Chapter 4

It was a Saturday night and Alan Ayre was sitting on the sofa with his friends, Kevin and Sarah Bishop, in their home.

"But it's a Bank Holiday on Monday week and I don't want to spend it indoors, again: I want to do something exciting! Alan, you must have some ideas, you're the creative one," Sarah said. After a few minutes thought:

"I can maybe think of a couple of things. Are you in, Kev?"

"Well, actually—West Ham are playing at home that day and I was thinking of going along—but there's nothing to stop you two."

"Well I'm definitely interested," Sarah continued, "What did you have in mind?"

"Let me see if I can set it up, but I won't tell you—that will be part of the excitement. I'll text you with instructions next week when I know. Deal?"

"Deal!" the already excited Sarah exclaimed. She hadn't looked forward to something so much for ages.

Quite early on that Monday morning, she got the expected text telling her that Alan was downstairs in the car, waiting for her. She kissed her husband goodbye:

"See you sometime this evening, Babe!"

"Yeah, have fun!" he replied, then went back to sleep.

Sarah hurried downstairs and got into Alan's car; she leaned over and kissed his cheek:

"Morning, Honey! I'm looking forward to this—whatever 'this' is!"

Alan drove out of London towards the North on the M1 motorway. After about thirty miles, he took the exit to Dunstable: all Sarah knew was that it was open countryside, and very hilly. It wasn't until she saw the sign saying 'London Gliding Club', that she knew what the first part of her exciting day consisted of.

"Ooh, really, Alan: am I going up in one of those? But what about you?"

"Actually, I'll be literally right behind you—I got my licence several years ago. I think you'll find it very 'uplifting'. Providing the weather condi­tions are right, we could be up for a good one or two hours, so make sure you go to the bathroom."

Sarah laughed. She was both excited and a little nervous: she'd flown several times before, but only on commercial jet aircraft; this was flying at its most basic. Alan checked in and after going to the bathroom, Sarah found herself squeezing Alan's hand as they walked to the waiting glider, along with the pilot of the towing airplane. She and Alan walked around the glider, doing the pre-flight checks, then she climbed into the front of the confined and relatively sparse cockpit, where Alan helped her to strap herself in. By the time that he had taken his place and the large, clear canopy was securely in place, Sarah's heart was beating quite fast. He put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a little squeeze and then he said something to the plane's pilot over the radio.

There was a slight lurch as the slack in the towing cable was taken up and then the glider was moving across the ground, that seemed like only a few inches below Sarah's seat. She watched as the aircraft in front of them started its steady ascent into the air and then the glider, too, began to rise into the air.

The climb was less steep than an airplane, and of course much lower. In a powered aircraft you are never free of the noise of the engines, but all Sarah was aware of was the sound of air passing over the smooth contours of the fuselage. Alan had asked her not to talk to him until they were uncoupled from the airplane, but she was so wrapped up in these new sensations, that she had no need for words.

And then the cable was released and they were truly on their own. "How is it so far?" the voice in her ear asked. "Awe­some!" she exclaimed.

"Just let me get the feel of things," Alan continued, "then you can fly her."

"—What! No—I couldn't," Sarah said, a touch of panic in her voice.

"You'll be fine," Alan said, reassuringly, "—I won't let anything go wrong and you won't get the full effect until you're in control yourself. I'll just put it through it's paces, then I'll ask you again."

Up until this point they had been fairly level and moving smoothly through the sky, but then Alan picked up the first thermal and the glider suddenly rose. Sarah felt like she was on a fairground roller-coaster, although the experience was much more intense, as she hadn't expected it.

"Oh My God! That was so cool!"

"Mmm—I know! That's why it's so exciting: we go looking for the thermals to keep us up, but you're never quite sure that you've found one until you're on top of it and that happens. Do you think that you want a go yet?"

"—Er, maybe—but not yet!"

"Ok—when you're ready. When I get the chance I'm going to try a loop. I'll tell you when, so just try and relax."

Alan continued to bank and turn and the glider rose and dived. And then he found what he was looking for.

