This story, as the title suggests, is a sequel to '
The Sun on My Skin Ch. 1
', though, I have tried to ensure that can be read on its own, even if (not surprisingly) I think you'll understand Tina a little more if you read Part 1 first.
To be fair to you, dear reader, I should warn that, though I didn't set out to do so, it has become a long story. I should also say that it is a lesbian romance with sex rather than simply a 'wham, bam, thank you mam' sex story. I'm sorry if this disappoints some but, hopefully, others will enjoy the slower pace and emotion.
Thanks, as always, to my editor Winterreisser for his support and encouragement to produce better stories and for his dedicated and stalwart battle against my endless typos. If any remain then blame me for including so many in the first place!
Despite the title, there is very little sun and while writing I've always thought of this story as
'The Cold on My Skin'
. However, the rules on Literotica mean that stories in series must (at present at least) share the same title.
I hope you enjoy this and please rate the story and comment if you feel moved to do so -- your feedback is always much appreciated.
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PART I -- Life can be a dark place
Monday 27 April
I stomp my way into work. It's another busy week ahead now Jojo has left, the ungrateful little cow; as soon as her results from her payroll exams were in she resigned. I know the company didn't exactly pay for her exams but she did get every Thursday afternoon off for study, not that she was being paid a fortune. Perhaps I'm just jealous of her youth and freedom to go off to try something new, whatever it is she's doing now.
Anyway, it's actually something of a relief to be in work; a year ago I would have thought it inconceivable that Clive and I could spend all weekend arguing but that's all we seemed to do and all because of that fucking letter, which arrived on Saturday morning and is now engraved on my memory:
' Dear Ms Norton, Further to your recent letter, I must confirm that you do not currently meet the requirements necessary for your IVF fertility treatment to be funded by this Health Authority. I understand your complaint that in some other regions the qualifying criteria are different and that, under such rules, you might qualify; however, we believe the rules operated within this Health Authority strike the necessary balance between need, availability of resources and successful medical outcomes...'
I take a deep breath: I could burst into tears or scream in frustration -- I've done both repeatedly over the past two days -- but I don't want to do either at work. Malcolm is sat at his desk, in early as is his habit, and typing something whilst looking at the paper beside his keyboard. He looks up briefly and nods to me in greeting, the tapping of the keys continuing without a hesitation. He is very proud of his self-taught touch-typing; I remember him when I started here nine years ago; he was already in his fifties and he sat slowly and painstakingly using the correct finger for each key. I'd thought he was silly at the time, but his dedication has definitely paid off.
"Is Tina in?" I ask, tilting my head towards her closed door and this halts his typing.
"Yes, and she seems more than a little out of sorts. I think we can guess why." I nod.
"Jojo. I suppose she only found out when she came in."
"No, she was angry when she arrived. Perhaps the girl had the decency to tell her directly and contacted her at home: they were friendly, off and on, weren't they?"
The relationship between Tina and Jojo had been both a surprise and a bit of a puzzle over the year the young woman had worked here; a surprise because Tina is thirty-six, a little over a year older than I am, while Jojo was barely nineteen when she started, and a puzzle because of the way their relationship fluctuated between friendship and distance, intimacy and upset. Actually, it had thoroughly intrigued Malcolm, almost to the point of obsession, with his repeatedly commenting on it and more than once asking me if I thought they were 'more than, you know, just
good friends?
'
I knew what he was asking but I was pretty sure I had the answer, though I've never said anything, not a word to anyone. The truth is I've always found Tina a very private, reserved person. She never mentions her home life and rarely shares what she gets up to outside of work, save the occasional 'went out for a meal' or 'saw a movie', though she once mentioned going to a friend's wedding, though with no details of bride or groom. The name 'Alex' did pop up occasionally when she let it slip. I also know she swims -- she told me so when I commented on how she often comes in with wet hair on Tuesday and Friday mornings -- which seems to work keeping her lithe, athletic figure as enviably toned as it is.
The thing is, I still have access to the HR database and noticed -- okay, I was being nosey and deliberately looked up -- Tina's details trying to find out something about her. The day before I'd overheard the name Alex once again while she was on the phone and I was sure that Alex was someone close, but what I saw listed as Tina's emergency contact was not simply Alex Kowalski but
Ms Alexandra
Kowalski and living at the same address. Tina had been discreet but, her tone and the look on her face told me that Alex wasn't just a housemate. The obvious conclusion was that Tina was gay. Okay, I didn't obsess over it like Malcolm but I did wonder what exactly had gone on between Tina and Jojo. I knew Jojo had dropped out of school because of issues with a boy but what did that mean these days? And who hasn't, at some point wondered about their sexuality?
