From Friends to Lovers

I went to take a shower, scrubbing my body under the hot water, and when I returned, the girls were starting to stir. "You look a little pale," remarked Sarah.

Her eyebrows rose as I described my experience. "Golly."

"Didn't Marie say something about the house having a legend associated with it?" asked Beth. "Maybe you could ask her next time you have a tutorial."

I shivered involuntarily. "Better, I think I'll give her a call."

I pulled on clothes, and went downstairs to the kitchen, absently nibbling at a leftover bread stick. I glanced at the clock - we'd slept in, and I judged it was late enough to disturb Marie.

I listened to the phone ringing for a few seconds, then her softly-accented voice answered. "Hello?"

"Hi, Marie, it's Tim. You OK?"

"Sure. And I really enjoyed last night."

I hesitated, then again gave my account of my - what to call it? Dream? Encounter?

Marie was silent for long moments. "Would you like me to come round?"

My voice held relief. "If it's not any trouble."

"Not at all."

The call ended, and I went to let the girls know. "I'll put a few things together for lunch," Sarah nodded, "there's plenty left."

I watched them dress, Beth's nails still keeping their dark sheen as her fingers fastened the clasp of her bra. "OK, ready."

We went downstairs, sitting with mugs of coffee, and after a few minutes Marie's car appeared. I let her in, and she took a seat at the table, accepting a mug. "Just black is fine, thanks."

"So what can you tell us?" Beth prompted.

Marie sipped at her coffee. "Her name was Sarah too."

Sarah's eyes widened, but didn't interrupt. "She was the daughter of the vicar, very pretty," Marie went on, "and the local landowner noticed her, more or less forced her father to agree to a marriage."

Marie pursed her lips. "Her husband was a lot older than her, and a greedy man. He didn't want an heir by his young wife, so when they lay together, he - well, I guess you'd say he spilled his seed on the ground. So she never had the child she longed for, and she died of a broken heart."

Sarah was pale. "And she's never really left here?"

"Maybe so."

We were silent for a while, then Beth shook her head. "I kind of feel like we should do something for her, but I don't know what. Maybe we should talk to the vicar."

She got to her feet. "Anyway, I made lunch - ghosts or not, we still have to keep body and soul together."

We were silent as we ate, and finally Marie said, "I'd better get going. But I'll see you in the morning, Tim."

I nodded. "Thanks, Marie."

The afternoon was taken up with tidying, various chores, and as the light faded we ended up back in the bedroom taking a break. The girls wrapped their arms around me, still subdued, and I kissed Sarah's hair. "I'm sorry, love."

"It isn't your fault -" she began, then broke off, pointing. A figure stood in the doorway, shadowed in the half-light, but clearly the same young woman as I'd encountered the previous night. Now her hands rested above and below a slight but unmistakeable bulge at her waist, and her pale lips curved in a smile. As we watched, her outline blurred, became indistinct, and she was gone, just a wisp of mist remaining for a few moments then fading to nothingness.

Sarah's face when I looked back at her was wet with tears. "I - I don't really understand, but maybe that was what we had to do..."

Beth hugged her. "Could be."

She kissed me, raising her eyebrows. "We've not really talked about starting a family, have we - too many things to do yet - but it's kind of comforting to know that somehow you've helped that young woman finally have something she'd longed for so much."

She brushed a tear of her own away, and managed a grin. "Thinking about what it might be like to be pregnant has given me goosebumps."

"Me too," confessed Sarah. She leaned across to kiss me. "The dusting can wait - Tim, we can at least pretend you're trying to get us pregnant, can't we."

Beth grinned, already slipping out of her clothes. "Or that you already did, and all those hormones just make us want to drag you into bed even more."

A few moments later we were all unclothed, and Beth reached to touch my hardness while Sarah kissed me. "So in this fantasy of yours, which of you is already starting to show a bump?" I teased.

"Beth ought to be first," Sarah offered, "seeing as you'll be married soon."

"So you satisfy my hormone-driven cravings," grinned Beth, "then try and get Sarah in the same state."

She shifted position to her hands and knees, and I moved behind her, my hands resting as though one was above, one below an imaginary bulge in her stomach. "Mm," she breathed, "that's such a tender touch."

I heard the smile in her voice as she entered our shared fantasy more fully. "My breasts are more sensitive now - maybe a little larger too," she hinted. "You won't need to touch them quite as hard to get the same response."

I cupped her breasts, then slid one hand down to explore between her thighs. "Ohh..." she moaned softly, "I want you in me - not to finish, but just so I can feel you there while you touch me."