"—Here we go, Sarah."

She had by now adjusted to the motion, but the steep climb took her breath away, and then she felt the weight of her body against the restraining harness and the world was upside-down.

"—Oh My God, Oh My God, Oh My God!" she heard herself say. It was like being back on that roller-coaster: only in slow motion. "Bloody Hell, Honey—can we do it again?" Alan laughed at her obvious excitement; making her this happy was all he wanted to do.

"I'll try—but only if you promise to have a go at the controls."

"Yes, please—I think I'm ready now!"

Alan spent a few minutes explaining the controls and the effects only small movements could make, and then the next time they found a strong updraught, he let her take over and do a few basic turns. It was only about five minutes until he took control again, when he sensed that the currents were right for another loop.

"Quick, put your hands back on the stick and pull back," Sarah heard him say. Without time to think about it, she did what he said and once again she was in the loop. As they pulled out and Alan took the controls again, Sarah laughed joyously again.

"Oh, Baby, what a rush! Thank you so much!"

Alan stayed up for as long as he could, but they inevitably started to glide towards the ground. By careful judgement, he landed approxi­mately where he intended. He pushed back the cockpit canopy and extricated himself from his harness, then climbed out to help Sarah. She gave him a big hug, then pulled his head down and lightly kissed his lips.

"God! My legs are shaking—it's like I've just had a big orgasm!"

She clasped his hand in hers and they walked back across the field to the club house. They got two coffees from a machine and she sat and listened as Alan told someone about what the conditions were like. As they walked back to Alan's car, Sarah said to him:

"That was so much fun, Honey—I'm kind of sorry it's over!" Alan smiled.

"Oh, the fun's not over yet!"

They actually only drove a few miles from the gliding club. It was another airfield, but this time Sarah could only see propeller-driven light aircraft.

"You may not be up for this, Sarah, but it's something I've been wanting to do: I'm going to do a parachute jump, not a solo, but in tandem with an instructor. Are you up for it?" Well, whether it was still the adrenaline rush from earlier, she said:

"I must be mad, but why not!"

"Okay, here's what they told me: there's an orientation lecture, and then on-the-ground training in the basic techniques. After that we go up in the plane and get into the tandem harness, then into the wide blue yonder.

"Don't worry if you get up there and change your mind: you won't be the first, but I've been told the rush is even better than the glider!"

"I hope not too much," Sarah said, "—I've already got damp knickers!" They both laughed.

As soon as she was out of the car the real butterflies started, but she had decided that she really wanted to do it. During the orientation lecture she sat next to Alan and gripped his hand, and she felt rather silly afterwards when she lay on her front with her arms and legs arranged in the correct way for when falling. She wished that Alan could be her tandem partner, but she elected to have Gina, one of the few other women instructors, instead.

Sarah was kitted out with the appropriate clothing and equipment and her partner did a good job of helping settle her nerves as they walked to the aircraft and once inside. It seemed very noisy after the calm of the glider; but in a way the noise was a welcome distraction. There were four other people on their first jumps: Sarah was next to last and Alan was before her. Once again it was a combination of fear and excitement as she sat in front of her partner, then there was a tap on her shoulder, she felt herself falling, her training kicked in and there was that indescrib­able rush that it's impossible to explain adequately to anybody that hasn't done it.

It was only a few seconds, but seemed much longer, until she felt the effects of the parachute opening and the ground rushing up to meet her. In the capable hands of her partner, the final descent and landing was almost anticlimactic, as both landed on their feet and then the billowing parachute was quickly gathered in. Sarah was released and separated from Gina and the two women hugged. Alan was waiting for her as they walked back and she kissed his cheek.

"Wow! They were right about the rush, weren't they!" he exclaimed.

"Definitely! But I'm not sure I could do it again, and personally, it wasn't as awesome as flying that glider!" Sarah said.

"Well, I think that's probably enough excitement for one day; but if you don't mind, I've got a couple of small errands to carry out before I take you home."

"Sure, anything, Honey! I don't think I'm quite ready to go back to being normal quite yet, anyway!"

