a nearly vacant space before other circling drivers spotted the departing car. He smiled smugly at his achievement. "You're good luck, Nanii. I never get a spot so close to the beach. Carn, I'll grab our stuff and zip across the road. I need to hit the water soon."

The beach was packed. Nearly every square inch had been claimed by somebody's towel or shelter. Children were racing between the gaps playing some game, semi-naked backpackers and locals were frying themselves in the intense sun, and there were so many people in the water.

Russell expertly picked his way through the crowd, looking for a piece of sand. "Everyone parks their butt right at the entrance to the beach. We'll head a bit further away," he explained, heading to a spot that was slightly less crowded.

Naina was looking around while Russ chatted away, telling her all about Port Phillip Bay and St Kilda. "This'll do," He dropped his backpack on the sand and proceeded to lay out the towels.

Naina smiled, "Shall we get wet? I'm really looking forward to this. I haven't swum much in the sea at all."

Russ stood up again, "Really? But you can swim, though?"

"I'm ok. Mostly lakes and pools. I've been to Chennai a few times. They have some great beaches." She grabbed Russell's hand and dragged him towards the water.

"Hang on a sec, Nanii, I need to put some sunscreen on first. A redhead and the sun are not a good thing."

She kept pulling. "I just want to see what the water is like, then we'll go back. I need to change, too."

Russ stomped after her, kicking up sand as he went. "No worries"

Naina splashed into the water up to her knees. "Ooo, this is colder than what I thought it would be. It's nice!"

Russ waded in after her, smiling broadly as Naina jumped around in the water like the kids. She screamed as her foot touched a loose strand of seaweed, then started giggling when she saw it wasn't a shark.

"Having fun?" he asked.

She laughed and splashed water at him. "Don't do that to an Aussie," he warned, "That's considered a declaration of war!" With that, he bent over and expertly sent a wall of water at her with his hands.

Naina spluttered as the seawater hit her front. She looked at him in shock, "I'm really wet!"

"No kidding," he dryly observed. "How's the water? Wet enough?"

"Well, yes. Thanks for the bath. I was planning to wear these to home, so I'd better take them off now so they can dry." She waded out of the water back to their spot with Russ following.

Naina picked up one of the large beach towels and wrapped it around her body. Russ just gave her an odd look. "I'm shy," she explained as she shimmied out of her shorts.

He just snorted as he started applying sunscreen, "Yeah, right. You're shy. The feisty girl's shy. No worries, I believe you. Hundreds wouldn't."

"I am. When it suits me," She slowly worked her way out of her clothes and dropped them on the sand, closely followed by the towel, "Ta-da! How do you like my new swimsuit?"

"Holy fu... Fruitcake. Wow. Umm. You look like... Really hot."

His new friend was standing on the beach with both arms in the air, feet together and hips slightly tilted. It was a nice beach pose, but what caused Russ to stutter and attract the attention of others around them were Naina's bathers.

When Naina was packing, she had included what would be considered a racy black and neon orange bikini in India. After watching 'Bondi Rescue', she realised that one was actually conservative for Australia. She then spent some enjoyable lunch breaks finding just the right swimsuit that would stun Russell. She definitely succeeded with her mission.

His new friend was standing on the beach with both arms in the air, feet together and hips slightly tilted. The tiny sky-blue bikini was barely doing its job. The top had two small triangular pieces of material that just covered her nipples, leaving most of her full, firm breasts exposed. It exposed her very nice cleavage and a generous amount of side boob. The lower half of her swimsuit was a bit more than a thong, but only just. A strip of material about two inches wide started low on her pubic area, wrapping underneath to finish a bit wider and just above her bum crack. Everything was held together with a little more than a thin strip of fabric that disappeared between her pussy lips, the strings sitting high on her hips.

Russ felt his cock twitch and start to thicken instantly in his shorts. He had to fight the urge to adjust himself as blood rushed south.

It cost a fortune for so little material, but she was assured that it would attract attention. The salesgirl was right. Everyone in Naina's vicinity had stopped to look at the gorgeous example of nearly naked womanhood.

"Bloody hell, Nanii. You look awesome. Like. Wow. Are you sure it's safe to get wet? You really don't want that to shrink any more!" Russ exclaimed. He looked around at the matriarchs who were all staring daggers at Madi and snapping unintelligibly to each other, "I think you've really upset the grannies. What are they saying?"

Naina walked towards the sea as if she was on a model runway, one foot in front of the other, hand on one hip, "I'm not sure. They're mostly talking in their local languages, but yes, I think they are calling me all sorts of horrible names. But I don't care about them. As long as you like it."

Russ followed, completely entranced by her barely covered swaying bum, "I like it. I like it a lot."

Naina smiled coyly over her shoulder at him and ran back into the water. This time, she kept going until she was waist-deep, then slowly submerged. Rising, she stretched out and floated, eyes closed. If it wasn't for the salty taste, Naina would have had a hard time believing this was the sea because it was so still. She smiled to herself as she heard Russ push out behind her, lift her shoulders slightly, and start to pull her through the water.

