Now in The Beginning
David Thurlow doesn't think of himself as a paragon as people had referred to him. He has flights of fantasy including those of a sexual nature just like everyone else; well, he supposed everyone else. Perhaps I'm just shy, he decided, that was always his best excuse for holding back. Now why had he been thinking about that?
He should have been feeling proud; proud of the life he and his wife, Olivia had built together. They had put the early years of their married life into building up their business the Thurlow Architectural Design Company, and with connections in the local development world their business was now flourishing and paying dividends. It of course had helped greatly that it was David's home city and his family were already well established in the industry locally which was why David had returned after graduating. David knew all too well that it didn't matter how good you were if you didn't have connections. It also helped that their home town was within easy commuting distance of the city. His wife, Olivia's skills allowed them to widen the range of services they could offer potential clients and be one step ahead of their competition.
David knew that Olivia had given up much to leave her family and friends to try and make their life together a success. After nearly 10 years she had persuaded him that the time was right to start enjoying their success and start a family. She also had hopes that a change might re-ignite their sex life that had gradually waned as work had taken over both their lives. He in turn wanted her to enjoy the benefits of their success and spend more time organising their life outside of work, making friends, arranging fun things, and becoming a bigger part of the community. Olivia should be having some fun he believed and for that matter maybe it was time he eased up a bit too. On a whim he rang her but it went straight to answer phone, so he left her message telling her how much he loved and missed her, thinking if that if the message is playing loud anyone visiting will be that embarrassed.
They had hired an assistant Monica, several years ago. Monica had good experience working in the property development industry before she had given up work to be with her children during their early years. But she had been forced back to work earlier than she had hoped after a nasty divorce. She seemed to slip into their environment effortlessly to become an essential part almost overnight and had quickly taken charge of all the things that took the couple away from their core work. In actuality, David and Olivia didn't take long to realise that after a while she was essentially running the place. She never took that approach though, more than happy to beaver away in the background, so all in all Olivia felt comfortable indulging outside the office.
Olivia was blossoming in her new found freedom from the day-to-day pressures and had big hopes for the future, putting more fun back into their lives and maybe exploring more of the sexual side of their love for each other; she wasn't without a few ideas. At first, she dedicated herself to becoming a Mum; the sex was a bonus of course but after a few weeks of almost "sex to order" it started to become stale. The neighbours noted that on most days his car would arrive home at lunchtime, the curtains would close and then later his car would disappear back to work after his 'lunch break'. There was no doubt to observers what was going on. This went on for a few weeks and then the regularity lately had fallen away. Gossips concluded that he was busy at work, getting home less and less and she presumably was back at work from time to time, helping out. Olivia began to explore potential fun things in life and contact people she had known, it had been a long while since she spoke to her family and friends from earlier lives.
David knew his City well, having grown up there and then gone off to Uni where he had proven a hard-working scholar coming out with his Architecture degree. Now at last he felt like it was time to live a little, he always felt that he had missed a lot during his early years, probably because his upbringing made him reserved particularly around women and his innate shyness held him back when meeting people. He'd grown out of his shyness to a great degree but was still overly reserved with women he thought, despite some hard lessons in his teens. If it was not for Olivia's no nonsense boldness when they first met it was probable that they would have drifted apart.
Coincidentally, Olivia had earlier been musing over the past that had led them to be together. Olivia had met David during a summer break when they were both working in the same holiday resort, both working long hours in bar/restaurants but in different parts of town. On one fortuitous night off, they were both dragged by friends to a late nightspot where their eyes met across the room. He knew straight away that he wanted her perhaps more than any girl he'd seen before. She, being more worldly, thought he was better than above average on the good-looking ratings (which was pretty high on her experience scale), he was handsome she thought, perhaps boyish looking, belying his obvious manly attributes. He was tall and broad shouldered with abbs that just dared a girl to run her hands over them. His upper body curved down to a trim waist and she waited in anticipation to see his buns which from the front she thought had to be world class.
And so, even though he was painfully slow coming to ask, she demurely allowed him to dance with her. The couple danced a fast number and when it finished and a slow song began, she stood by him long enough with her eyes fixed on his to give him the courage to take her in his arms. They naturally fell into a closer connection and wonders of wonders he could actually dance without treading on her feet. One dance led to another and then several and then to arrangements for dinner on their next day off. Days went by as the couple grew closer and Olivia gradually found herself spending more of each day looking forward to their next date. He'd kissed her of course and she had been shocked at how breathless she felt afterwards; yet the weeks went by, and he never made a move on her.
Then the end of summer break was on the horizon, and they were both going back to see their families for a time, before returning to Uni, for their final year. She was beginning to wonder where this relationship was going, if anywhere; "perhaps it was just meant to be fun and then over," she thought, but her heart ached a bit as that occurred to her.
She decided that she had to shake her shy man up a little and as they sat in a quiet and private place they knew, she decided after a particularly heavy session of passionate kisses that it was time. "David", she said, "why have you never tried to make love to me or even touched me intimately?"