Alan and Sarah were soon back on the motorway and headed back towards London. Sarah was quiet, but she seemed happy. When they eventually got back to hers and Kevin's flat, she said:

"Are you coming in for a while, I want to tell Kevin everything about my day and you'll tell it better than I do!"

"Okay—but no more than an hour, I need my sleep."

Kevin was sitting on the sofa, in just his boxers, with a can of beer in his hand. He looked up and smiled at his gorgeous wife.

"Good day, Babe? Did you do something exciting? Grab a beer, Al!"

"No thanks, Mate. I can't stay long and I'm driving—but I'll go and make coffee while Sarah tells you all about her day. Are you having one, Sarah?"

"Yes, please, Honey!

"—Well, first Alan took me to this place were they do gliding—"

Alan sat there as Sarah recounted all that had happened to her: first the glider and the loops: "—And I actually flew it!"; then the parachute jump: "—I was really bricking it, but once we were out of the plane, it was awesome, Babe!"

Alan added a few comments, but Sarah was on a roll, so he mostly sat back and listened. Kevin sat and listened, but Alan sensed that most of it going in one ear and out the other.

"So how was the game, Kev?" he finally asked.

"Oh, not at all bad, as it happens! We won 2-1, but it was a close thing."

Kevin then went into a long analysis of West Ham's victory, and he never even really noticed when Sarah shuffled across and sat close to Alan and rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Alan ended up sleeping on the sofa. The following day Kevin went to work, as did Sarah, who told her friends all about her perfect day.

4.2

Although Alan now only watched football on TV, Kevin still played regularly in a Sunday League team and the new season was just about to start again, so Kevin rang Alan, to see if he'd be interested in going along to watch and then get a few beers afterwards. Alan had kind of grown out of that laddish mentality a long while ago, so he wasn't particularly looking forward to the post-match festivities, where probably more than a few beers would be consumed, but he could put up with it as it was likely to be just a one-off thing.

"Well, if Alan's going and I won't have to stand there for hours on my own, I think I'll go, too!" Sarah said. Kevin was pleased, as his lovely wife had stopped going to see him play some time ago, for the very reason that she had just said; and he also knew that it was because she wanted to see his friend more than she wanted to see the match; but that was cool!

Alan was taking them both: partly so that Kevin could have a good drink after the game, and partly so he would have a good excuse not to! So on Sunday morning he called round to the Bishop's flat in plenty of time and as soon as everyone was ready, they got into Alan's car and he drove them to the multi-pitch playing fields where the game was to take place. Kevin kissed Sarah then headed off towards the changing rooms to meet his team-mates. Sarah and Alan walked slowly around the designated football pitch, looking for somewhere to stand.

"Well at least it's a nice day!" Sarah said. She remembered all to well her past experiences of standing in the rain or the cold, really wishing that she didn't have to be there; but her loyalty to her then-boyfriend and later fiancé, would not permit her to escape to a warmer, drier environment.

The game itself was entertaining enough, though. Like all typical amateur games, the level of skill was probably a lot less than the effort, determination and enthusiasm of the players. At half-time the game was tied at 1-1 and Alan and Sarah watched as Kevin and his team-mates gathered together for energy drinks and their pep-talk. When Kevin looked over towards Sarah and smiled, she smiled back.

The second half was well underway: each side had scored again, but there were some tired legs out there now. And then a corner was awarded to Kevin's team. He and one of the other team's players jumped for the ball, it was deflected off of Kevin's head and into the opponent's goal, but there had been a clash of heads and both fell to the ground. Sarah gasped loudly. The game was stopped while they both received attention, but Kevin seemed to have come off worst and a red stream ran down his face. He was helped off the pitch and lay on the ground. Sarah and Alan hurried around the pitch to check on him. She was recognised.

"The cut's not as bad as it looks, but he needs to have it looked at: it might need stitches," somebody said.

"I'll take him to hospital," Alan said, "Can someone help us, please?"

Between them they got him into the back of Alan's car, where Sarah held a cloth against Kevin's head. He was apparently lucid, but he seemed confused. At the hospital they got him into a wheelchair and he was seen by a doctor quite quickly.

