Memoirs of a Swinger Ep. 07

On Monday morning I arrived back at Ruth and David's in time for breakfast. It was good to see them both after my long week-end at Lesley's. I enjoyed their company, especially Ruth's, but as I'd got to know David better I'd begun to admire his laid back attitude and determination to make lemonade from the lemons life had thrown him. Despite his success, and even though his cancer was in remission it has to make you view your life differently.

As we sat and had breakfast I told them all about the engagement party and how Lesley had been asked to be a bridesmaid. Ruth said that she'd give Lesley a call in the evening to congratulate her and to catch up. I also explained that we were going down to see Kate and Daniel at the weekend and asked them if it would be ok to take Friday and Monday off, as I wanted to combine the trip to London with a visit to my parents.

"Take as long as you like," Ruth said. "Do your parents know about Lesley yet?"

"No they don't," I admitted. "Things seem to have come a long way so quickly. Then there was always the problem of lying to them about how we met and of course how I ended up here for the summer. It's just been easier to stick my head in the sand and ignore it, but it's important to me that they know now."

David smiled and shrugged his shoulders in acknowledgement of my predicament and Ruth said, "I'm sure they'll love her Steven." Then changing the subject, she said, "We have some news as well."

"Oh yes. Good news I hope?"

"We think we may have found a house in Provence and so we are going to check it out. It's an old vineyard property near a place called Roussillon. From the pictures the agent sent us it looks like it's everything we wanted."

"That's great, what happens next. Do you have to go and have a look at it?"

"Yes, we thought we'd make a mini holiday out of the trip. Property has been selling so fast in that area that we've already had to put down a deposit as a mark of good faith. But we're taking the ferry from Hull to Zeebrugge tomorrow night, then we'll take a few days to drive down to Roussillon and we should be there to view the house on Friday. If everything goes well the deal should be done by next week."

"That's fantastic. I'm really happy for you. I hope it's everything you want it to be," I said.

"So do we."

"In that case there are a few things I need to talk to you about before you go."

"No problem Steven. Fire away."

******************

Ruth and David left for France just after lunchtime on Tuesday. Their ferry wasn't until the early evening but they wanted to make sure that they arrived in good time. A road trip through France in the Jag was certainly the way to travel in style.

Before they left, Ruth made sure that I had the alarm code to the house even though we both knew I wasn't going to use it. Then, after apologising that she was going to miss Wednesday club this week she gave me a big hug. "Good luck for the weekend," she said. "I hope everything goes well."

In the evening I rode over to Nottingham. Lesley was already in a flap about meeting Daniel and Kate and when I suggested meeting my parents she became even more nervous.

"What if they don't like me?" she said.

"Why on earth wouldn't they like you?"

"I don't know they just mightn't like me."

I gave her a hug and said, "They'll love you, just like everyone else does." The moment I said it I realised my mistake. Everybody loved her, except her own parents, of course.

As I dialled home I felt a bit nervous myself. Partly because I knew I was going to have to lie to my parents about a few things but also because I'd never brought a girl home to meet them before. The phone started to ring and then I heard my mum on the other end of the line.

"Hi mum, it's me," I said.

"Hello Steven, how are you, is everything ok?"

"Yes mum, I'm fine and everything's ok. How are you?"

"Mustn't grumble," she said. "Your father is going to put me in an early grave but I'm fine."

"Listen mum. Would it be possible to come down and stay with you on Friday night?"

"Oh Steven, we'd love that."

"There's someone I'd like to bring with me too, if that's ok. It's a girl..."

******************

I finally finished painting David and Ruth's house on Thursday, a couple of days later than planned. I was glad that I was going be doing something different next week but I had to admit that the house was looking pretty good with its new coat of paint.

On Thursday evening I drove the Mini over to Lesley's. I'd thought about going on the bike but I didn't have any straps to tie down the old army surplus kit bag that I used to carry my clothes in. Besides, the Mini had sat in the garage for a couple of weeks now and needed a run. It felt strange driving it at first but soon felt like the old friend that it was.

From the moment that she opened the door to her apartment I could see that Lesley was in a panic. If she had seemed nervous on Tuesday then she was doubly so now.

"What's the matter?" I asked as I gave her a hug.