David had not known what to say for a moment. He stammered something about respecting her and not wanting to sour their relationship. She almost burst into laughter; of all the men she'd met in her life she was falling for someone who didn't want to fuck her. "Why you lovely man, would you think that going further would upset me? even if I didn't want you to, it wouldn't sour our relationship." "I have feelings for you David and I don't want to lose you without at least having you once, or maybe more..." her words tail off with undisguised meaning. David now feels somewhat silly, he had held this woman in such high regard he'd put her on a pedestal and now they were about to part, how dumb is he... but he doesn't want to lose her. So, he says "I think we have something special going on and I don't want to lose you." Then in a moment of shock to his old-fashioned thinking he dared to say "So, let's go somewhere comfortable and let me help you never to forget me". Olivia is not about to disagree; she is still waiting to have a good feel of those buns.
Their remaining time together became a torrid affair as David adored her body endlessly and was quick to pick up on all of her favourite pleasure points. Olivia began to agree with the saying that "the Quiet ones are the worst" as to her delight he couldn't get enough of her. She began to realise that this may be the 'One' and made sure they exchanged contact details and promises to keep in touch. For the first time for her, it wasn't just sex and therefore a passing phase, she actually liked this man and shared lots of interests and gaols in life; it was actually quite frightening and it gave her very mixed feelings.
As in all such distant relationships, they began their separation messaging every day and perhaps talking on the phone into the late hours; sometimes enjoying very naughty phone calls much to her roommate Ana's delight. As they began to run out of things to say besides the banal "how was your day" which rarely requires much reply; while going through the motions of studying and preparing for exams, so the frequency of messages declined. Olivia soon found herself distracted and under pressure from her roommate at weekends. Ana wanted them both to be back out there partying, somehow playing without Olivia was never as much fun for Ana. At first Olivia resisted, knowing her best friends' appetites, she knew where that would lead. But as the days roll by, she misses her fun weekends and starts to convince herself that she hadn't really made any commitment in her assumed relationship with David. So, she began to think 'why shouldn't I have some fun and let the future take care of itself' It was also easy to think that David must be having his own fun so far away, which, if she'd been honest with herself, she would have doubted. When one Friday, Ana her flatmate, said she was hoping to meet certain guys, Ana exclaimed, "Come on party pooper let's get out there and see if those guys have grown since last term, you know you love it"
Olivia could do no more than laugh. Truth be told Olivia was feeling a bit needy, so she gave in, searched out her slutty party dress and threw herself back into their scene. Of course, her replies to messages from David began to become too difficult to contemplate and she was finding herself unable to reply for at least a couple of days after a weekend of debauchery led by Ana.
That could have been the end of Olivia's relationship with David where it not for a totally unexpected, dumbfounding but wonderful shock she received. The days ran by in a fog of studying, sleeping, and partying until suddenly the exams were all finished. Graduation came along and brought everything to an end. The day before graduation, her parents and sister came down and stayed over at a hotel nearby. Her heart was full of congratulations from her family and friends. She and her Mum and Sister had gone shopping for a new outfit for her and they revelled in each other's company and the sense of a bright freedom that the occasion seemed to imbue in them. At the presentation they managed to get seats not far from the front and she glimpsed Ana from time to time in close conversation with her own family. For some reason She and Ana hadn't really discussed the future, as friends do when they feel that something will never end.
So, the day came, and Olivia is standing on the stage receiving applause and having photos taken, several flashes going off one after another. Looking out she could hardly see but eventually made out the shadow of her family applauding and her friend standing out in the aisle waiting to congratulate her. She could also see someone standing back just beyond Ana, also applauding and she wondered which of their many conquests he might be, was he with Ana? she wondered. Then she was walking up the aisle towards her family and friends; Ana is holding her hands towards her waiting to give her a hug, as Olivia had done for her. Then out of nowhere the figure behind Ana stepped past her, grasped her around the waist, lifted her up and gathered her in to his arms kissing her thoroughly. Then his voice whispered in her ear. "Where would you like to honeymoon?" Olivia remembers that she was stunned and delighted to be in David's arms after such a long while but gathered enough of herself together to turn to introduce him to Ana and to her own family. Ana's face was a picture she thought she would never forget, but right now it was proving elusive, was it sadness or surprise? She wasn't sure.
Back to the Present
Olivia's musings are annoyingly cut-off by her office phone ringing. She hadn't got to the part of what happened next and there was something she was trying to remember that maybe hadn't occurred to her at the time. Ohh well, it'll come eventually, she thinks resignedly. Then 'I think I'll take some time off this afternoon and go shopping, maybe a bit of retail therapy would do me good, and one never knows I might meet up with a friend. She needed a new dress and maybe something naughty to wear with it for an upcoming party, it will be good for exercising David's heart rate, she smiles to herself. The party host, Jane had explained with the invitation that it was to be a Tramps/Tarts and Vicars/Pastors event, so she was to feel free to dress as slutty as she liked. "Previous T&V parties that her group had held, had been quite uproarious after a few drinks", she said, "with the Vicars behaving quite un-Vicarly, most definitely deserving to be defrocked!", Jane joked. Olivia was delighted by the sexual connotations, and they uplifted her feelings about the event.