"Mrs Bishop—the head wound is fairly superficial, but I think your husband has concussion, so I think it's wise to keep him in for at least twenty-four hours."

"All right! Can he have visitors later, Doctor?"

"Well, that might not be a good idea, but you can ring later today—he may ask for you."

"Yes, we'll do that, then. Can I just say goodbye?"

"I'll hang around, in case you need to come back later," Alan said, as they walked back to the car.

"Yes—thank you, Alan! And can you stay tonight?"

"Sure, no problem! I'll stop off on the way back and pick up a few things. I wouldn't worry too much, Sarah—he's in the right place."

"Do you want to come up, I'll only be a few minutes?" Alan asked when they got to his home.

Kevin and Sarah lived in a block of apartments, but Alan's flat was the upper floor of a house conversion. Sarah followed him around as he gave her a quick tour and then into the bedroom as he threw a few things into a bag.

"I'd offer you a coffee, but I forgot to get some milk—unless you want black."

"That's okay. We can wait until I get home."

"Maybe it's not appropriate with Kevin in hospital, but would you like to stop off somewhere and eat first: it will save you having to cook something and we can always have a snack later," Alan said. Sarah smiled.

"Okay—there's nothing we can do for Kevin anyway, and there's no point ringing the hospital until this evening."

"Shall we try The Swan, I haven't been there for ages and I know that they used to do good food. It's a bit late, but they might have some­thing left."

During those evenings when he had come to dinner, she had noted how similar Alan was to her husband in many respects; but while they had stood together at the football match, and since, just quietly talking together, she had continued to appreciate his softer, more sensitive side and she was forced to admit to herself that she liked it. She loved her husband and the sex was great, but he had always been someone who was more action than talk. He wasn't a great conversationalist and most evenings after work he was content to come home and just sit with her on the sofa in front of the TV until bedtime.

Sarah had also long since come to realise that on those evenings when Alan came round, it was usually him that was the instigator of much of the fun and laughter and he had this way of drawing it out of both herself and Kevin. In the past she'd even found herself wondering what Alan was like in bed, sexually—this shocked her a bit, as she'd never done that with any of Kevin's other friends, and she'd certainly never flirted so outrageously with anyone since she'd met Kevin. And while Kevin was a great lover, he always liked to take the initiative in bed and she now just went along with it. Now, talking to Alan, who had never once tried to make a pass at her, she imagined that he was probably a romantic, who took his softness and sensitivity to bed with him.

"Are you okay—you seem miles away!" Alan's voice impinged upon her consciousness.

"Mmm—just thinking."

"All right! Shall we have a stroll along the river and try and walk some of that dinner off? You don't have to talk if you don't want to."

Once outside the pub, Sarah held onto Alan's arm as they strolled slowly along.

When Sarah rang the hospital they told her that Kevin was still a little disoriented, but he seemed otherwise well. He was currently sleeping, so it was agreed that she should ring again in the morning, and that if the doctor was satisfied with his condition he could probably go home later that day.

In the evening they sat together on the sofa and Sarah showed Alan her wedding photos, which he'd never seen, and also some taken during holidays that she and Kevin had been on. Of the former, Alan said that she looked very beautiful in her wedding dress and he was sorry that he'd had missed it. There were also some of Sarah on beaches, wearing just a thong or equally skimpy bikini bottoms, which he didn't need to comment on. At just after midnight, Sarah yawned.

"I might ring in sick tomorrow. They'll understand if I tell then about Kevin. There's no reason for you to sleep on the sofa tonight, Alan—it's not like we haven't seen each other naked: you know I trust you and I know Kevin does. Are you coming now, or later?"

He stood up and smiled. In the bedroom they undressed: Alan down to his boxer shorts, but Sarah completely, then she put on a long T-shirt, but no knickers. They both went to the bathroom to brush their teeth. They got into bed and Sarah shuffled across towards him.

"A cuddle would be nice, please!"

