It was really too warm a day to be gardening and I perspired gently as I worked. The exercise made me feel well with the world and happy to tackle jobs I had been meaning to do for a long time. The day that I had taken off work had given me the opportunity to do them and, as I came to the end of what I wanted to do, I heard footsteps behind me.
βHi there,β she said, βI thought that I would bring this back while I remembered.β
I turned, embarrassed to be stripped to the waist, and greeted a grinning brunette.
She stood on the rear patio and swung a small folding garden chair in her right hand to indicate what she meant.
Penny was a friend of my wife who had been to the house on several occasions and who I had met at various functions. I had not admitted it to any one, but just the sight of her always got me aroused and, from her attitude to me, I suspected that it would not take very much encouragement on my part to take things further.
She was about the my age β early thirties, small with tangled brown hair and commanding grey green eyes, the colour of an arctic sky, which twinkled mischievously as she spoke.
There was no doubt that she was a flirt but I had never really thought anything of it.
βIβve finished here,β I said, "let me make you a coffee.β
She leaned the folding chair, which my wife and I had forgotten when we last attended a barbecue in her garden, against the side of the house and went in through the kitchen door. She stood just inside so I had to brush past her when I followed her in and from the smirk on her face, this tenuous contact seemed to please her.
I wiped my hands and face on a towel that I collected as I entered and then took the kettle to the sink to fill it. While I plugged it in and switched it on, Penny stood behind me and I could feel her eyes on my back. The hairs on my neck rose and I became tense and excited.
We talked freely as we waited for the kettle to boil. Penny and I had talked together on a number of occasions in the past and we always seemed at ease with each other and able to discuss all sorts of deeply personal matters as if we were long time confidants. She spoke of her married life and told me things to indicate that everything was not what it should be between her and her husband, Ian.
Ian was a great guy but a keen sportsman and had spent a good deal of his married life at cricket or football or darts or, in fact, anything which kept him away him from his wife, although, I am sure, this was not a conscious intention of his. She had accepted the situation as normal until recently when she had begun to resent his absence and to feel increasing neglected. This feeling had made her more inclined to respond to some of the many overtures which she was always receiving, but she was now thinking that these opportunities for an adventure may soon pass her by.
There was one person in particular who pursued her and she spoke of how her feelings towards this man both excited and confused her at the same time. She was attracted to him but did not know what to do. One thing for sure, her sexual genie had been released and would not be satisfied until it had fulfilled her three wishes β whatever they were.
I had no solutions or good council to offer but I listened as she unburdened herself to me. However, as she did, the tone of her conversation was arousing me. There I was, listening to tales that amounted to β my husband doesnβt satisfy meβ whilst I, who found her so desirable, was forced to nod compliantly. Small wonder I was feeling so horny.
The kettle hummed and, as we talked and exchanged glances, I thought that I was beginning to pick up welcoming messages from this confused and very sexy lady, but understanding body language is not one of my strong points. The kettle clicked loudly to signal the completion of its task and I crossed the kitchen to make the coffee.
As I prepared the drink, Penny who had taken a seat by the table, said suddenly and in complete contradiction to what we had been talking about,
β Iβve been bitten by mosquitoes, look what they have done to me.β
I looked across towards her as she drew the hem of her cotton dress part way up her pale thigh to reveal a small red and white blemish on its inner surface.
She looked directly at me, daring me to respond.
βIβm afraid we donβt have any insect cream,β I said and then, with quite an uncharacteristic bravado said, β I suck them when I get bitten.β