Chapter 10: The Commitment

Monday morning was busy at the office. Frank called me in and asked for a briefing on the meeting with NT. He was satisfied with the potential we had opened, told us to carry on and to go all out to secure this account. Later, Peter walked into my office and complimented me, too. He had heard already from my colleagues about the difficult start, but also how I had managed to keep temperatures cool.

“If you manage to get this account, you’ll have earned a lot of brownie points in this company. We always walked out of that lady’s office with our tail between our legs, but tell me - did you meet Maureen? I heard that you stayed over in Brisbane.”

“Yes, we met, I took her for dinner, and we even had a picnic the next day. She is a lovely lady and I am interested in maintaining our contact.”

“Just remember that you didn’t want to come to my party and I convinced you. Am I your friend or not? Just watch out for the mother - she’ll probably want to castrate you.”

I started to smile, remembering the very pleasurable moments I had in Brisbane. And the mother? I doubted that she would want to castrate me! Perhaps just the opposite - I reminded myself to stop these thoughts. Quite inappropriate, James!

Peter looked at me.

“Why are you smiling. Did you tame the Iron Lady?”

Eileen? Iron Lady? In my memory, her body was anything but iron! The way she stood topless before me showed a wonderful soft (and at the same time, firm) body. Iron Lady? Really, James, concentrate and stop these thoughts!

I told him that everything was under control and we talked about business. At night I called Maureen and we talked a long time about ourselves and our future. She told me that she’d had a long conversation with her mother and Eileen was apparently a bit embarrassed, but Maureen told her not to worry. She’d told Eileen everything, even that we almost made love, but that I had resisted at the last moment, honoring my promises.

Eileen was shocked about the liberties we had taken but apparently impressed that we had not gone too far. In the end, she was very happy for Maureen and hoped that I would accept her love also. Maureen felt that her mother was returning to be the soft and caring person she had been before her father’s death, and my love was very happy about this. It took us many minutes to finish the call.

And so the week went; hard work during the day, long conversations in the evening. The presentation I wanted to make to NT was slowly taking form, and on Wednesday I received notice that a customer had signed a big extension contract based on the presentation we had made a few weeks ago.

My boss called me in and complimented me on the success of my work in Australia, far beyond what they had expected. My only response was that I hadn’t worked alone, and that the quality of the colleagues I had found here was outstanding. All they needed was someone to point them in the right direction, install some drive and ambition into everyone, and lead the team. He smiled and said that there was something more to this than just what I had said, but he was happy with me and my team.

Using the opportunity, I told him that we were ahead of schedule and that I had a friend coming in on Friday. I wanted to leave early and take Monday off. He agreed and I left happy that Maureen’s and my time together was now assured.

Maureen told me on Thursday night that her flight left at seven thirty and that she would be in Sydney at ten o’clock. There was no way that I could make it to the airport at that time, and I asked her to take a taxi and go directly to the apartment. The porter had been told already that I was expecting a visitor and she would have no problem at all entering the flat.

I had already purchased the ingredients for the dinner I would cook for Maureen and cleaned the apartment not once, but twice - female eyes can always find something they don’t like. There was room for her clothes in my wardrobe and drawers.

Friday morning was torture. It was worse sitting in the office with customers and trying to get another order whilst I was thinking that Maureen was already on her way to the flat. Peter, who was sitting in on the meeting, looked at me twice and whispered, “What’s the matter? You’re not concentrating. Focus!” At the end they left, promising to think about our proposal and I took a deep breath. I said goodbye to everyone and when Peter asked me to have a drink with him that night, I brushed him off, saying that I had already another commitment. He mumbled that I had changed in the last weeks, and not for better. I would have to tell him one evening what had happened. I would have promised anything to get rid of him and leave.

When I opened the door to the flat a hurricane almost floored me. Maureen jumped into my arms and kissed me like the world would end tonight. She hugged me and kissed me and said that she loved me and asked why was I so late and would I please give her a real kiss to realise that I had my woman in my arms.

This was easy to do, and I did it with enthusiasm. Finally, I managed to close the door, set her down, and looked at her. She took a step back and looked at me. Her eyes were light green in the dim light, her nose freckled and with a slight upward tilt at the tip. Her lips were full, pink, and parted ever so slightly, and I wanted to taste them desperately. I stood up, took her cheeks gently in my hands and kissed her, softly at first, but it flared quickly. The urgency and desire weren’t only mine as she put her hands around my face and pulled me to her. We kissed and then she stepped back once more, looking at me.