Alan opened his right arm and she snuggled up close and he closed his arm around her, and hers moved across his chest. That was all they did, until both of them fell asleep.

In the morning Alan awoke to find his friend's wife still tucked tightly into his side and breathing slowly and regularly. Her T-shirt had ridden up during the night and he could feel the warmth of her skin from the hips down against him. He wasn't sexually aroused, but it was still a very pleasant feeling!

When Sarah awoke a little later, she gave Alan a little hug with the arm still draped cross his hairless chest.

"Mmm! That was a lovely sleep!"

She raised her head and looked at the clock on the bedside cabinet on Alan's side.

"I'm going to have a quick shower to wake me up, then I'll get us some breakfast. You stay there, I won't be long."

Alan lay with his hands behind his head and watched Sarah as she moved to the edge of the bed, swung her legs over the side, then pulled her T-shirt over her head, before standing up and walking to the bedroom door and out of the room. He was now feeling the stirrings in his shorts, but his hands stayed firmly behind his head and they finally subsided.

When Sarah returned, about twenty minutes later, she was still wearing only a smile and towelling her short hair dry. Alan watched as she rubbed moisturising cream into her body: even lifting each foot in turn onto the bed as she applied the cream to her upper thighs. They didn't speak, but she often looked up at Alan and smiled. Then, moisturiser applied, she took a pair of bikini briefs from a drawer and pulled them on, before once again pulling her discarded T-shirt over her head. Alan felt like he ought to applaud, but he just lay there looking at her sweet body.

"Do you want breakfast in bed, or are you getting up now?" Sarah asked.

"No, I'll get up—but you'd better give me ten minutes!" Alan said, looking down towards his groin. Sarah giggled.

"—Sorry! Did I do that!" Alan laughed.

"Whatever gave you that idea! Now run along, or I might have to make that twenty minutes!"

It was actually only a few minutes later when Alan joined Sarah in the kitchen. He had pulled on his jeans, but he was barefoot and bare-chested. She was standing in front of part of the work-surface, waiting for toast to pop up. As soon as she noticed Alan she turned on the kettle.

"Can you get the milk and spread from the fridge, please. Do you want cereal as well as toast?"

They sat either side of the table as they ate their breakfast. They talked a little, but nothing of great importance, but their eyes hardly ever left the other's face, although Alan sometimes found himself looking at Sarah's prominent nipples through her shirt.

"Well, I suppose I ought to get dressed," she said, eventually.

"And while you're dressing I'll take a shower." Sarah grinned at him.

"Would that be a cold shower, then?" He grinned back at her.

"—Hmm—not a bad idea—but I think I'll risk a hot one! I'll wash the breakfast things up. My clean clothes are still in the sitting room, so I won't need to interrupt you."

Sarah smiled as she took in the implication of his words, then she said:

"I may stay here for a few minutes—I don't think I've ever seen a man washing up before!" Alan laughed softly.

"No, that's okay—you run along and cover that nice bum up!"

A little while later Alan collected his things from the sitting room and headed for the bathroom, where he stood under the shower. At one point he slowly and deliberately washed his penis, luxuriating in the sensation of his soapy hand as it gently squeezed and massaged it.

When Sarah rang the hospital, she was told that Kevin seemed fine, and that when the doctor made his rounds at two o'clock that afternoon he would probably be discharged and that they would ring her to confirm it. Alan said that he would take her to collect him, but that once Kevin was home and settled, he would be going home himself, as he had things to do. Kevin was advised to take a few days off work, so Sarah rang her employers to ask for some of her holiday allowance.

Despite Kevin asking Alan to come over for another meal, he usually had a plausible reason why he couldn't make it, so the invitation was left open. Things quickly settled back into their old routine, but for Sarah it was never quite the same.

4.3

Alan Ayre was in town so he decided to send his friend, Sarah Bishop, a text, to see if see wanted a lift home from work. A few minutes later he got the reply: Yes, please! Alan had met her there on several occasions so he knew where she was and what time she finished work, so having time to kill, he went for a coffee.

"Hello, Honey!" Sarah said, "How have you been?"