Road Test
Recap: At 49, and widowed, I had been seeing a lady called Pat for some time, and was on the verge of sleeping with her for the first time. She had discussed my 'size' with both her daughters, one of whom I work with, and they had each decided (separately) to "Test Drive" me so their mother wouldn't be hurt. Or so they said. Now it was the day after, and I was due to take Pat out for dinner, and then.......
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Saturday was something of a lost day for me, sleeping in as I did way past the time I usually get up. Sometimes the years do catch up with a person. When I eventually wandered through to my kitchen to put the coffee machine on it was nearly 11a.m. - unheard of for me, even on a Sunday!
I sat at the table with my mug of black sweet coffee, taking stock of the past two nights events in a contemplative mood at odds with my more usual "lets see what happens" outlook. I was very concerned that my nights of lust with Debbie and Pamela, as thoroughly enjoyable (and unexpected) as they'd been, would prove to be the cause of Pat and I breaking up, which definitely wasn't what I wanted to happen. On the other hand, both girls had promised that nothing would be said, especially to Pat, so on that score it seemed I had nothing to worry about.
Unfortunately for me there was still my conscience, which was firing on all cylinders today after a noticeable absence over the past two nights! For someone who had been completely faithful to my late wife, to sleep with not one but two other women unbeknownst to my current partner – AND for those women to be her own daughters – well, to say I felt guilty was a massive understatement. I sat and thought about things for a good while, finally deciding that I must treat the last two nights as one-off, never to be repeated scenarios that absolutely wouldn't be repeated – ever.
Now I was able to concentrate on tonights planned date with Pat, something I had been looking forward to for days now. Although she was a couple of years older than my own forty-nine Pat behaved like a woman ten years younger, enjoying various sporting activities whenever her full-time nursing job allowed. Indeed our first few dates had been as part of a larger group during a badminton tournament, and we had paired up to play together when another couple had had to pull out. We had reached the semi-final of the competition before being soundly beaten by the eventual winners; not bad for a couple who'd never played together before!
This past week had been Pat's "long" week at work, which meant four 12-hour night shifts back-to-back, finishing this morning. This was what had allowed Debbie and Pamela to make their visits to me, and also why I wasn't due to pick Pat up until 7:30 tonight. I enjoyed thinking of our sporting exploits for a few minutes, and the first proper glimpses of Pats body I'd had during our games. I must confess that more than one point was dropped due to my lack of complete attention to the game at hand!
After a light brunch, I took care of a few things around the house and my postage-stamp sized garden, thankful that I'd had no work to bring home this weekend as happened so often these days. Soon enough, it was time to shave and shower, in preparation for picking Pat up at her house 20 minutes drive away. Dressed in dark slacks, a pale blue shirt, black loafers and a cream jacket in case of cool weather later, I was good to go. As I drove towards Pats neighbourhood, I felt my stomach uncharacteristically clenching ...nerves?
Arriving at Pats house I walked up the front path to her door, still slightly nervous inside. I wasn't precisely sure of the cause, but it felt as much like first-date nerves as anything else, so I decided to tell myself that's what it was. My knuckle barely grazed the door before it opened wide, Pat standing radiant in the frame. She looked stunning to my eyes, from her newly-highlighted light brown hair, to her 3-inch black heels, and everything else in between. She was wearing a mid-length emerald-coloured dress, which set off her bright hazel eyes wonderfully, and also highlighted her full, curvy figure to perfection. Topped off by a light wrap, she looked good enough to eat!
Pat took my arm as we walked to my car, and I drove us to a local restaurant we had been to several times before. We both enjoyed the gentle blend of French and Italian cooking styles, and the excellent choice of wine, of which we both partook sparingly. During and after eating, we had talked of our respectively busy weeks, with Pat telling me some of the more amusing tales from her nights at the hospital and me regaling her with news of various people in my office whom Pat knew both through me and, of course, Debbie. When our meal was finished, we went into the lounge of the restaurant, and sat side-by-side on one of the long couches dotting the room, my arm around her shoulders as we cuddled together on the soft cushions.
"I've really enjoyed myself so far tonight Tom," Pat sighed softly in my ear, "I hope it gets even better later!"
She giggled as I gave a slightly nervous laugh, saying
"What's up darling ..... nervous?"
"A little bit, if I'm honest" I replied, "especially if I've picked you up right?"
"Oh, you have, sweetie," she answered, "and if you take me home, I'll show you just how right you are.