Chapter 3
On Friday, at seven o'clock on the dot, Simon rang Marianne's number. A strange voice answered.
"Hello. May I help you?"
The voice was cultured, assured, deep yet feminine. Simon realized it must be Marianne's mother.
"Oh, hello. Um, it's Simon, can I speak to Marianne, please?"
"Hold on a moment, I'll see if she's here," came the answer. Simon thought it odd that her mother wouldn't know if she was there or not, but let it pass.
"Wait a moment, she's just coming to the phone," he heard. Then he heard the handset being passed over, before Marianne's voice came to him.
"Simon, hi! Right on time, I see!" she told him, chuckling.
"Yes, well, you did say tonight at seven," he answered.
"Uh-huh. Look, I've got a surprise for you. Can you pick me up here in an hour?"
"Surprise? Er, sure, I'll be there at eight then."
"I look forward to it!"
- - - - - - - - - -
Simon had to scramble to be ready in time to catch a bus that would get him there on time, but he made it. He was actually five minutes early, but didn't think Marianne would mind overmuch.
He rang the doorbell and waited. The door opened and he was greeted by an older, still attractive lady.
"Hello, you must be Simon. I'm Marianne's mother, but you can call me Tina. Come in, she's nearly ready."
He was shown into the small entrance hall. She looked him up and down for a moment. "I can see why she's taken with you. You're a lucky young man." Tina excused herself, saying she was watching 'The Sweeney' on television, and he was left to himself for a moment.
The Simmons' home was small but neat, clean and tidy. There were pictures on almost all the walls, the wallpaper was flowery and the carpet a deep pink. Simon wondered if there was a Mr. Simmons at all – the place seemed very feminine. He also wondered what Mrs. Simmons ('Tina,' he reminded himself) had meant…
His speculations came to an abrupt halt when Marianne started down the stairs. He saw her legs first, well, her feet (clean, nearly new trainers) and calves (muscular yet feminine) before the denim skirt came into view. She wore a violet cotton top that hugged her figure, showing off her wonderful bosom. She ducked her face to see him sooner as she descended, a bright smile lighting up her face as they saw each other.
As soon as she was off the stairs she skipped to him, putting her arms around him. They kissed, and once more Simon felt the world slip away unnoticed.
She broke the kiss, pecked him again and stepped back. "Here, take this," she told him, handing him a bag that was in the corner at the bottom of the stairwell. "But don't look inside," she admonished, as he started to do just that, "it's part of the surprise!"
Marianne called out, "I'm off then Mum!"
Her mother answered, "Have a good time then, Marianne. Be careful!"
Marianne rolled her eyes at Simon, grinning, but replied, "I will Mum. See you!" and opened the door, ushering Simon out.
Once outside, he asked her, "Where are we going?"
"To start with, back to your place. You're going to need a few things."
"Such as?" asked Simon, confused. He'd just come from home!
"Oh, a toothbrush, underwear, stuff like that. I have the key to my friend Julie's flat. She's gone up to her mother's in Manchester for the weekend. The flat's just up the road from you, the other side of the traffic lights, we can be there in five minutes after you've picked up your stuff – and we've got it all weekend!"
Simon's jaw dropped! Marianne just watched him, eyes challenging him to say something. Then what would happen over the weekend registered, and his eyes lit up.
He closed his mouth. "That's cool," he said, "I'm off duty this weekend. Which is lucky, by the way." Marianne's smirk told him luck had little to do with it. "Okay, so you checked. Let's go catch a bus." Marianne nodded in approval, and they set off. She extended her arm, and Simon took her hand. They walked to the bus stop like that, hand in hand.
"Who'd you speak to at the station?" Simon asked.
"Duh! I asked Patty, who checked with John, of course." She pecked him on the cheek. "Dope!" she called him, but she smiled to reduce the sting.
Once at the bus stop, he asked, "What's in the bag?"
"I told you, it's part of the surprise and I won't tell you what's in it!" she answered. Then she moved up close to him, put her arms around him and tilted her head in a clear invitation. Once they began kissing, all thought of the bag and it's contents flew out of Simon's head.
- - - - - - - - - -
Simon almost
barged
his way through the door, shouted "Only me, Mum!" and dashed up the stairs. He grabbed a bag and started rummaging through his drawers for underwear, pillaging his wardrobe for a spare shirt and jeans. He practically ran into the bathroom and picked up his shaving kit and a washcloth. He was about to leave when he remembered soap!
"So this is what your room looks like," came Marianne's silky contralto. Simon felt like he'd jumped about three feet, then he saw her, just inside his room. It was a mess, with the drawers open and clothes everywhere. "Er…"
"That's okay, it won't take two ticks to clear things up. I'll hand them to you and you can put them away," she said, apparently calm, but Simon could tell she was almost bubbling over with laughter – it was in her eyes.
Sooner than he'd have expected the room was tidy. Marianne stood up straight and looked around the room.
While it was definitely a young
man's
room, at least he'd taken down the Led Zeppelin posters, and the somewhat cheesy 'girly' pictures – all safely clothed, but
revealingly
so – had come down too. Football posters, including one large one featuring the West Ham United star, Trevor Brooking, had replaced them.
Simon's Fire Brigade kit was safely put away, except for his helmet, which was on the table next to his bed. There were several shelves of books, and several more with LP's and cassettes.
The pallid sunlight came through a small window directly onto Simon as he stood there. Marianne looked at him again, and she said, "Goodness, you look wonderful when you're highlighted like that!" and stepped close to him.
"How many girls have you had up here, then, Simon?" she purred. One hand went around his neck, pulling him closer, the other went to the front of his jeans.
"One or two," he said. '
Only
one or two,' he thought, but Marianne whispered, "I'll bet…" into his ear as she pulled him to the bed.
"We can't – I haven't shut the door!" he told her and she giggled as he broke free. "Don't forget to lock it!" she told him.
He shut the door and turned. "There's no lock. Mum knows that she's to knock if it's closed," he told her with a rakish grin. He advanced towards her and she lay back on his bed, watching him through lowered lashes.
With a growl he leapt on her and she squealed in delight. Quickly their kissing became an all-out groping session. He wormed a hand under her top and felt her breasts through her bra. She undid the clip of his jeans and felt inside his underwear, investigating his semi-erect manhood – which instantly reached full staff. She moaned appreciatively into his mouth as they kept exploring each other.
She broke the kiss. "Too many clothes!" she told him and whipped off her top. He didn't answer except to begin stripping off his clothing too.
