Chapter 31

Monday, 14-June - Love in the afternoon - Robert & Sarah [Robert]

She came into the lodge, her face alight, eager, scanning the small crowd, looking for me. I was suddenly nervous. Would she forgive me for this teasing. And would our loving be a good as we'd built it up to. Her eyes skipped over me, anxious now and then they came back to focus on me. Puzzled. Delighted.

She punched me. "Ratbag. How long would you have let me look for you. What's this?" She surveyed my leathers and boots, the crash hat on the floor.

"Thought that you might like a break from work. The sun's still shining. Progressing?"

"What sort of break? A bike ride? Where to? Yes not bad. I'm progressing. But a bike ride! Definitely." she looked enthusiastic. I picked up the set of leathers that Tommy had found.

"Can you get these on?" She held them against herself.

"Not with these jeans" she said looking round vaguely. I caught Mike's eye as he was putting post in pigeonholes, three quarters of his attention on us.

"You can use our toilet to change, Miss Franklin. Now that the academic staff have seen fit to modernise us."

He lifted the counter for her and she slipped through, laughing.

"Enough of the 'Miss Franklin' please."

Mike raised his eyebrows at me.

"Mike, Sarah and I are going to create an awful scandal. So don't be surprised. My only excuse is that the alternatives are worse and that Elizabeth connived at it."

I watched Mike nervously. If the college porters disapproved, then we were in for a rough time. They were a more serious barometer of public opinion than the chapter.

Mike looked at me speculatively. "Well, the young lady and your wife were always around together, all through the last two terms. We did wonder, them spending so much time together."

He thought for a while and looked at me with concern. "So that was it. Not conventional. But then, she never was, your late wife. Kind though. Always kind to everyone."

He laughed. "Well, it'll give us something to talk about for a week or too."

Sarah had emerged, now encased in leather and I watched her stuff her jeans, sweater and shoes into my pigeon hole. Then she was making her way over to us in stockinged feet. I pushed the boots over to her and she started to put them on.

Mike watched her. "And how does Dr. Tennant view the matter?" Mike knew how the world worked.

"Dr. Tennant has reluctantly agreed to the situation. Elizabeth made it easy for him to agree."

"There are some rumours about new accommodation as a bequest from your late wife."

It was my turn to be startled. "These things get about by telepathy, but it's true."

Sarah was standing in front of me, holding the second crash hat. I put it on and peered inside, then took it off to adjust it.

"So, you won't mind if the world hears the story?" Mike looked at both of us.

I let Sarah answer. "No. I'm in love with him. Please think kindly of us."

Mike laughed. "No fear of that. Dr. Whitehead might get some sour looks for pinching the pick of the bunch, but I think you'll be all right." She reached up and kissed him.

He walked back to his pile of letters. "You'd better put that hat on before you get into trouble. You just be careful though. That's a wicked looking bike Dr. Whitehead has out there."

Sarah was hopping from foot to foot with excitement. "Is this a serious bike ride?"

"Quite." I said, adjusting the helmet for the last time. "Feel OK?" I jerked it about and she nodded. I lifted the visor for her. She peered at my old leathers.

"Those look serious," she said.

I pointed to the long repair down the left leg. "That's where they cut them off the day I met Elizabeth. Now then, have you ridden pillion before?" She shook her head, eyes sparkling.

"Right, All you need to do is stick like glue to me. When I lean, you lean. Keep you feet on the footrests. Even if it feels like we're lying on our sides, keep you feet where they are. Hang on to me and don't fall off." We clumped outside. I pushed the bike off the stand and kicked the engine into life. Sarah hopped up onto the rear seat, raised a few inches above mine so she'd have some sort of view. I checked her over. OK? Visors down and gently out of the courtyard. Even on low throttle the four cylinders gave a lot of thrust and I felt her slide back, hold tighter and then wriggle against me.

