Cecelia looked down at him as she slowly rolled her hips, rubbing herself along his length. She was entranced by how soft and pale his skin was, it seemed tissue thin, in places almost translucent, his long muscles, sculpted by hard physical work, tightening at the slightest of movements. She touched her fingers to the faint tracery of veins on the side of his neck and, following the lines of his muscles, stroked down over wide shoulders and long arms to his hands. Lifting them she placed them on her breasts and gave them a squeeze, but, feeling how rough they were, she peeled one off and studied the palm; the years on his courses and working at the gardens had toughened them to those of a hardened labourer: the difference between them and the rest of his body was quite remarkable. She kissed his calluses then placed it back where it belonged, squeezing them both again, encouraging him.
She'd found him, or more accurately he'd found her, at the Horticultural Society's gardens an hours drive from where she lived.
She'd finally decided to do something with her pocket sized garden and had gone there for some inspiration. But, after walking around for an hour she'd been no further forward and was feeling quite overwhelmed by it all, so she'd decided she needed a break. Coffee: coffee and a cake, that's what she'd needed, maybe things would seem clearer then.
When, from behind her, a man's gravelly voice had interrupted her thoughts. "Mrs C?"
Cecelia had turned in a rush, surprised at the sudden interruption, and instantly recognised the speaker. "Rowan?"
His face had broken into a wide smile. "Hello Mrs C, how're you?"
God. He looked just the same and yet very different all at the same time. She'd always liked Rowan. He'd been in the same year, at the same school as her son and, although the boys hadn't been friends; her son was the athlete whereas Rowan was much more the studious type and they'd moved in entirely different circles, she and Rowan's mother had been part of a group of mothers who'd regularly met for coffee. That had started to drop off once the boys had moved to high school then ended completely when they'd gone to different colleges, but they still bumped into each other around town and always stopped to chat.
Back then he'd been a slight boy; thin and small, and with his pale skin he'd always seemed frail and sickly, but he'd still charged around in his little group of friends and had always had a wonderful smile whenever she'd spoken to him.
But now he was tall and upright with a real width to his shoulders. My goodness how he'd grown.
"I'm well thank you. And you?"
"I'm really good thanks." He'd replied.
"And you're working here?" It had been more of a statement than a question; he'd been wearing the Gardens livery of green and brown with the signature red handled secateurs in its leather holster at his hip, the answer was obvious.
He'd grinned proudly. "Yes, started when I was still in high school and I've just finished my Diploma."
She'd been genuinely pleased for him. "Well done you, in that case you can give me some advice."
And from under his wide brimmed hat, that smile of his had beamed out. "Of course I can, I'd love to. What is it you're looking for?"
Watching her fingers trail over his pale skin she remembered her thoughts and feelings during the hour or so she'd spent walking around with him.
At first it had just been a friendly catchup intermingled with useful advice and ideas, he really did know his stuff, but she had become increasingly aware of something else: something she'd struggled with; she had become increasingly aware of him as a grown man.
After his guided tour Rowan had helped her choose a few plants to start her off and given her a short list of what to get later if she wanted.
Things had changed as he'd stood to the side while she'd paid when an older woman, also dressed in the gardens 'uniform', had approached him.
"Rowan, I thought you were on a half-day today, weren't you due to finish at 12?"
Rowan had blushed and replied, "Sorry boss, just that Mrs errr, this lady needed some advice, I just got carried away, sorry, I'll just help her into her car and then finish."
The woman had glanced at Cecelia and smiled then, not unkindly, said, "That's fine, I'll see you tomorrow."
Once they were outside and heading towards her car Cecelia had been apologetic. "I'm sorry if I got you into trouble Rowan, but thank you for your help, I really appreciate it. It's lovely to see you again but I can manage now, you get off home, I don't want to keep you any longer."
"That's ok Mrs C, I enjoyed it, and it was great to catch up after all this time." Then, looking at his watch, he'd said, "The next bus isn't for twenty minutes and the stop is just on the main road, so I'll help you get it all into your car then go and get changed."
"You get the bus home?"
"Bus then train. But I don't mind, gives me time to relax, and it's a lot less hassle than driving."
"Hmm, ok, but you must let me give you a lift today, and besides, your house is only just around the corner from me." She'd already established that he was still living with his mum.
"Oh, thank you, yes that would be great."
"Right, I can manage these, you go and do what you need to do and I'll be here when you're ready."
And within ten minutes they'd been on their way, with the hours drive seeming to fly by.
And all the way Cecelia had had a tightness in her throat that she hadn't fully understood. She'd already spent a considerable amount of time with him, but being in the restricted space of her car seemed to accentuate her awareness of him: the scent of his deodorant overlaid with the smell of grass and the outdoors was heady, then there was his voice; so deep that it almost rumbled. None of it fitted with her memories of him as a young boy and she'd struggled to accept her feelings.
Arriving back at her house he'd helped her carry her new plants and bags of compost through to her garden. Once that was done she'd invited him into the kitchen for a glass of water before he left.
But he didn't leave.
They'd found themselves standing inches apart with the tension between them palpable.
She hadn't had any kind of physical relationship in over two decades. In his short, adult life he hadn't had much more than she, and neither of them had known what to do, but both of them had known that something needed to happen. It was just a case of whether one of them would instigate it before the moment passed.
It was Cecelia who'd broken the spell.
She'd reached up and, with a shaking hand, touched his cheek.
Rowan had moaned and, twisting his head, had kissed her palm.
They'd come together with a bump. Their teeth clashing, their tongues fighting a battle that displayed a mixture of lack of experience and overpowering lust as they kissed too hard whilst tugging unsuccessfully at each other's clothes: Rowan at the buttons of her dress, Cecelia at the buttons of his shirt and the belt on his trousers, neither of them with much success as clumsy fingers that were too eager struggled to get a grip of anything responsive.
Then Cecelia's back had come up against a wall and Rowan had pressed against her: his groin rubbing unintentionally over hers.
Cecelia had nearly fainted: her knees turning to jelly, her pussy seeming to pulse in a bloom of heat. She'd almost collapsed and it had only been Rowan pressing against her that had kept her on her feet.
Squeezing her teeth into the muscles of his shoulder she'd pulled herself together and, with a renewed sense of purpose, had quickly unfastened his belt and zip and pushed his clothes down to his knees then, in a mad moment of haste, had forced him away, stepped out of her knickers, dragged him back in, entwined her fingers into his thick mop of hair and kissed him again.
She'd intended taking her time: she'd wanted to take her time. She'd waited long years for this: always telling herself that she could do without but always knowing how much she missed it. But then, with it literally in her grasp, she'd told herself to savour it, to make it last.
But every sense of control had vanished when his body had pressed against hers, the hard thickness of him pressing against her through her dress.