Chapter 3

Jo was usually wary of showing her feelings, but she was becoming very aware that she was feeling something for John. He was always kind and considerate, and he was generous with his time and money: she never asked him for anything; she believed that living under his roof and eating his food was more than enough for her to take from him. But he always seemed to sense things, that nobody else that she'd ever known did, and he would then say to her: 'You must be needing... ', or, 'You must be getting low on... ', and then they would go and get some more of whatever it was!

For the first few weeks that she had lived there, she had always quietly turned the key in her bedroom door lock at night; but she didn't bother any more! The fact that he was apparently disinterested in her, began to unsettle her! She had no reason, of course, to believe that someone like her would interest someone like him; but that didn't mean that she wasn't allowed to wonder!

They were sitting down to breakfast one morning, several weeks after she'd moved in, when John said to her:

"I usually go to a little cottage in Wales for a few weeks, this time of year!"

"Oh!" she said, "I understand ... when would you like me and Sam to move out!"

He looked at her and laughed softly.

"Don't be daft ... we're all going!" She looked embarrassed.

"I'm sorry ... I just thought..."

"No, of course you aren't being kicked out! But the cottage is quite basic ... it only has one bedroom, and one bed! If that's going to be a problem for you ... I'll see what I can do about it!"

" ... You and me sharing!" she said, sounding surprised, "But you've never... '

" ... Made a pass at you!" he said, anticipating the statement, " ... No! But you must know that I like you!"

" ... Well, yes, but..."

"And you like me, don't you?"

"Yes ... but you're a famous writer who's been to Cambridge ... and I'm a nobody from Salford!"

"But you are also clever and quick-witted ... and very attractive, if you'll only start believing it! Would you like me to kiss you, Jo?"

She nodded. He took her in his arms and they kissed. She sighed, deeply.

"And would you like to move into my room?"

She nodded again. Then they kissed again.

The next time that they took Sam for his daily walk, they held hands.

"You know I haven't, you know, slept with anyone for a long time!" Jo said.

"Me, neither! But let's just take our time ... first we share a bed, then when we're ready ... It was one of the reasons I've been holding back ... we had to completely trust each other first!"

"So how long have you been 'holding back'?"

"Oh, ages! And I promise you, Jo: it wasn't some evil plan from the beginning to lure you into my bed ... if I didn't think it was the right thing to do, we would still be just friends!"

The rest of the day was as 'normal' as it usually was: Jo went on the computer, or she continued to work her way through John's extensive library; while he sat at his desk working on his latest project. In the evening they watched a little television together; but now they sat close together on the sofa. During the evening Jo went up to take a bath, and when she came down she was wearing just briefs and a T-shirt, and she and John snuggled up against each other.

Then at last it was time for bed! Jo was so nervous that she thought she would be sick! For some weeks Sam had been sleeping on a bed of blankets in the kitchen during the day, while John and Jo were in the office. Tonight John went over to him and stroked his head and spoke quietly:

"Do you mind sleeping down here tonight, Boy?"

Sam just looked up at him with his brown eyes, then laid his head down on the blankets.

They walked up the stairs together, as they often did ... but this time instead of going to her own room, Jo went into John's. She had been past the room when the door was open, but she had never been inside before. It was larger than her room in all respects: bigger bed, bigger clothes closet, bigger chest of drawers.

"Are you okay, Jo? Do you need to get anything from your room?"

"No, I'm okay! Just nervous and excited at the same time!"

"Here!" he said, "Come and help me!"

Jo walked round the bed and stood in front of him. She lifted his shirt over his head and ran her hands over his chest. She raised her own arms and he removed her T-shirt. Her full, rounded breasts bobbed up and down when she moved. He held her so that their bodies were pressed up against each other: warm skin against warm skin. Reaching down with one hand, he undid his trousers, which Jo worked down over his hips and legs. He stepped out of them. They both got into bed, and when lying down, took off their remaining underwear. They pulled the duvet up to their necks, then turned to face each other.

It was over 200 miles by road, and would take nearly four hours to get across the country to the Welsh cottage in Capel Curig. It was quite isolated, so they took as much food as would keep for the time that they planned to be there. Sam was used to travelling in the car by now, but he had never done so for such a long trip, so they had to plan to make frequent stops. John and Jo had been sharing a bed for a week, but had not yet had full intercourse, and the first week of their Welsh visit coincided with the time in Jo's cycle when it wouldn't happen! But they thought that at some time during their stay it probably would.

With John's help Jo had been in touch with her old school to get information about her GCSE results and obtaining replacement certificates. When they got back from Wales, she would be only a few weeks away from enrolling for her A-level courses, but they had managed to get a syllabus for English and History, together with preliminary reading lists, and she and John had gathered together some reading materials. John knew that there was no telephone, let alone a fast Internet connection in the cottage; but he would still be able to work.