I reached back to pat her leg and we were off. We muttered down the lane from the lodge, engine unhappy at low revs. Then, we flicked through the traffic in the centre of town, Sarah getting used to being on the back. We began to get a clearer run, speeding up towards the by-pass. I kept the speed legal, even on the dual carriageway. No point in getting stopped. As I saw the turnoff coming up, I reached back and tapped her, felt her settle down and hold tight. Good girl. Down two gears and leaning over to round the tight slip road in second, feeling the surface with my toe. Then quickly up through the gears as the Roman Road opened out ahead of us, with a seven-mile climb up on to the downs. We were soon doing ninety, feeling like flying in the narrow lane, hedges whipping past. Surface not too good, I was waiting for the better tarmac further on. Down, down to fifty through a farm, then the newer surface and a clear view ahead. I opened the throttle and the speed climbed. I was down behind the fairing and I felt the bike check a fraction as she peeped over my shoulder and then dropped back again. Doing a hundred and twenty now, watching for the bridge. Here it comes, let the speed drop off, now we were airborne as we left the hump. We landed well, just a tiny wobble and I was slowing hard for the double bend that owed nothing to the Romans. We flicked left and then almost instantly back right, cranking right over. Then the speed rising again as we climbed up to the ridge. At the top, I turned carefully into the car park and breathed a sigh of relief. It was totally deserted this Monday afternoon. Too early for the after-work dog walkers. I stopped the engine and let her climb off. I put the bike on the stand and turned to help her with her helmet. She was incoherent with excitement. I took her gloves off and left them with the helmets. I took her hand and began to walk up to the viewpoint. She skipped and hopped beside me.

"I've never been so fast. It's like flying. Fantastic." She chattered on, still too excited to stop or even think. I began to hope that I might be forgiven for my tease. She began to see the view as we walked past the viewpoint and continued to a dip beyond that provided a little private viewpoint. We stood pointing at things, identifying the towns and the hills. She reached up and hugged me and then kissed me, excitement bubbling.

"Thank you. What a fantastic idea. Oh. You've no idea what it does to a girl. God! The adrenaline and the vibration. It's so exciting."

She looked round. We could see for miles. Not a soul in sight. The sun was hot, a treat for May and two skylarks were quarrelling in song. Perfect. It was joy to see her realisation.

She turned away, suddenly quiet and shy. I couldn't touch her. She seemed too fragile, her slenderness emphasised by the leathers. I hadn't thought beyond this point.

She suddenly looked at me, eyes wet.

"I feel like a bride," she said, "I've been very slow. I've only just realised."

She came towards me and started tugging at the zip. "How do I get at you?"

Then she was laughing, happy, eager. She unzipped the front of my leathers and pushed her hands under my tee shirt. "What a lot of you there is, but I can't get at it"

I unzipped my boots and kicked them off, then struggled out of my leathers. Sarah was hindering round the edges, fingers touching stroking, pushing and pulling. I wasn't roused yet, just joyful, happy I could match her pace. I picked her up, hugging her. She struggled for a moment and then her lips met mine. She was trembling, kissing me slowly, her tongue touching my lips, then meeting my tongue, teasing, holding off. On the brink. I felt her gasp - two deep breaths. She shuddered and I felt her sag. I lowered her onto the rabbit nibbled turf and knelt beside her.

"My legs have gone to jelly," she said. "Please. I want you quickly. I never felt so ready." Her face serious, anxious. A blush was spreading up her neck. I was roused now, suddenly needing to match her urgency. I unzipped her boots and she kicked as I pulled, flinging them aside. I pulled her socks off and was suddenly unmanned by the sight of her slender feet, small and vulnerable in my hand. I bent to kiss them.

She sat up and grabbed my ears, quite roughly. "You haven't got time for those now. Come on! Get me out of this." She started tugging at the zip.

The zip was diagonal and, as I began to help her tug, she squeaked, "Mind my nipples. They're sticking out a bit." She giggled, but the urgency was still rising. She wriggled, while I pulled and the overalls slipped off her legs. She was wearing small cotton knickers. I could see them below her shirt, a damp patch spreading between her legs, curls poking damply from the edges. She was tugging at my belt. I pulled my tee shirt off. She stopped tugging and I felt her hands and lips on my chest. Then it was her teeth and nails, setting my skin on fire. She lay back, pushing her knickers down and kicking them away, while I undid my jeans and rolled beside her to kick them off. I reached for her shirt, but she pushed at me.

"Now! Now! Robert!" I knelt between her legs, suddenly nervous. She looked so slender and fragile and my erection was hard and long. Her hands were urgent, one holding my penis, drawing it towards her pink vulva, shining wetly among the curls. Her other hand was on my waist, pulling me down. I lay on her taking my weight on one elbow while I drew my foreskin forward. It touched her vagina and she groaned and moved to meet me. I slid in, my foreskin rolling back. She was so tight and hot. Her head was twisted back as she pushed up against me. I stopped against her hymen, pushing against her, but not progressing. She began to make little thrusts, trying to get her clitoris against my pubis, but held off by my length of penis still outside her.

"Hurt me!" Her voice was fierce, her finger nails urgent on my waist. We pushed, harder, harder and then I was sliding far, far into her. It was not like any previous experience. My penis was gripped along its whole length. Her fingers held me there.