Chapter 15

Friday evening was a delight. Susan didn't arrive until gone nine o'clock so it was a bit late to go anywhere so we decided to chill out in front of the box. Her arrival, as normal, was accompanied by a hot kiss and hug, although I couldn't detect anything different than previous greetings. What was very different was that it was only the first of many. In between embraces we managed to decide that Saturday would be spent shopping in the morning, which, guess what, was Susan's idea, and in the afternoon we would go to Stoke City's match. The latter was my idea but as Susan was a football fan too, she much more enthusiastic about the afternoon than I was about the morning. I did consider planning a lie in but knew that I couldn't pull it off.

The television was on though neither of us paid it much attention, other than the Ten O'clock News, as we were either talking or kissing. I, intentionally, didn't do any more than kiss and cuddle as I was a little wary of scaring her off. Besides both were very pleasurable in their own right. Just before midnight we gave each other a final goodnight kiss and headed to our separate rooms.

It was a long time before I managed to get to sleep. I had more than a few lewd thoughts about my guest in the other bedroom. Would she have been in with me if I'd asked was one big question. Perhaps was the best that I could answer with. I realised that was not good enough odds. Knowing that I couldn't get it right I decided that I'd rather take it too slow than too fast.

Before I even realised that I'd fallen asleep the door reverberated loudly moments before Susan's voice shouted. "Rise and shine David. Breakfast will be ready in five."

It took a few moments to clear the sleep from my befuddled mind. When I did it occurred that Susan had called me by my name rather than some derogatory ageist name. That was a first!

"I can't decide." I said upon sitting down at the table to coffee and a bacon butty.

"Decide what?" She asked as I expected.

"Whether I like getting up so early to a nicely prepared breakfast."

"Get used to it. You need to start running again before you turn into a lard arse." She laughed.

"Does that mean you plan on getting my breakfast ready EVERY morning?" I said with a grin.

It was nice to see a momentary blush before she explained. "I'm talking about getting up early and you know it." There then appeared a glint in her lovely brown eyes. "Although the rest could be up for negotiation."

I shut up.

Susan ran a bit harder that morning, I'm sure to rub in how unfit I was, at least compared to her. This time I really did struggle to maintain her pace. By the time we got back I was feeling more knackered than when I'd done my PB. The sympathy I got from my running partner came in the form of further disparaging comments regarding my fitness. Better received was the kiss and smile I got before I went to get cleaned up and changed.

The morning spent shopping happened. I have little or no recollection of what we did or where we went. All the shops, clothes and shop assistants blurred. The only bit I do remember clearly is arriving back at my house laden with a dozen or so carrier bags full of clothes and a beaming Susan. A further discovery was a surprisingly light wallet.

I prepared a light lunch that we ate before heading down to the Victoria Ground for the match. I'd love to extol the virtues of the Potters, telling you how much skill and flair the played with and how we thrashed the opposition. Sadly it was a dull and extremely boring 0 — 0 draw. Fortunately the company made it the most enjoyable match I'd been to for many a year. Susan had taken my offered hand when we left my house and apart from the odd brief moment kept hold of it until we returned.

Susan decided that she wanted to go to The Place in Hanley, the city's premier night spot. It was not really my thing but I was happy to go along with Susan's wishes. We caught a taxi up to Hanley and had a couple of drinks in one of the local pubs before heading to The Place around ten o'clock. As usual the place was packed with loud music blaring out. We danced a lot, or should I say, Susan danced whilst I made a series of uncoordinated movements completely out of synch to the music.

Given how beautiful Susan looked, it was not too surprising that there were a few times, usually while I was away, that she was approached by other men. Each time she politely but firmly turned down their offer of either a dance or a drink. Given my background, I've never been much of an egotist, but had I been having Susan with me would have been a huge boost. For the first time that I could remember I never even looked at another woman.