I moved back, pressing my tip against her entrance and entering her slowly, then returned to my gentle exploration of her with my fingers. I brushed her nub, at the same time touching one nipple then the other softly, carefully. "Can't wait until these maybe leak a little milk, wonder what that'll taste like..."

"Mm - oh, a little harder, my nipples and the other place," Beth gasped in response, and I complied, my fingers touching more urgently. I moved in her, and I felt tension building, then Beth gave a quiet cry, her muscles rippling softly around me. "Mmm..."

She breathed in, then out again slowly as I withdrew from her. "That was so nice, passionate but gentle."

"Just right for someone carrying something so precious," I murmured, hearing a quiet sniffle from Sarah.

I reached across to touch Sarah's cheek. "Ready for us to create something precious, too?"

She nodded, the twinkle in her eyes acknowledging that after all, we were only pretending. "I like the position Beth picked - I think I read somewhere it's good for conceiving, too."

I watched as she knelt, then placed her palms flat on the bed and looked over her shoulder at me, her expression inviting. I moved behind her, entering her smoothly, and she gave a satisfied sigh. "You don't need to hold back, I know you'll be close after being in Beth. I only want to feel your stuff in me..."

I took her at her word, putting my hands lightly on her hips and beginning to thrust more insistently, Sarah pressing back against me and gasping quietly. "Mm, yes, I'm ready..."

I couldn't hold back any more with her caressing velvety depths around me, and I gasped as I thrust hard once, again, spurting the warmth she craved deep into her. "Ahh..." she sighed softly.

I wrapped my arms around her as I softened, slipping from her, then guided her to lie down, Beth joining us. "I liked that bit of pretending," she murmured, pulling the covers over us.

The next morning was college or work for all of us, and the week turned out to be a busy one. I met with Marie as usual on Thursday, and she blinked in astonishment at my account of the evening after she'd recounted the story of the house to us. "More things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy," she quoted softly. "Maybe there's such a thing as redemption, after all."

On the way home in the car that afternoon I reminded Beth that my parents were coming down to see us on Saturday. "I'm sure they'll offer to take us out for lunch, so we don't need to get much in the way of extra shopping."

When I mentioned it to Sarah, she nodded. "I'm sure I can make the spare room look a little more lived-in. Unless you want me to actually sleep in there Friday night?"

Beth put her hand on Sarah's. "Don't be silly - rumple the covers, put a dent in the pillow, it'll be fine."

Saturday came, and we'd not long finished breakfast when my parents' car came up the drive. Beth and I went to greet them, bringing them through to the kitchen. "And of course this is Sarah."

"Hello, Sarah, it's great to finally meet you," smiled my mother.

My father glanced around the kitchen. "Looks like you've really settled in. Want to give us the tour?"

"I'll make coffee," offered Sarah.

Beth and I showed Mum and Dad round the ground floor - "I love that you've put all your books together," Mum nodded. We made our way upstairs, Dad chuckling at the chaos that was our shared study. "That's Sarah's room," Beth pointed.

"Well, she's certainly much tidier than you two," Dad grinned.

They admired the master bedroom - "I'd like to meet the architect," mused my father, "I love the feel of this room."

"'Fraid you're a couple of hundred years too late," I pointed out. Beth flashed her eyebrows at me, reminding me that maybe time wasn't quite the fixed thing we'd always thought.

"True."

A quick glance at the attic - "We've not really been up here much since we first moved in -" then back to the kitchen. "Where would you like to go for lunch?" queried my mother. "Sarah, we'd love you to join us, of course."

"There's a pub restaurant on the road into town," Beth suggested. "We've not been, but I've heard from friends at college that it's pretty good."

I squeezed into the back seat of Mum and Dad's car with the girls - "Sorry it's a bit cosy," I grinned, my hand brushing Sarah's leg as I fastened my seatbelt.

We were a little early for lunch, so we sat in the bar for a while. "Remind us what you do, Sarah," Mum prompted.

"I work for an estate agent's, I really enjoy the property side."

Dad nodded. "I bet there are some lovely places down here. But Tim and Beth's place is a real find."

I felt a slight sense of relief that neither Mum or Dad seemed overly curious about why Sarah might have chosen to share with us when she had the opportunity to be independent, and the conversation moved on to college, our studies. "I think I've found a topic for my dissertation, anyway."

Beth pantomimed something going over her head, getting a smile from Mum. "Oh, I think they've got a table ready for us," she noticed.