Her face was shining, her smile brilliant, her eyes sparkling, and seeing her standing there, I had to embrace her again and kiss her with all my love. I led her to the living room and taking her hands, sat down on the couch. She was dressed in her little bluish top and a short white skirt, complemented by her pretty little open-toed blue sandals. She smiled when she saw me looking at the top. “Do you know why I’m wearing this? Because it’s so easy to take off.”

I could not withstand the temptation and my hands were sliding underneath to hold her - no ‘my’ - breasts, firm as I remembered, and with her nipples already rock hard. I pushed her head to my chest and kissed her soft hair.

“Darling, you do not know how much I missed you. I’m so happy that you’re here and will stay with me these days.”

And we just stayed that way for a while; I holding her close, she leaning her head against my chest, and both overwhelmed with the other’s presence. Then I took her face in my hands, kissed her eyes, her nose and her lips, and pulled her up. “I had a meeting with customers. Let me change into something more casual. Where is your luggage?”

“I already put it in our bedroom. Do you mind?”

I told her that I had not been certain whether she would prefer the guest room or mine and had prepared both. She looked at me with that look that only women possess - that sad certainty that men are either idiots, fools, or both, but with the hope that she had found a fool who could be trained properly.

“James, if you don’t know by this time where I want my things, I’ll get them and go back to Brisbane. So make up your mind!”

I told her that I was certain where her place was in my apartment and in my heart, but my grandmother had taught me that I should never take anything for granted when I was with a girl, and that I always should leave an option open for her. That way I would be certain that she did what she wanted, not what she believed I wanted.

“She was a wise woman, and she taught you well. Are you going to change or not?”

I led her into my - no, now our - bedroom and took off my jacket.

“I suggest that we go out for lunch and then have a nice, cozy afternoon in the flat. We need to talk, but now I need a shower.”

She grinned and asked whether I wanted company; seductively lifting her top. With her breasts and nipples visible, she whispered that it had been a long flight and perhaps she needed a shower, too?

“No, darling, not now. If we start to fool around, we will never make it to lunch. And before you make any salacious remarks - have patience, little grasshopper.”

I stepped into the bathroom and turned on the shower. When I looked back, she was standing leaning against the open door. “Go on, at least let me look at what you won’t let me touch.”

I shrugged - what else could I do? Taking everything off, I stepped into the shower, but couldn’t avoid seeing her standing there, licking her lips. I finished and looked for my towel. She said to keep still, she would dry me. Stepping back, I asked for mercy - if she went any further, I wouldn’t be able to take it anymore and it would become just an erotic romp, not the caress we had planned and that we deserved after all our patience.

“You are a spoilsport, my love, but as always, you’re right. Come on, get ready so that we can come home earlier.”

I took out a sports shirt, some nice jeans, and loafers, and off we went. There was a pleasant little restaurant not far from the flat and the food was excellent; John Dory for her, a steak for me. We each asked for a glass of wine and dismissed the dessert. Maureen was in good form, commenting on her week, on her studies, soon to be finished, and how wonderful her relationship with her mother had become.

Walking back to the apartment I took her hand and pulled her close to me. When we arrived, I got the bottle of wine I had selected for this afternoon, a Seville Estate Chardonnay. She tasted it and asked whether I had taken lessons - this was a good wine with ‘white peaches ... crunchy citrus ... some oak... ‘

¨Yes, but do you like it?”

“It is delicious, darling. By the way, I saw an empty bottle of the Grange in your display cupboard. Is it what I think it is?”

I nodded and replied that that bottle would always stay with me to remind me that a wonderful woman had shared it with me. And now she was sharing much more with me - herself. Maureen looked at me and came forward to kiss me.

“James, you always seem to have the right words for the right moment and that moment has come. I will give myself to you tonight and we will share our lives forever.”

I poured the wine and toasted her, thanking her for being here with me. She sipped the wine and leaned forward, kissing me softly. “I’ll be here for you forever, my love.”

We sat down on the couch, and she laid her head on my lap, wriggling her body until she was comfortable. Smiling tenderly, she took my hand and placed it on her breast. “Remember, this is the only way I want to converse with you.”

I looked at her for a long time and then started.

“First - I have received the results of the checkup I had a week before last and it is all clear. I also bought some, actually many, condoms.”

“You won’t need them. I’ve been on the pill for some time. My periods need regulation, and my doctor gave me a prescription, saying they are the perfect remedy. I won’t get pregnant unless both of us want it.”

I looked at her for a long time, seeing the love in her eyes; nevertheless, there were commitments to be discussed, very serious commitments.

“My love, I love you and I know that you love me. Have you thought this through during the week? That you won’t be alone anymore, deciding alone what you want, but will have to consider another person all the time? But how deep is this love? Is it enough to last a lifetime?”

