Chapter 18

Cassie was still sitting there when Cheryl phoned. Her tears had dried, and she simply felt washed out and hopeless.

"What happened?" Cheryl asked, full of concern at her tone. "It didn't go well?"

"I got Ged wrong," said Cassie morosely. "I thought all I needed to do was to let him see what it looked like from my side, and he would warm towards me. It wasn't like that. It was the broken promise about talking before breaking up.

"I never understood how hurt and lonely he was, far from this country and unable to reach me because I cut him off. He told me he emailed to explain, including Annette being a lesbian, and I junked them without reading them. If I'd read them this would probably not have happened.

"The other thing that got to him was my living in his flat with Zak. He thinks I did that out of hatred for him; I think he called it vicious."

"You put him right on that, I hope," Cheryl said.

"That's not all. He reckons that Zak has always been number one in my life, and that Ged was always the second best substitute. He said that as soon as the chance came to get back with Zak, I took the opportunity to cut Ged off by refusing to listen to him. He reckoned Zak was a much better lover, with better ... equipment."

"Was he?" asked Cheryl.

"No, no, no!" Cassie cried. "Zak was a good lover, considerate and passionate, but Ged was just as good – better in many ways."

"I hope you told Ged he was always better?"

"No." she answered, "I told him the truth. I told him he was as good sexually as Zak, but that sex with Ged was always more intense and more complete. At least I think I did."

"That's you," Cheryl observed, "You tell the truth when a little lie would be better. You've always been honest. So what happened then?"

"He didn't believe me."

"He what?"

"You heard," Cassie said. "I told him to go. We weren't getting anywhere."

"Oh, hell!" muttered Cheryl, who had high hopes for their meeting.

"I think it's truly over, Cheryl," she said. "He's not got over the fact that I married Zak so quickly, or that I left him innocent and lonely so far away from me. I'll look for a flat on Monday."

Then she gave a cry. "I never thanked him for what he did for Dad, and I shouted abuse at him as he left."

"Cassie," Cheryl advised, "If he sees you more often he might soften. Go and apologise and thank him. There's a good chance that he still loves you. I'm sure of it."

"He did once," Cassie answered, "not any more, but I need to see him anyway. I can't let what he did for Dad go by without thanking him, and I will apologise for what I said when he left."

She had also totally forgotten about Zak's threat, and that she had never warned Ged.

Ged had little time to ponder over his exchange with Cassie. He finished his tea and was washing his cup when the doorbell rang and, wiping his hands of the tea towel, he went to the door.

There stood Karin. "I was just passing on my way back from Crewe and I thought I'd look you up. Doing anything?"

Ged shrugged. "No, nothing. Want to stay over?"

"I thought you would never ask. Let's go to the pub and grab some food, and then find something to do when we get back." She grinned at him knowingly.

They walked to the pub and had a good, if plain, meal and followed it with a few drinks. Ged found Karin an easy companion, and they chatted about his songs and his trip to London.

She told him eagerly about how her business had taken off since his housewarming, the guests being impressed with the look of the house, and were spreading the word.

They strolled back to the house arm in arm and took a bottle of wine and two glasses to the bedroom, where Karin stripped off her clothes and slid into bed naked.

The action was smooth, and Ged watched with admiration until Karin reminded him he was still dressed, and was not a lot of good to her in that condition. Thereupon he rapidly cast off his clothing and leapt on top of her, his rampant cock swinging enticingly before her admiring eyes.

He lay atop her, holding her hands to the bed in his, and rearing over her. She raised a thigh and caressed his cock and balls with it, smiling all the while, until his kiss stopped it. He drew away and they gazed into each other's eyes before he knelt up, his legs between hers.

Now her hands were free, she took his penis and began to stroke him with one hand while cupping his balls with the other.

She then dragged a finger across his perineum and up the crack of his bottom, until she found his anus, which she gently stroked with her fingernail. He gasped at the sensation and she smiled another knowing smile.