"I'm just nervous," she said.

"Come to bed. Let me give you a cuddle."

I took her clothes off then undressed myself and we climbed into bed. She put her head on my chest and clung on to me for what seemed like an age. Then unexpectedly she climbed on top of me like a judo player trying to pin her opponent to the mat. Covering my body with hers she started to kiss me gently and I could feel her shivering as if she were cold. She eased herself onto me and we lay there as she gently slid herself up and down my cock.

"Tell me you love me Steven."

"You know I do."

"But tell me you love me. I need to hear you say it."

"I love you," I said. "More than you possibly know."

"Now fuck me Steven. I just need you to cum inside me now."

I gently rolled her over onto her back and inserted myself into her. I could see this wasn't about the sex, just about her needing to feel wanted. She was far too tightly wound to orgasm and so I fucked her as gently as I could. I told her that she was beautiful and how I was looking forward to spending the rest of my life with her. She told me how much she loved me and that she'd always be mine. When I finally came, her body relaxed and the shivering stopped.

We went out for some food to the Italian where we'd first eaten a few weeks' ago. I tried to keep Lesley's mind diverted with talk of Ruth and David's trip to France and how I'd finished the decorating but eventually the topic got back to the coming weekend.

"I spoke to Kate yesterday," Lesley said, "Just to confirm the arrangements."

"Is everything still on?"

"Yes," she said. "I just don't know what to wear on Saturday night. I've packed three outfits ranging from the conservative to the extremely revealing."

"Well you know which gets my vote," I said.

"Ruth told me that Daniel's a stockings and suspender guy." Then giggling she added, "Meaning that he likes them not that he wears them."

"Oh, I see. So it doesn't matter that your boyfriend might also be a stockings and suspender guy. It's all about Daniel is it?"

"I didn't know that you liked them," she said.

"I might do."

"Then I'll wear them for you too."

"Ok. But changing the subject..." I said. "We need to get our story straight for my parents."

"What do you suggest?"

"Well, I've been thinking and how about if we build on the story that Ruth told the village when I came to stay with them. You are their niece and they used to look after you in the holidays because your parents lived abroad. Then, when they divorced, Ruth and David sort of became your guardians. You met me through a friend at university and managed to get me a job working for Ruth and David in the holidays so that I could be nearer to you. That way a lot of what we say is true and we don't need to lie about Ruth and David."

"What about Daniel and Kate?"

"Oh. Yes. We could say that we are going to visit some of your friends on Saturday."

"I think I can remember that. But I have one question."

"What's that?"

"Black, tan or white stockings?"

"Black. Every time."

******************

We caught the train from Nottingham to St. Pancras in the early afternoon on Friday. I was able to use my student railcard to get a discount but no amount of sweet talking by Lesley was going to persuade the lady in the kiosk that she had forgotten hers. So she had to pay full price, which seemed only fair, especially as when she paid by credit card I realised that David would be picking up the tab in any case. The train was dirty and old and the seats were those horrible lumpy, sprung bench seats. Lesley snuggled into me for most of the journey, caught up in her own thoughts. You could tell that she was still a bundle of nerves.

After the train it was a short journey on the Hammersmith and City line to Stepney Green tube station and then a few minutes' walk from there to the old terraced house where I'd grown up. I carried my kit bag and her suitcase as we walked along but Lesley was as quiet as a mouse.

"Well, here we are," I said as we stood outside the front door. I thought Lesley was going to pass out she looked so white. "You'll be fine," I said and knocked.

My mum opened the door with a big smile. "Stevie," she said. "It's so good to see you." She gave me a big hug, then releasing me she turned to Lesley and said, "And you must be Lesley. Gosh, you are pretty." Then she gave Lesley a big hug too. "I'm Stevie's mum," she said slightly unnecessarily, "but everyone calls me Sandy."

The colour returned to Lesley's face just as my dad appeared in the hallway. "And this is my husband Frank, Stevie's dad," said mum, again slightly unnecessarily. Dad was not expecting the hug Lesley gave him. He wasn't a man used to hugging but he stood there slightly awkwardly and accepted it with good grace.