Dad shook his head when we all ordered burgers. "We could just have gone to the fast food place," he teased. But when our food arrived, he looked impressed. "All that salad, they've definitely made an effort."

"Would you like to walk round college this afternoon?" I offered.

"Mm, that's a good idea," my Mum nodded.

We rounded off lunch with sticky toffee pudding - "Are you sure you'll be up for walking?" Beth teased as I sat back in my chair - then she and Sarah popped to the loo while my father paid for our meal.

Our tour round the college was a success, Mum and Dad obviously impressed by the buildings, and we ended the afternoon in a coffee shop on the High Street - "What, cake already?" Sarah teased me.

Dad glanced at Mum. "I guess we should think about being on our way, really."

She nodded. "We'll drop you three off at the house, but then we'll get straight off."

When we reached home, everyone exchanged hugs, then we waved as the car disappeared down the drive. "Think that went well," Beth grinned, putting her arm around Sarah's shoulders, accepting a kiss.

We went back inside, and Beth glanced at me. "Don't think we'll need anything else to eat, will we?"

"Maybe toast or something for supper later," I ventured, and she rolled her eyes at Sarah. "Perhaps we should send him outside to split a few logs or something."

Sarah grinned. "Well, he was the woodcutter, after all. But he could do it without that shirt on, show off his muscles."

I rolled my eyes. "I did like our bit of acting, though - we can definitely do something like that again."

"We ought to think about our sherry party," Beth suggested. "It can't be too close to Christmas - the vacation starts the first week of December."

"The weekend before, then," I nodded. "Do we need a theme again this time?"

"Don't think so - just drinks, nibbles, maybe some music on quietly," Sarah offered.

Sunday was a lazy day, but the next week was just as busy as this one had been, and before I knew it, it was Saturday morning again. I decided to have a shower as soon as I woke, and when I came out of the en suite, Sarah and Beth were whispering to one another, Beth's face a little serious. "Sarah and I need to pop down into town," she said.

"Sure."

I watched them dress, and a few minutes later I was alone in the house. I got on with the housework as usual, and when the girls returned I kissed them both. "Ready for something to eat? I could do us scrambled eggs, a bit of a fry-up."

Sarah shook her head. "Not sure I feel like it, sorry, Tim. You could make me some toast in a while, though."

She and Beth went upstairs, and I thought I heard them go into the rarely-used family bathroom, closing the door. After a couple of minutes Beth appeared at the top of the stairs. "Tim, could you come up here for a second?"

I walked up the stairs, following her into the bathroom, finding Sarah sitting on the closed lid of the toilet. Beth glanced at her, getting a hesitant nod. "Tim, Sarah has something she needs to tell you."

"Tim, I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant," Sarah ventured in a small voice, her eyes glancing aside to the plastic stick by the sink.

Her lower lip quivered. "I'm sure I took my pills properly and everything..."

My response was to sink to my knees, wrap my arms around her, fingers stroking her hair gently. "Sarah... that's amazing..."

Her voice against my chest was muffled. "You're OK about it?"

"Of course," I replied without hesitation, getting an approving nod from Beth. "Shall we go downstairs and we can talk about it properly?"

I kept my arm around Sarah's waist as we made our way to the kitchen, pulling a chair out for her to take her seat. "I could get used to this," she smiled.

"You're going to have to," I grinned. "Cotton wool has got nothing on how we're going to look after you. You still want toast?"

"Mm, please." Sarah caught her lower lip between her teeth. "Could you - um, would it be OK with that pickle stuff on it?"

I heard a soft chuckle from Beth. "You can eat whatever takes your fancy, darling."

Beth sat down while I made the toast. "I guess we have some time to think about how we're going to handle things."

"Work will be fine," reassured Sarah. "I've been there long enough to get maternity leave and all that."

She blinked. "How weird does it sound, me saying that?"

Beth thought for a moment. "We never did get around to that holiday, did we. Would you like us to book something for after the party, maybe even go away over Christmas?"

Sarah shook her head. "You know what I'd really like? Just to be here at Christmas, have a proper tree with baubles and everything, Christmas dinner. Maybe we could go to a Christmas service, we might even get some snow."

Beth smiled. "That sounds perfect."

I put Sarah's toast in front of her, and she took a bite, closing her eyes. "Mm, the taste's just sharp enough."

I grinned at Beth, shrugging my shoulders. "I can see I might have to get used to some odd requests for the shopping list."

"And sleepless nights," she reminded me with a chuckle. "That's not for a while yet, though."

I counted on my fingers, and blinked. "Um, our new arrival might be with us just in time for the wedding..."