When we left, around half one in the morning, there wasn't a taxi to be seen so we decided to walk the few miles back. Neither of us had enough alcohol to be drunk but we were just a little tipsy. With ears still buzzing from the nightclub's noise, arm in arm we walked slowly back, stopping more than once for a tender kiss.

By the time we were home those tender kisses had had a cumulative effect on me so the moment we were through the door I pulled Susan into my arms and kissed her with the built up passion. Judging by her response, she too had felt the same. The previous evening I had been unsure whether the time was right to move on to a more physical relationship. That doubt had been completely eradicated in that kiss. I'm still not certain who dragged who up to my bedroom. There was no romantic disrobing of each other, just a fevered stripping of our own clothes before falling, naked and entangled onto my bed. Our frenzied couplings did not abate until the early hours and we fell into a sated and exhausted sleep. We woke just before midday with the urgency satisfied but not the passion. This time the sex crossed into true love-making as we began the slow and exhilarating process of discovering each other's body.

Everything felt right. I was with Susan, not Anita's younger sister nor Stephanie's best friend. I admit to a few moments of guilt regarding Stephanie but to be brutally honest, I was too happy to let those moments affect my mood, which was probably best described as content.

Sunday afternoon was as idyllic a time as I could remember. We skipped our usual run with Susan half joking that the night's activities were just as effective and a lot more fun. We found ourselves walking through Burslem Park, one of my City's many municipal parks and gardens. On the spur of the moment we decided to play a game of bowls on the park's beautiful green. We were both rubbish but thoroughly enjoyed it. Unsurprisingly, given her running, I discovered that Susan had a very competitive nature, at least during a game or challenge. Once over, win or lose, she let her more feminine side take centre stage.

Sadly, Susan was working that evening and had to return home around five o'clock. We parted with a passionate kiss and a promise to see each other as soon as possible.

I still felt a few pangs of guilt about being so happy so soon. I even wondered whether I was just a callous person, too selfish to care about Stephanie's untimely death. I never satisfactorily answered that question.

Because of her work I didn't get that much chance to talk to Susan. She was still doing bar work so when she was off I was working and when I'd finished then she'd just started or was just about to. She'd mentioned over our weekend together that she'd already told her employers that she wouldn't be available at weekends. They didn't like it but accepted it, though Susan reckoned that if anyone else wanted her job and was prepared to work over a pub's busiest period then they'd sack Susan in an instant. She didn't seem too bothered so I wasn't either.

I had a shock on the Wednesday evening. That was one day that Susan wasn't due in work until 7:30. So as soon as I was home, I rang her, eager to hear her voice again.

"Sandra Parr." The voice answered professionally. It threw me for a while until I remembered that Susan's mother was named Sandra.

"Could I speak to Susan please Mrs. Parr?" I asked politely.

"Is this David?" She asked.

"Yes."

"How are you? It's been a good while since I last saw you, though Mum often mentions you."

I wasn't expecting such a polite response and wasn't sure how to respond. I decided against mentioning that I'd seen her at the funeral. I just thought it better to keep the conversation polite, neutral and hopefully short.

"Fine thank you." I responded.

"Good! I'll go and get Susan but she can only talk for a couple of minutes as I'm expecting an important call, hence the posh voice when I first answered."

A few seconds later Susan came on. We told each other how much we were missing the other and I mentioned my surprise at her mother's attitude to me.

"Okay, I need to get off the phone now so I'll tell you about it on Friday when I see you."

I heard the sound of Susan's old banger {old car} not long after I'd got home on Friday. As soon as I'd opened the door I was treated to my usual and ever improving kiss.

"I was just about to start cooking, assuming you're hungry." I told her after getting my breath back and greeting her verbally.

She smiled, at least I think it was a smile, just like the cat that got the cream or maybe the mouse. "Well my hunger for food can wait until you've satisfied a more carnal craving." She purred.

I wasn't going to argue with that. It was almost two hours later that two very sated lovers finally sat down to eat. Thirty or so minutes after quenching that second hunger I remembered to ask her about her mother's attitude to my call.