I took her hands in mine.

“I’m here on a three-year assignment, and if I stay with IBM I expect to be transferred to another location. Will you come willingly with me? Will you accept that I’m not the perfect gentleman every day, twenty-four hours a day? There will be moments when you’ll be angry with me and others when I will be upset. Will we be able to settle our disputes at night with a kiss, or will we go to sleep angry? I want a lifelong commitment, not a few months of sexual satisfaction followed by an empty life saying a depressed goodbye.”

I looked deep into her eyes and told her how important this was for me.

“I know that I love you from the bottom of my heart, and I want to be with you every day of my life. I’ve made my decision. Have you made yours?”

She started to cry, making me wonder what I had said to make her unhappy. Then she stopped and smiled at me.

“James, my love, I’ve been waiting to hear these words from you. I made my decisions last weekend, but you didn’t want to hear it then. Let me say it loud and clear - I love you, also from the bottom of my heart and want to stay with you all my life. I’m not an angel either and I’ve had my angry moments. However, I can’t ever see myself angry enough to go to sleep without kissing you, without making peace. Darling, I’m yours and I give myself freely.”

I pulled her up and embraced her fiercely. Tenderly kissing her eyes and lips, I took her in my arms and carried her to my bedroom. I set her on the bed and with great joy lifted first her top, then pushed her skirt down. She wore tiny little panties which didn’t succeed in hiding her prominent mound, which was already wet from her excitement. I pulled the panties down, too, and looked at her, a glorious, beautiful, exciting, and very trusting woman. She opened her legs and guided my hand to her pussy. “I am yours, my love, yours and only yours. Take me and love me.”

When I had looked at her body before in all its nudity, it had been an exciting and sexy sight. This time it was different. It was a completely different feeling, fuller and more complete and satisfying. There was love shown in her trusting eyes and her offering of her heart to me. I took off my clothes and lay down beside her. The feel of her soft skin against my hand as I pulled her gently to me, the soft swell of her breasts, with their puffy and excited nipples, and the gentle curve of her hips, with her little exclamation point at the apex - I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life! I knew Maureen was beautiful, but this was way beyond my wildest imaginings, and here she was offering herself to me freely.

“Please, James, will you make love to me? Will you make me your woman?”

She hugged me close and rested her head on my shoulder. “Explore me, touch me, you can do anything you want with me.”

My hand trembled as I caressed her skin. My hand kept stroking her side, exploring the gentle curves of her figure, and caressing her back as she pressed her breasts against my chest. I could feel her breasts’ softness and the nubs of her nipples as she snuggled up close and tight. Then I pushed her back a little so that I could show my adoration. My lips travelled down her body, nibbling at her ears, brushing her slender neck, and then meeting her breasts.

I started on the side of one and worked my way circling to the top, looking into her eyes as I did it. Her eyes widened and the pupils dilated as my tongue traced its way around the base of her breast, feeling her nipple coming out and getting even harder. I again started at the bottom of that side and licked straight up, leaving the nipple for later. By the time I got to her other breast she was quivering and squirming and softly moaning with pleasure. I noticed her thighs kept rubbing together as she arched her pelvis.

Her eyes became slowly unfocused, her lips parted, and her tongue kept creeping out to lick her lips, and then I leaned back down over the near side and extended my tongue as far as it could go until I just barely touched her nipple.

Maureen gasped and her eyes opened wide. I wriggled my tongue back and forth, still just barely touching her. She started twitching and moaning and tried to raise her breast higher to make more contact, but I pulled back, still barely touching her. I moved back to the near side and took my tongue and made a sweep around the puffy areola just barely touching the nipple itself. This brought a gasp from Maureen. I leaned across again and did the same on the other side. Her hands were at her side clenching and unclenching as she rocked her pelvis and rubbed her thighs together. I pulled back to the near side and gently kissed the top of her nipple and then opened my mouth and enveloped the whole top of her breast. I sucked gently and bit it gently.

She moaned. “Please, James, don’t tease me. I want you now!”

I moved south and her belly quivered as I licked it, particularly when I was down below her belly button, allowing my chin to graze across the top of her mound. I nuzzled her with my nose, staying outside of her slit entirely, but rubbing the tip of my nose between her pussy and the crease of her leg and around in a circle, pressing the swollen lips of her pussy, stimulating her even more. She was rocking back and forth trying to get me to move to the target, but I was having none of it. I grasped her hips to hold her in place so I could control the action. Yes, I was teasing her, but at the same time, I was driving myself wild internally with desire. My cock was throbbing with my pulse.