"Careful," she murmured, "I don't think it will shrink, but it might come loose." She squealed as Russ gave a hard tug on her shoulders.

"Just checking," he laughed. "I'll be careful. It's a good thing the water's pretty flat today. I reckon any sort of wave would wash that off." Russ let her float off and dove under the water himself. "That's much better," he exclaimed as he resurfaced, "I needed to wash the stink of defeat off me."

Naina had stopped floating and was gently bouncing off the seabed. "Oh, it wasn't that bad. I'm sure you would have been competitive against a Nepalese under thirteen-second - eleven," She squealed again as Russ sent another wall of water at her.

"That's not fair!" she complained, spitting out a mouthful of saltwater. "Your hands are huge. It's like you're throwing a bucket of water at me!" Naina squeaked and quickly turned her back as another torrent was sent her way.

"Come on, Nanii! Try and splash me back," he laughed.

During the splashing war, Naina’s tits bounced wildly with every movement, her nipples stiff and obvious.

She tried to replicate Russ's water wall but only managed to sprinkle him with tiny droplets. Frowning, she dug deeper into the sea and managed to splash his chest.

"That's it? That's your best shot?" He dropped low into the water and clasped his hands together. One finger pointed towards her like a gun barrel, and Russ squeezed his palms together quickly. The pressure caused a jet of water to squirt out between the pointing finger and the other hand, hitting Naina in the chest.

She giggled, trying to wade away from her attacker, but Russ kept after her, continually spraying an annoying amount of water at her.

She finally gave up and held up her hands, "I surrender. Please, treat me kindly, my Lord of the Sea."

Russ laughed and stepped up to the bedraggled girl. In one swift movement, he bent over and picked Naina up in his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist, her barely-covered pussy pressing directly against the hard bulge in his shorts. "Would you like to be dunked underwater, or get some dinner?"

Naina looked at the freckled face smiling at her. He seemed so at ease playing with her, actually playing for fun, not sexually. She wondered if this was how it was supposed to be. If it was, she really liked it.

She wrapped her arms around Russell's neck, deliberately grinding her soaked bikini bottom against his obvious erection as he carried her. "Dinner sounds nice. This swimsuit looks good, but I didn't think I'd be doing anything vigorous at the beach. I'm really worried I may have a wardrobe malfunction."

He could feel Naina's breasts and pubic mound pushing into his back as he gave her a piggyback ride out. His cock throbbed painfully against the thin material, trapped between her thighs.

"Yeah, that thought did cross my mind. I've gotta say, it's hot but not practical," he said, pushing back to shore, "Oh no! I'm slipping! Whatever am I going to do with..." He fell backwards, pulling Naina under again.

She squealed again and let him go spluttering, "You're evil! You really, really are!"

He grinned back and started at the shore. She ran through the water as hard as she could behind him, grabbed his shoulders, and tried to pull him backwards with no success. Frustrated, she lifted her knees to the small of his back and leaned backwards.

"Hello? Is there someone there?" Russ asked. "Oh, look, there's a little blue bug on me."

He grabbed the hands that had a death grip on his shirt, "Careful, Naniibug. I may fall backwards, and you'll get squashed. Come on, I'm getting hungry. Put your arms around my neck and legs around my waist, and I'll give you a piggyback ride out."

She did as he asked. It felt nice hugging her white knight, her barely covered breasts and mound pressing firmly against his strong back. Russ felt the same. He took a deep breath and told his body to relax as he navigated his way through the other swimmers back to their spot.

Russell had more important things to think about.

As usual, Les was right on the mark. He had a few girlfriends over the years. Some for a relatively long time, others were very short. He'd meet a girl, fuck her pretty much straight away, then - nothing. It was partly the job he was doing, wandering around the State at odd times, but he always went for the look. Always. The girl had to be hot. And that was fun, but he really wanted more now. Sue was the last straw. All looks, nothing else.

When he first met Naina on the side of the road, he was genuinely worried about her. Dinner was just going to be a polite distraction, but he soon realised she was smart, funny, feisty, and looked absolutely fantastic. She was like no other girl he'd ever met, and he really wanted to spend more time with her. The last thing he wanted now was to rock up and go, 'Hi, you're cute. Wanna do it?' and have her leave forever.

On one hand, he really wanted to ask about her sex life, but on the other, well, she was great company. She was a natural disruptor and was a lot of fun to be with. He smiled as he dropped her on the towels. He could look but not touch. Much. Kissing, holding hands. It really was very old-school dating. The sort of thing his Pop went on about was where he was going wrong with women.

Naina grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her shoulders, "This is great, being on the beach. I like the saltwater. It feels so much nicer than swimming in a pool. Can we come back, or go to another one with some surf? Somewhere like Bondi Beach?"