"Oh that's easy. To you, she is the villain because of how she treated you and 'Nita. On the other hand, you are a young man who her own mother likes and respects. She has no idea that you still bear her malice so she was really quite happy when I told her about us. 'Nita on the other hand was furious when she found out. She called me loads of names but gave no real reason for her attitude. She called you a few choice names too." Susan was almost laughing as she told me this.

I couldn't fathom Anita out. As far as I was concerned, we had tried and failed to recapture our first love. Why should she be jealous or angry with her sister.

Seeing my confusion Susan said. "Don't bother guessing why, nobody has been able to second guess my sister for years. I just go with the flow. I have to or we'd be falling out all the time. Anyway, the main thing is that Mum doesn't have a problem, which also means that Dad doesn't either."

We talked a bit more about her home life before she spotted my Monopoly set. There then followed a long and very intense game with me finally edging it. The ultra competitive Susan sulked for a few minutes before telling me that I had to make it up to her for wounding her ego.

"How?" I asked.

"In the bedroom of course." She replied holding her hand out to me.

Our lovemaking that evening was slower, a sensual as much as sexual display. Sadly, as my girlfriend deemed that the energy levels hadn't been high enough, I was awoken early for a run. My immediate offer to remedy that was dismissed as too late, although Susan did grin and call for a rain check.

As usual for me, a few minutes into our run I wondered why I hesitated so often. It seemed that the idea of running wasn't as enjoyable as actually doing it. Once more my partner ensured that there was no slacking on my part. For the most part I kept pace with her though I admit to some minor irritation when she had plenty of spare breath to sarcastically belittle my ability. whilst I had none to refute the spurious allegations.

The rest of the weekend was as idyllic as the previous one, as were the next two. The following was always planned to be slightly different as Susan was entered into the Northern Cross-Country championship. Unlike most competitors who were part of a team, Susan was there as an independent. We'd agreed that she would travel up to my place as usual on the Friday and that I would drive and support her for Saturday's race. Her target was a top three finish but she did admit that even a top ten place would be very good indeed.

Like many of these races they lapped a small course a number of times. This was to be an eight lap race. Susan started a little slow, passing me in about thirtieth place at the end of the first lap. By the fourth lap she had passed half of those ahead and was looking strong. When she didn't pass me in the first eighty or so after the next lap I knew something was wrong. Feeling extremely nervous I headed over to the first-aid tent assuming that she had been taken there if it was anything serious.

I looked around the tent and felt my heart almost stop as I saw her lying flat on a stretcher. She appeared unconscious which didn't help. A better look managed to push the panic aside as I realised that there was no medical staff around her and the heavy bandage on her knee indicated where the problem was. I quickly walked over to her and was relieved to find that she just had her eyes closed. She opened them as soon as I spoke.

"Are you okay?" I asked stupidly as I immediately realised that she wasn't.

Susan seemed to realise what I meant. "Not too bad. It's just my knee though that hurts like hell."

Feeling the relief I didn't think. I just leaned over and kissed her with a passion I hadn't intended.

"Thank god for that. I was worried for a moment." My emotionally charged voice managed to say.

Susan had already come to terms with her injury and a few minutes later so had I.

She asked with a painful smile. "How come the OTT reaction? Not that I'm complaining mind"

"It's just when I saw you lying there, not moving..." I stopped, wondering how to explain.

As it happened I didn't need to. "Steph?" She asked knowingly.

I nodded. A few times I had forgotten that Stephanie was Susan's best friend.

"Sorry!" She said simply.

"No one's fault." I responded before leaning in to kiss her again.

As it turned out the injury wasn't too serious but like most knee injuries was both very painful and debilitating. I was particularly careful on the drive back as my old sports car didn't sport the softest suspension. To her credit, Susan didn't moan about her injury; she did let out an occasional moan of pain and complained a lot over her stupidity in tripping over what should have been an insignificant rock.

