Charlotte pulled the covers over the sleeping body before gently placing the back of her hand against his small forehead. She was relieved to feel it was still cool. She couldn't resist leaning in and giving the top of his head a soft kiss. Slowly, she stood up and carefully crept out the room so not to wake him, closing the door gently behind her. She stood just outside his door for a second to enjoy the quiet.
In the kitchen she opened the large American style fridge and grabbed out a bottle of wine off the shelf and placed in on the large island that sat in the middle of the room. From the cupboard she picked out a glass and poured in a good amount of wine. She took a big sip before sighing; she was glad the weekend was finally here. Charlotte picked up the glass, and then after a moment's thought, the bottle as well, and walked through the small arch way into the hallway then turned into the lounge.
Charlotte placed the bottle down onto the coffee table and grabbed the remote before sinking into the large sofa. The tv above the open fireplace flickered to life as she began to scroll through for something to watch. Finally, she settled on a drama and curled her legs up underneath her to relax.
The third episode was about to begin when she heard a knock at the door. Charlotte frowned as she looked at the clock, 9:30pm. She thought it must be her best friend Millie since she couldn't think of anyone else who'd pop by so late. Sighing, she placed her wine on the table and pushed herself up off the sofa and made her way to the front door.
"Oh Hi," she said, surprise clear in her voice when she finally opened the door and found it was not Millie stood on her front porch.
"Hi Charlotte, sorry to call by so late but Theo wasn't at football today and I just wanted to check in to make sure you were all ok?" Jake, Theo's football coach, smiled in from the dark.
"Please, come in." She said quietly, stepping away from the door to allow him in. He closed the door behind him and followed her into the lounge.
Jake had coached kids' football since he was 25 so now, nearly two decades later, he had seen a lot of kids come and go and met his fair share of parents. But none of them had quite caught his attention like Charlotte had. Come rain or shine, she was present at every game, every training session, and always cheering him on. He saw real potential in Theo, but he was a quiet and shy kid that often held back on the pitch, so Jake had found himself offering to coach him one to one. Charlotte had wanted to pay but he had declined and so every other Wednesday evening for the past four months, he had come by and worked with Theo in their garden, which he had been shocked to see could have easily fit a full-size football pitch in it, with room to spare.
He stepped inside the living room and looked around. They often had a chat and coffee on the decking or in the kitchen on those Wednesdays, but he'd never been in this room before. It was smaller than he'd expected, given the size of the kitchen and the size of the house in general. It felt really cozy though. There was no main light, just a couple of standing lamps around the room giving off a warm glow. A big two-seater sofa ran along the wall, it was grey and looked really soft and like it would swallow you whole. The focal point of the room though was the open fireplace which was crackling away.
"Thank you for checking on him, he's had this nasty bug and been in bed for two days." Her voice brought him back to the now. She was stood in front the fire looking at him. "Can I offer you a glass of wine?" She indicated to the bottle on the table between them.
"Please." He said finally, he hadn't planned to stay long, but then he had nowhere else to be either. He shrugged off his coat and she took it from him, told him to make himself comfy and then disappeared to get another glass. Jake sat on the far end of the sofa and watched the fire until she came back in and handed him the glass.
They talked as they finished the first bottle and soon, they were halfway through the second. Jake noticed how she had become more animated as she spoke, her fingers would brush against his leg or arm as she told stories or even when she laughed at his. She had, of course, noticed his reaction with every touch, and soon she was doing it intentionally. She had noticed him instantly when Theo joined the club, he was good looking, was always quick to smile at her when he saw her and he'd always make sure he came to speak to her before they left. But she'd just assumed he did that with everyone. He'd always been polite and respectful when he was visiting the house. So, he had never given any clear indication on if he'd even noticed her past being Theo's mum. However, she had noticed how he'd shift positions to hide the bulge clearly visible now each time her fingers lingered in his leg.
"It's getting late, I should probably call a taxi." Jake said as he tapped for his pockets to locate his phone. He frowned when he found them empty and then remembered it was in his coat pocket. He stood as Charlotte did too, the pair of them colliding in the small space between the sofa and the table. Jake instinctively reached out to grab her waist to steady her as she swayed.
"I'm not that drunk." she giggled. She wasn't, but she was definitely tipsy and the sudden movement and closeness to him made her giddy for a minute.
Jake didn't let go and she could feel the heat of his hands seeping through the thin fabric of the vest top she had on. It was only now that it occurred to her how little she was wearing. She'd had a shower after putting Theo to bed and had put on her cotton shorts and its matching top. She hadn't been expecting visitors, and she hadn't even stopped to think about it when he'd arrived. Jake watched the colour in her cheeks deepened as he tried to will himself to move, but he was essentially glued to the spot.
Charlotte risked glancing up at him and her breath caught when she saw the look in his eye. His gaze locked with hers and she felt her heart beat faster as the smell of his cologne, the warmth of his body and the look in his light blue eyes all overwhelmed her senses. She cursed under her breath; it had been too long since a man had been this close to her, which hadn't bothered her until now. But her body was screaming at her, aching for something, anything. Her eyes closed as she felt herself lean into him, her hands resting on his solid chest as she tilted her face to his.
Jake battled with his conscious. Of course he wanted her, she was beautiful and he was mildly ashamed to admit she'd been forefront in too many of his fantasies. But she'd always been so reserved and never given a hint of an attraction towards him. Many of the mothers did, some more subtle than others about it. In his younger days he'd allowed himself to be swept up with it, but he'd quickly learnt the hard way about keeping boundaries and hadn't let himself be tempted by a mum for so many years. Yet, there was something about her that he'd not been able to push all the way down. And here he was, with her body leaning into him and her mouth against his jaw.
He resigned himself to fate as he sat back onto the sofa, guiding her with him until she was straddled over his lap. His hands slowly moved up her thighs and Charlotte could feel the roughness of his palms, an indication that he worked with his hands a lot. His hands rounded her bum and stopped, squeezing gently. Charlotte's arms rested on his shoulders, her hands at the back of his neck.
He brought one hand up to clasps her wrist gently, turning his head, he placed a kiss on her forearm. Charlotte let out a soft moan at the combination of his soft lips and rough beard against her own delicate skin. Her other hand gripped gently at his hair as he unhurriedly kissed his way up her arm. Charlotte soon felt his mouth against her neck, a hand now in her hair as he gently tilted her head to one side. He could feel her whole body vibrating by the time his lips reached hers and he very lightly kissed her.
