Note: There is a bit of a build up as I wanted to set the scene of how we got to the point where we became more than friends which is the main body of Chapter One, but I felt it was important to do. All feedback is appreciated.
Chapter One
I never thought this would ever happen. Here I am lying next the girl of my dreams as she sleeps soundly, her naked skin glowing in the subtle early morning light slithering over her body as the breeze softly blows through the curtains, after what was probably - no definitely - the best night of my life. I watch her as she sleeps and still can't believe how I have ended up here, with her.
It all started around one early September when Jane started a job at the firm I work in and I was tasked to train her. Nothing strange there, I had trained many a new starter however Jane came with many caveats, the main one being she was the daughter of our top field salesman and as pretty as she was, she was completely off limits, that and the fact I was thirty years older than her. As much as my ego and brain thought I was twenty-four, my slightly portly figure and lack of hair belied my real age.
That all being said a man can dream and I'm a nice guy, so I stuck to the task in hand and training was going well and we were getting along, chatting in between phone calls about work and our lives. She had a boyfriend of two years who worked in construction, still lived at home. Me on the other hand had just come out of a twenty-six-year marriage with an amicable split and had moved my life 265 miles from Essex all the way up to the North West, so there was plenty to talk about.
We were getting along ok; her work was good for someone that had just started - must have been in the genes - but I thought nothing of it. We had connected on Facebook and Instagram, as I had with most people in the office and thought nothing of it until one day I got a message from her on Facebook Messenger, nothing special or flirty, just a hello and some gossip she heard at work. I thought nothing of it to be honest then a couple of nights later another non-descript message but then it seemed we were messaging every night mainly about work but we were getting in the realms of how we were feeling, how our lives were, what relationships we were having, that kind of thing.
By Christmas we were very close, not in sexual way but as close friends. We were confiding in each other more, little looks here and there in the office like our own telepathy, knowing what each look meant, telling each other things we would not dare tell anyone else. I think she saw me as a father figure without the paternal responsibilities so she was able to me things she couldn't tell her dad and that was fine by me, as I said she was off limits and if I'm honest it was nice to have a friend. I had started seeing someone by this time which was my first 'serious' relationship since my marriage ended and it was good to speak to someone about it and how it was going.
We went to our Christmas party and spent most of the evening chatting away but I was conscious of not hogging her al night, plus her dad was there so I was trying to not make it obvious that we were so close. At one point however her dad pulled me over and I thought he was going to say back off but instead he thanked me for looking after his daughter throughout her first few months with the company so that was nice. If only he knew.
Then in the first week in January we had a change around at work and Jane was moved from my section to another section at the other end of the office, I was torn between being pleased that Jane was moving up in the company to a better position, obviously thanks to my expert training (as I told Jane many times), and disappointed as she would not be sitting next to me.
"I'm so pleased for you. Don't know how I'm going to cope though," I told her when she relayed the news to me.
"I know," she replied, touching my arm. "We'll be ok though, we're so close that will never change."
Then she smiled and I smiled back, and knew that we would be alright.
And we were. Over the following months we would be messaging each other at work and in the evenings. We knew where we were at all times so we wouldn't message when we were with our respective other halves. We would even sneak messages to each other even when were with our partners, it was like we were having an affair without the sex or being in a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. She was even messaging when she was away with her boyfriend which felt a little weird but at the same time made me feel like I was cared for, something I'd not felt for a long time.
It transpired that my relationship ended which was fine. I think it was what I needed at the time and helped me move on. It was good to have Jane to talk to about it and it also seemed hers was on the rocks as well. She was going away with him and her family and was not looking forward to it all. I told her it'll be ok, its only ten days but I don't think she believed me. I didn't believe me either and my worst fears were realised when she rang me day two in tears from Spain. Apparently, everything was revolving around watching football and getting drunk, and what she wanted was secondary. She even had put a countdown on her phone, counting the days until she could come home. I was heartbroken for her and for the rest of the holiday we messaged when she could and I tried to keep her spirits up.
When she came back, we had a good long chat and in the next couple of days she ended it. It was the right thing to do, she had outgrown him and even though she was sad it was something she had to do.
From that moment Jane was a different girl, like she had her shackles removed and she had freedom. She went on holiday with her family to Dubai and enjoyed it immensely. She started going out with her friends more, doing what 23-year-old girls do and enjoying life, going on dates but nothing serious - just enjoying herself. She would message me saying where she was going and with who "In case anything happens you know where I am"
And this is where our relationship changed one fateful Saturday night. I was at home minding my own business and Jane had gone out with a guy but she wasn't sure about him so she said she might ring me to come pick her up. At around 11pm the phone rang and it was Jane asking if I could come get her. She had made some excuse about the food not agreeing with her and they had left separately.
"No problem, give me fifteen minutes and I'll be with you," I said.
I arranged to pick her up by Sainsbury's which was nearby where she was and off I drove. When I got there she was freezing but ok. She said it had been a disaster, he'd taken her to some Caribbean restaurant and she didn't like any of the food and it just went downhill from there.
"Can we go to Maccies please Neil? I'm starving," Jane asked. Like I was going to say no. Ten minutes later we were sitting in a deserted McDonald's car park sharing nuggets and chips,perfect!!