THE FLAPPER'S FAN

Chapter 12 - Not What I Was Expecting

Mrs Brewer decided to take Nick up on his standing offer to join him for dinner. She had even made Nick's favourite dessert. It was a long evening. When the meal was finished she mentioned staying in her room downstairs but Nick was adamant, she had spent long enough away from her family, so he had Joe drive her home. Joe gave Nick a hard look as he left and mentioned he would be visiting a friend that night. Mrs Brewer might have been oblivious to the tension in the air, but Joe knew exactly what was going on. We watched the cab turn the corner at the end of the road and then I closed the door. Nick pushed me up against it and pressed his mouth to mine with a groan.

"I thought they'd never leave."

His hand slid up under my skirt and stroked my thigh beneath the silk knickers I wore. I tore at his tie and the buttons on his shirt and we both laughed at our childish eagerness. He grabbed my hand and we sped up the stairs to his bedroom. I hadn't been inside before and I was surprised; it was even more richly decorated than my own room, although twice the size and dominated by a huge antique four poster bed. We kissed our way to it and without breaking contact he managed to kick off his shoes and pull back the counterpane, then he picked me up and sat me upon it, bending to unbuckle and remove my shoes, slowly rolling down my silk stockings, his fingers leaving a trail of fire along my bare legs.

With gentle deference he undressed me until I sat naked before him then he drank his fill of me with his eyes as he slowly removed his own clothes and joined me on the bed. This was what love was supposed to be like, this cherishing, this equal passion, this soaring emotion. That twisted, pale shadow of fear, lust and loneliness that had defined my marriage was wiped away by the strength and sweetness of Nick's love. He whispered his feelings in my hair and I moaned mine in response and throughout the night we shared our thoughts, our hopes, our dreams and our bodies until there was nothing left between us, except my secret.

The next day was Saturday and as Nick had told Mrs Brewer to spend the weekend with her family, there was no-one to judge us for spending the day in bed. We fetched food from the kitchen and picnicked naked on sheets still tangled from our lovemaking. He fed me pieces of cheese and orange segments and then kissed the juice from my lips. He told me of his childhood, of his sister and his time in the war. The truth of my own past loomed increasingly larger over the perfection of the day. We shared a bath and afterwards he massaged my body with scented oil, bringing me to heights of pleasure I had never dreamed existed and inspiring me to do the same for him in return. As I lay in his arms wrapped in a blanket before the banked fire, I knew I could put it off no longer, and yet I don't know if I would have had the courage to begin if he hadn't asked the question.

"When you told me about your marriage, that wasn't the only secret you have to share, was it?" he asked, slowly stroking my shoulder.

I was quiet, wondering how to start, what to say.

"I have felt it between us all day, even as we grew closer."

"I am afraid," I whispered.

He turned me to him, cradling my face in his hands. "There is nothing you could say that would make any difference to how I feel about you, Eddie."

I sat up, pulling the blanket around me, leaving him half uncovered. The sight of his bare chest in the firelight distracted me for a moment and then I sighed. It was time.

"Did you see the books beside my bed?" He was a man who noticed details so I doubted they had escaped his gaze.

"Yes, I have read them both," he nodded, looking confused.

"Do you believe in things such as time travel and alternate realities?"

This was obviously not going in a direction he had expected.