Back home with a bag of rapidly defrosting peas on her knee we talked. I told her how I'd not seen Stephanie after her accident but the image in my mind was of her still body lying alone on a hospital stretcher and how Susan's position when I entered the medic's room was almost identical. I admitted to almost losing it. What I didn't admit to at the time was how it made me feel about Susan. I'd had feelings for a few women and one young girl but I'd never felt like I did when I saw the prone Susan, nor the raw feelings that accompanied the relief when she opened her eyes.

I didn't know if this was love but I did know it was as close as I'd ever been. It scared me and I needed to analyse my feelings before telling anyone just how I felt. I was also scared of being hurt again if anything should happen to Susan or, more likely, she didn't feel the same.

Susan was seven years my junior and would surely want to spread her wings a bit before she settled down. Deep inside me this knowledge filled me with dread.

There was no lovemaking that night for despite Susan's willingness she could not find a suitable position.

"I'll make it up to you as soon as my knee is better." She whispered in tears.

Susan was lying in the most comfortable position she could fine which was on her back. I was on my side facing her. I moved into a kneeling position looking down on her.

I reached down and gently turned her face so I could look into her wonderful dark eyes. "I don't know if this sounds right but I hope those tears are for your pain and nothing else. You have nothing to make up for. Whilst I'll grant that I do enjoy ravishing your body, I love your company more. You complete me, whenever you aren't here then I miss you and can't wait until we're together again. I don't care what we are doing as long as I'm doing it with you. Hell, I even love the sadist torture you put me through every morning, that thing you call jogging."

I paused. I knew exactly what I wanted to say next but was petrified. The feeling was too strong to hold back however. "I love you Susan Parr." I finished, my voice a little more than a croak and with tears now in my eyes.

The shock of my declaration was impossible to miss. Susan said nothing, her already large eyes seemingly doubled in size. The longer the silence continued the more nervous I became until I was convinced that I had made a monumental mistake. As usual I tried to laugh it off as one big joke.

"I had to wait until you couldn't run away." I said lamely.

Susan still said nothing, just staring at me as if I'd grown another head or something. I could feel the tears forming and the sense of embarrassment was so overwhelming that I just jumped out of bed and ran downstairs mumbling 'sorry' over and over again.

Almost the first thing my eyes focussed on were my running shoes. 'If ever I need to clear my head its now' I thought. I daren't go back to my room for clean gear so I grabbed the first suitable stuff from the laundry basket and set out for a long run. I ran faster and harder than since the day I met the adult Susan. It hurt, but it was a good hurt so I pushed through the pain barrier. Once my rhythm was set everything flooded back. Not for the first time, I'd made a complete idiot of myself. I had told myself the time wasn't right but like a moron I said it anyway. Susan's total lack of response hurt, I had to admit, but I should never have put her in that position.

Almost ninety minutes later I dragged my exhausted body to the front door still having no idea how to salvage the situation. I entered my house as quietly as I could hoping to put off facing Susan. I was more than a little surprised to see her fast asleep on the sofa. I had had to carry her to bed because of her knee so seeing that because of me she felt that she had to made it downstairs on her own filled me with even more misery.

As I looked at the beautiful young woman sleeping, the sign of tears all over her face, my heart melted. At that moment I knew that I loved her more than life itself. So much in fact that I decided that for her sake it was best to not see each other again. I felt my already weak body shiver at my decision. It would almost destroy me not to see her again but it was better than me causing her misery.

Suddenly, I realised that I was being stupid. Whether I wanted to see her again was irrelevant as I was sure that Susan wouldn't want to see me.

I was then faced with the dilemma of what to do with the sleeping beauty. Should I leave her where she was or carry her upstairs? The longing to touch her for one final time won out so I scooped her up into my arms as gently as I could. Still asleep she snuggled against me filling me with even more love and warmth. Carrying her sideways up my narrow stairs I somehow managed to place her in bed without waking her.