It was a couple of weeks before I had the opportunity to meet Howard without others being there, Joan joined me on our Friday night out and despite his eager looks in my direction I could not offer or show any encouragement.
The following weekend my children were away on holiday with their aunty and uncle from their Dad's side of the family, Uncle Harry had picked them up on Friday tea time and they would not return for a week.
Joan and I met up as usual and strolled to the pub, our chat was comfortable and the half pints of beer were refreshing and delicious. Most of the usual regulars were in and were soon to be joined by Howard and his mates who took up a table near ours. Their chat was the usual mix of bawdy and earthy comments about the weekend to come as pints were swiftly consumed and the night went on.
Sometime later one of them overheard Joan talking about how much rest I would be able to catch up on while the children were away, he remarked something about how Betty would be sneaking a man or two in then! Everyone laughed at that, even me!
While I was at the bar getting more drinks Howard approached on a similar mission, when the barman was away fetching clean glasses he whispered asking me if it was alright to call round later. I smiled and told him that would be nice, but somewhere after eleven o'clock.
Joan and I wandered home at our usual ten o'clock and it was with a shaky and excited hand that I unlocked my door and let myself in. The house was tidy, as it always was, but the hands on my living room clock stubbornly refused to complete their circular journey quickly enough. I had a small glass of sherry, I closed all the curtains, I inspected my attire...the button up dress was on again.
I tried watching television but gave in to another small glass of sherry, the minute hand on the clock had eventually moved round beyond half past the hour. I paced the room, I inspected the kitchen to make sure there were no unwashed dishes. What the hell did that matter I wondered to myself?
Eventually there was a soft knock on the front door, I almost tripped in my haste to get there. There stood Howard with his lovely mischievous grin, I moved aside to let him in, quickly locking the door.
We kissed softly but with urgent passion, we moved to the living room and fell sprawling on the large sofa. The kisses became deeper, tongues flickered and teased, his hands and fingers found my breasts. He kneaded, shaped and squeezed and then uncovered them. I watched as he once again unbuttoned my dress, this time all six buttons at once, the two halves were parted.