I parked our bags in the hallway and we went into the living room. Mum sat us down and went to put the kettle on. When she came back the questions started. My Dad sat there impassively as mum began the interrogation. After we'd dispensed with the university related questions the topic changed to Lesley.

"You know Stevie has never brought a girl home before. We were beginning to wonder about him?"

"No we weren't!" interjected dad, uneasy with the inference and wanting to set the record straight, so to speak.

"I know dear," said mum. "I was only joking."

Lesley sang like a bird and told my mum everything she wanted to know. Lesley's nervous silence had been replaced by a semi nervous need to babble, but fortunately she kept to our agreed story and her delivery gave it a feeling of credibility.

Mum and Lesley could have talked for hours but they were interrupted by the doorbell. "That'll be Jackie," said mum and went to answer the door.

"I didn't realise that your sister was coming over Steven."

"Neither did I," I said.

Jackie and her husband, Andy came into the room. Jackie and Andy were a caricature of East enders at the time. Jackie had been a teenage bride after Andy got her pregnant by accident. To give him credit he had faced up to his responsibilities and made an honest woman of her although with my dad on his case I doubted that he had many alternatives, at least ones that left him with the use of his legs. A generation or two ago Andy would have made a typical east end barrow boy but now he was the modern equivalent, a photocopier salesman, and earning good money at it too. He and Jackie had a flat not too far away and Andy had a Vauxhall Cavalier as a company car. For East enders they were living the dream.

"Sorry for being late," Jackie announced. "The baby sitter was late." Then, on seeing Lesley, her first words to me were, "Crikey Stevie, you're punching above your weight with this one aren't you?" She gave Lesley a hug and said to her, "I bet he hasn't told you that I used to beat him up when he was a kid."

"Well, he did actually," Lesley replied.

"He's just a big wuss you know really," and everyone laughed.

Mum had cooked a lasagne for dinner. We sat around the dining room table and the conversation flowed, with the women doing most of it and the men taking a back seat. Mum mentioned to Jackie that I was working for a famous author and it turned out that Andy had read a couple of his books. Lesley asked him which ones and they had a bit of a chat about the story lines. I never had Andy pegged as a Sci-fi buff but sometimes people surprise you.

Everything was going well until Jackie said to Lesley, "So are you managing to keep Stevie out of trouble then?"

"Well apart from the one incident with the riot police, then, yes," she replied. My heart sank and you could see from Lesley's face that she immediately knew she'd dropped me in it. Lesley had no choice but to reveal the details of the events leading up to me head butting the guy outside the nightclub and the discussion with the police officer that followed. My mum listened in horror while Jackie had a good laugh at the story.

"A leopard can't change its spots, eh Stevie?" said Jackie.

"Oh Stevie, you could have been arrested," said mum.

"You did the right thing son," said dad.

After dinner, the time honoured tradition of humiliating the son in front of his new girlfriend was observed and the photograph albums were produced to reveal me as a baby, then on a donkey at the seaside, then in a cowboy costume, then as a shepherd in the school nativity play and finally in the dreaded end of year school photos. Everyone had a good laugh, even my dad.

It got to 10.30 p.m. and Jackie and Andy had to leave. Jackie's parting words to Lesley were, "You know, you can do much better him, but if you decide to stick around then look after him for me." Lesley promised that she would and with that Jackie and Andy left to relieve their baby sitter.

Lesley, sensing that my parents might want to spend some time alone with me, said she was a bit tired and suggested that, if it was alright with them, then she would leave us to it and go to bed. Mum looked flustered and said she wasn't quite sure what the sleeping arrangements were and that she had prepared two beds but didn't know if one was more appropriate. Lesley said that either was fine, but dad interrupted and told mum that he thought that we could be trusted. In this small gesture approval had been given and a threshold crossed.

Lesley said goodnight to my parents and thanked them for the meal. I showed her upstairs to my bedroom and said, "I'll see you a bit later..." then added, "thank you for giving us some time alone."

When I came back my mum's first question to me was, "Tell me she's not pregnant Stevie."

"Mum, of course she isn't."

"Thank goodness for that," she said. "You've always been the sensible one Stevie, but after your sister... Well, I just had to ask."

Then, unusually for him, my dad ventured an opinion, "I can see what you see in her son but what does she see in you?"