Russ thought for a bit, "Port Phillip's good for a splash, but if you want surf, I've got a spot. But, ummm, it's a bit of a drive. It's pretty remote, but the beach is practically deserted. And, well, Nan and Pop - Elsie and Les- have a holiday shack there. I, ummm, wondered if you would like to see some of Gippsland over the Australia Day long weekend and stay with me. Well, not with me as such. You'd have your own room, and..."

Naina interrupted his stuttering, "That sounds great! I really want to see more of Australia, and another beach? With surf? That would be awesome! What should I bring? Can I learn to surf? Do they have beach parties?"

Russ breathed a sigh of relief. This was all new to him, and he wasn't sure how Naina would react to his invitation. "No worries, that's great. There are a couple of boards we can use. And as for clothes, all casual. Just chuck some things in a bag. A pair of jeans, shorts, bathers, trackie pants and a windcheater if you have one. Tracksuit pants and a jumper," he corrected as Naina raised a finger, "Probably no parties. Depends on who's around."

Russ started back to the car. "Dust your feet off when we get to the grass and put your sandals on. You'll burn your feet on the road."

Naina walked beside him and was slightly amazed that no one noticed her in her bikini. Once they were away from her country people, she had become one of the crowd at the beach. And boobs were everywhere. And no one cared.

"Is it normal to walk around dressed like this?" she asked her friend.

"Hmm? Nah, yeah, pretty much. Time and place, though. Beach, no one minds, centre of town, you'll get some odd looks," He grinned wolfishly at her, "Your top is probably just socially acceptable. With your, ummm, nice features, you really wouldn't want it to be much smaller."

They ran across the road hand in hand, Russell's bag bouncing on his back, Naina's boobs bouncing out the front. Russ could see them move out of the corner of his eye. They were an impressive set of knockers, he thought, then stumbled as he reached the kerb on the other side of the road.

"Careful, Rusty, it's a busy road!" she laughed, "And you should watch where you're going, not my chest."

"Yeah, yeah, point taken, but in my defence, they are very distracting at close quarters."

Naina smiled at the compliment. Many men had commented on her boobs, boobies, tits, knockers - so many names, over the years, but no one had nearly got themselves run over in traffic for them. It was kind of nice. "So where are we going?"

"Oh, not far," Russ said as they got back to the car, "There's a good fish and chips shop close by, then I thought we could go for a walk along the pier and eat out at the end. Drape your towel over the seat, you'll burn your bum," he instructed.

Russell pulled her wet clothes out of the bag and laid them flat on the rear seat. "Probably won't dry completely, but might be enough to wear instead of the towel," he explained, then slid into the driver's seat.

They stopped outside a shop and got out. "You are definitely good luck. You can come with me wherever I go. I thought the pizza parking spot was good, but three times now? Amazing. You can have whatever you like on the menu. My shout."

She laughed and wrapped the towel back around her waist. They strolled into the busy shop, and Russ pointed to the menu hanging over the bank of deep fryers, "Have a read, and if you're not sure of anything, just ask."

Naina examined the board for a few minutes, "Wow, they all look appetising. I'll have the lamb souvlaki with salad. I'm cutting down on my carbs. That looks interesting."

Russ chuckled, "No worries, good choice. You'll like it. And anyway, it's all fine if you only have it occasionally. But I understand you not wanting too much deep-fried food. I'm on the road a lot, so I used to live on junk food. Sitting in the car for hours and eating crap didn't do me any good."

"Well, you look good in that swimwear. Very athletic. Even with the Joker and the farting dog," Naina replied, running a finger from his stomach to his chest.

Not only did Russell blush, but her light touch caused another reaction. He was very glad his shorts were baggy.

After their order was cooked, they headed back to the beach. Russell parked, then reached over to the back seat and felt Naina's shorts, "They're nearly dry if you want to put 'em on."

"Thanks, I will. I keep tripping over this towel. What about my shirt?"

"Ohhh, no. No, no, no. Still really wet. Too wet to wear."

"Are you sure? My shorts are denim, and they would take longer to dry than... Right. I see," she giggled as Russell started whistling and looking at the sky, "Fine, I won't put it on. Are my boobs that good?"

"Spectacular. Lovely. Too nice to hide."

Naina smiled and squeezed her girls together. "Thank you. They don't see sunshine much, so this is fun."

They gathered their dinner and headed off towards the pier. "This is nice," Naina sighed, reaching across for Russell's hand.

They found a seat near the end of the pier and sat down next to each other. Under the table, Naina’s bare foot slowly slid up Russ’s calf, teasing him while they ate.

"This is really nice, Russ. This has been the best week I've had for a long time. I was looking forward to visiting Australia for the work challenge, and maybe seeing a bit of the country."

Russ shifted uncomfortably as his erection refused to go down, the bulge in his shorts clearly visible. Naina noticed and bit her lip, feeling herself getting wet again.

She unwrapped her dinner and took a bite, "Oh god, and you know, the food is amazing. I really didn't know what to expect. I was afraid I would have to live on rice. I would never have tried this - lamb thing if it wasn't for you. Thank you again."

To be continued...