In return he took her breasts and stroked around their fullness, avoiding the nipples at first, until she pushed her chest at him in a wordless entreaty to attend to them. At this he took the flat of each palm over them, before pinching them quite hard and gaining an appreciative gasp of satisfaction from her.

"I love it when you do that!" she said.

"I love it when you do that," he replied, referring to her finger which journeyed to and fro, from balls to anus and back again, scratching gently with her fingernail as before.

"I'm wet," she observed, "Put it in me, please, my love." She widened her legs to receive him the more easily.

He lay between her limbs, and moved towards her. She took him in hand and guided him in, groaning in satisfaction as he stretched her and pushed deep.

"Oh, yes," she whispered in his ear, as he bent to kiss her, and as he pulled and pushed gently in and out of her sheath, which he felt gripping him warmly, while accentuating her own feeling of fulness.

From there the love-making, for that is what it was, took its course, becoming more intense and strong as their passions rose and their guttural noises spurred them on to more violent action, until she came loudly, bucking and writhing under him as he rode her through her climax, releasing his own orgasm into her as she came slowly down.

"You are some lover," she said, as they lay, he on his back and she at his side, her head on his chest. She played with the hair on his chest, delighting in wrapping them round her fingers. His hands idly caressed one available breast and her back, reaching to glide over her buttocks.

"You bring out the best in me," he replied, kissing her gently on her eyes.

They sat up eventually and drink some wine, before finding that his member was available for further play. This time their coupling was more mechanical, but none the less satisfying for that, as he took her from behind.

Then she sank onto him, sitting astride with him buried deep in her. She filled her glass with wine and tried to feed it to him but spilled it down his chest and, handing the glass to him, licked it off, enjoying the additional salty flavour from his perspiration.

He half sat up against the end of the bed, and she remained impaled on him. Then as she rose and fell gently on his stiffness, they shared the wine.

She put the empty glass down and they gave themselves over to pleasure because her hard little clitoris was pressed against his base, making her come first, gasping and yelping.

When she had regained her senses, she devoted herself to bringing him off, relishing the feeling of his hot stiff cock plunging in and out.

He took a long while to reach the point of no return. She could tell when he was near, for he held his breath for a long time as he sought to delay its onset as long as possible, but eventually he capitulated and let go. She did not come, but shivered at the sensation.

Then they lay down, he slipped out of her, and they fell rapidly into sleep.

There is a moment as one comes to consciousness after sleep when the memory has not arrived. Bereaved partners think the deceased partner is beside them in bed, until the second moment, when they realise that the space is empty.

In Ged's case, he felt the body in his bed and for that split second was back in the flat with Cassie, he turned over to greet his one true love, and received the shock of realisation that the blonde lying there was not brown haired Cassie. Just for a moment he felt sad, before frustration that she was gone from his life.

Karin stirred and they made love for two hours that Sunday morning. The weather had turned wet and the rain beat on the window of the bedroom as they ate a late breakfast in bed. Ged and Karin were still nude in the bed, when the doorbell rang.

"Who is it now?" moaned Ged.

"I'll go," said Karin, pulling on a dressing gown and going downstairs.

He could hear a muffled conversation and then Karin came back upstairs.

"It's Cassie," she said. "She wasn't going to stay, but I persuaded her. She said she doesn't want to keep you, but needs to tell you something. She's waiting in the living room."

Ged sighed and made to go down.

"Ged," Karin said sharply. "Get dressed."

He shrugged and pulled on a pair of tack suit bottoms and a tee shirt. He was annoyed. What was the woman doing? She had told him to leave, and now she was back the next day. It was as if she was stalking him.

"OK?" he asked like a petulant child.

"Yes, darling." she replied, oozing sweetness.

Down he went, finding Cassie in the living room, her hair wet and clinging to her face.

"Hello, Cassie," he said distantly. "You wanted to see me."