"I don't know dad. Honestly, I don't know."

Then, changing the subject my dad said, "I met Fred from the gym the other day."

"Has he retired yet?" I asked.

"No he's still training 'em. The only way they'll get him out of there is in a box. He asked me to say hi to you and told me to tell you that he hopes you're still training, even if you aren't boxing."

"I miss the gym, training on campus isn't the same."

"He also said some bloke was up there the other day asking about you. Wanted to know whether you'd trained there and whether you'd fought competitively. A Scottish bloke apparently, copper, or probably ex copper. You wouldn't know anything about that would you?"

"I think I might. What did Fred tell him?"

"Fred told him that he had trained you but that he didn't speak to coppers and he advised the guy to fuck off sharpish if he knew what was good for him."

"Frank, language please," said mum.

"I'm just telling the boy what Fred said," dad responded. "Is there anything your mum and I need to be worried about?"

"No dad. If it's what I think it is then let's just call it a background check."

"So, if I've got it right, your girlfriend's not pregnant, you've passed your exams, you're not in any trouble, and you don't need any money."

"That's about it."

"Good, then your mum and I are off to bed. We'll see you in the morning. Goodnight son. Oh and for what it's worth, we both think you've picked a winner there."

"Thanks. I wanted you both to meet her. I'm sorry it took so long."

I kissed my mum goodnight, got two glasses of water from the kitchen and went up to my old bedroom. Lesley was still wide awake. "What did they say?" she asked before I'd even closed the door.

"My dad said he doesn't know what you see in me but they both think I've picked a winner in you."

You could see the look of relief on Lesley's face. "Oh Steven," she said. "I'm so glad."

"Me too. Now which side of the bed do you want?"

"Do you think it's big enough to have a side each?"

******************

I woke up early on Saturday morning. Two people in a bed meant for one teenager hadn't been so comfortable but we'd managed. Lesley was fast asleep. With the nerves gone she could finally rest and so I tried not to disturb her. I found some old running gear and went out for a run. Running in Stepney was so different from the Lincolnshire Wolds. At every junction you had to stop and check for traffic. It felt odd coming back to the place where I'd grown up and I had to admit that after two years away it no longer felt like home.

I ran up to the boxing club and although it was still early the place was a hive of activity. When I went inside I recognised a few faces and exchanged some banter with those who remembered me. Eventually I found Fred and gave him the statutory greeting of, "Morning coach."

"Well look who it isn't," he said, "Stevie boy! How are you my son?" Then addressing his current crop of young teenagers he said, "Lads look here. If you study hard at school then you too can end up like this cunt, all educated and shit. Now take five."

"It's good to see you," I said.

"You too Stevie."

"I miss this place you know."

"Don't," he said. "Some of these kids don't have shit. This place is all they've got, but from what I hear you're doing well, getting an education, moving on, even got a steady girlfriend."

"Yes. I've brought her home to meet mum and dad."

"Must be serious. Do they get on?"

"Yes. Once they knew she wasn't pregnant."

Fred laughed, "Well your Jackie did set the bar quite low on the expectations front I guess."

"I guess."

"Your dad told you about the copper?"

"Yes, thank you for letting him know."

"Girlfriend's daddy checking you out?" he asked.

"Something like that."

The teenagers were beginning to drift back to their coach and so Fred said "Listen Stevie. I've got to get back to work. It was good to see you again and I wish you all the best. Take care son and keep in touch. And tell your mum and dad I said hi."

"I will and thanks again. For everything you did for me."

"You soppy cunt," was his reply.

I ran back home to the smell of bacon. We didn't have a shower in the house so I had to have a quick bath then joined mum, dad and Lesley for breakfast. Mum and Lesley were deep in conversation about something and when it ended, mum asked, "Do you have time to go to the pub with us at lunchtime?"

"We'd love to Sandy," said Lesley. "We've got time haven't we Steven?"

"Of course." I said.

The pub on a Saturday had been a ritual. Everyone from the neighbourhood popped in for a pint. It was a way of keeping up with local events. Mum showed off Lesley to all the neighbours and I chatted with my dad and some of his friends. At 2.30 p.m. they shouted last orders and everyone was kicked out ten minutes later.