I guess something bad happened between Tina and Alex because last summer, with a week's notice, Tina and Jojo went on holiday together. Tina might be a paragon of discretion but Jojo wasn't. Yes, I'm pretty sure Tina and Jojo were more than 'just good friends'... but seemingly not anymore. It looks like it's time for me to be a supportive colleague to Tina; a discreet and supportive colleague, naturally. Maybe it'll help distract me from my own troubles.
It's an hour or so later that Tina finally comes out of her office and heads to the kitchen area to make a cup of tea. My own cup is long empty and Malcolm is away from his desk so now seems a good time to find out how she is. I approach her as she rinses her mug out in the sink, her tall, athletic frame bent forwards as she does so, and I hear her give a little sniff. "Hi," I say to announce my presence and she gives a little start, her hand reaching up to her face; I suspect she has hastily wiped an errant tear from her eyes.
"Oh, um, morning Janice. Are you okay?"
"Well, more or less; what about you?"
"Um... yeah, I suppose. Why only more or less?" she asks, evidently trying to turn the focus from herself.
"It's just stuff at home; some disappointing news. Jojo walking out and leaving us in the lurch is a right pain, isn't it? A bit of a shock for you, I suspect, walking in and finding she'd resigned whilst you were on that secondment to the Liverpool office."
"Yes, you could say that. She..." Here it comes, I tell myself as Tina hesitates, the hurt plain on her face. "She... she's let us all down hasn't she, just walking away like that!" Her voice is bitter with betrayal but as our eyes meet there is a pleading look in them but I do not know what it is she so desperately wants: to talk or to be left alone? An answer? A hug? The moment is broken by the sound of Malcolm's humming as he returns to his desk and Tina looks down.
"Look, Tina, if you want to talk at some point; you know, out of the office, one lunchtime or after work..." I let the offer hang there, unsure of what else to say. We've been colleagues for four years -- since I moved to Payroll from HR, in fact -- and this is, by a very long way, the most intimate conversation we've ever had.
"Thanks, Janice," she replies quietly as she pours the boiling water from the kettle into her mug and then into mine. "And the same for you, if you want an ear to bend with your, er, disappointing news." I nod and there's an awkward moment as neither of us knows what to do next before we take our drinks and go our separate ways.
Oh well, at least I offered.
Friday 1 May
Thank God it's Friday! Actually, I'm not sure how much I really mean that because while work hasn't been much fun, home life hasn't been much better and things between Clive and me are a bit strained. If I'm honest, I know a lot of it is down to me and I'm not being fair on Clive, so perhaps that's why he's arranged to meet some of his mates after work tonight. It's just that I wish he'd show the same anger at how unfair our situation is and then I'd know that having a child is as important to him as it is to me. "It's so bloody frustrating!" I mutter as I check through the bank's report on salary payments made yesterday.
"What is?" Tina's voice behind me makes me jump, literally off my seat in what is probably an utterly hilarious way if you're not the one whose heart has almost just leapt out of their chest. "Oh, Janice, I'm so sorry," she immediately apologises as I try to recover my composure and dignity. "I wasn't trying to sneak up on you."
"No, I'm sure you weren't; I was obviously too engrossed."
"What, in a BACS transfer report?" she asks disbelievingly and with the faintest glimmer of her old humour.
"Well, no, obviously. It's just other stuff, er, you know, home stuff." She nods in understanding but seems hesitant.
"Um... you know on Monday you mention that, um, if I needed to talk..?" Now it's my turn to nod, trying to conceal my surprise. "It's, well, I know I've been a miserable cow this week and, to be honest, I simply can't stand the thought of going home and just sitting and moping on my own. I owe you and Graham some explanation but... would you come for a drink tonight so I can tell you first?"
"Clive's out at some work's do this evening so, er, yes, of course, if that would help you..." I pause, weighing up my next words. "And perhaps this miserable cow owes you some explanations too."
And so it is that, by unspoken agreement, Tina and I both have a little bit of work to finish up at the end of the day, staying on until Malcolm has left. I find a strange mixture of apprehension and curiosity inside me as we walk down the road, not to The Royal Oak, which is the default meeting place for after-work drinks, whether celebrations or farewells, but to The Three Feathers on River Street. I've never been there before but it is surprisingly quiet for a Friday evening and we have no trouble finding an empty corner, I with a gin and tonic and she with a glass of white wine.
Having got this far Tina seems not to know where to start so I decide to take the lead. "Did you know that I was pregnant eighteen months ago?" I ask and the question seems to startle her. Fair enough: it wasn't an obvious opening line. "I fell pregnant in the spring and, you probably remember, we went on a Baltic cruise that summer and Clive proposed." I take a sip of my drink and see I have Tina's complete attention. "It was very romantic, idyllic even, until a few weeks later, I miscarried."
