Martine had given up expecting anything of men. Her last boyfriend had tired of her and left her for a big-breasted Dutch girl who spoke worse English than she did. She hadn't been too disappointed. Her three English boyfriends had been mediocre lovers. The only good sex she'd had was with her very first boyfriend back in France when she was nineteen. But she didn't dwell on that. Jean-Henri had broken her heart.
She was relieved when her friend, Elaine, invited her to her mother's for the August bank holiday. The house was in Herefordshire, a pretty spot in the country. The good thing about England were these little country villages where you could have a quiet weekend break without going too far from London. Elaine's mother needed help clearing the garage. She was a widow and the garage hadn't been cleared since her husband's death a year ago.
'Bring some old clothes, if you don't mind helping,' Elaine had said.
'I'd love to help.' Although not strong, Martine was looking forward to doing some physical work to take her mind off her troubles. Bank holidays could be the loneliest time. With nothing to do, she would lie too long in bed, dwelling on impossible dreams, aching inwardly with desire. She was tired of touching herself. Yet she was unable to resist her body's needs, which were becoming harder and harder to satisfy. Was a morning wasted if she spent it entirely in secret self-stimulation? Maybe not, but Martine needed a change of scene.
The house in Herefordshire was beautiful. It was quite small, though, and the garage had become a store room. It was full of junk. The women arrived on Friday night and first thing on Saturday they put on their old clothes and started to clear it out.
'If you see Mister Needham, you could ask him to help you put things in the skip. Some of those pieces of furniture are quite heavy.'
Mr Needham was a neighbour. He had already helped Elaine's mother by hiring the skip and letting them leave it on the driveway at the side of his house. The houses were set back from the road and were reached by a lane that was too narrow for a skip. Mr Needham's driveway was right by the garage so it was very helpful of him to let them use it.
'I told him you were coming,' Elaine's mother added. 'He said it was a crying shame to let two beautiful women do such donkey work.'
Elaine was twenty-seven, blonde and used to compliments. Her boyfriend was a company director who worked in Cambridge and played squash in his lunch break. Martine was two years older than Elaine and couldn't remember the last time anyone had called her beautiful. Today she had her long black hair tied up and knotted beneath a baseball cap. With her old jeans and scruffy T-shirt, she felt anything but beautiful. Still, Mister Needham was welcome to help.
He appeared later in the morning.
His timing couldn't have been worse. She was bending over trying to pull a heavy box out from beneath a work bench when she heard his voice behind her. She tried to stand up quickly but her back was beneath the bench and she was afraid of hurting herself. She struggled backwards, wondering what sort of view she was presenting. She felt undignified, hardly the beautiful woman he was expecting.
But when she stood up and faced him he smiled warmly. He was in his late thirties with light brown hair and a strong, handsome face. 'Let me get that box for you,' he said at once. 'It looks kind of heavy.'
He bent down under the table and pulled it out. Martine could see the muscles in his back and shoulders working, even beneath the black cotton T-shirt he wore. When he stood up again and lifted the box, he grunted faintly. Martine was standing right beside him, close enough to smell him. She stepped aside to give him room, but it was with reluctance. He smelled good and the warmth he gave off was charismatic. She could sense his physical power. Martine couldn't resist flirting with him. It was harmless banter. She knew there was nothing in it. He was married and had two children. Boys. There was something manly about men who had boys, she thought. Was it because they could kick a ball around with them and teach them how to fix a car?
His company enlivened her and she started to feel good about herself again. She missed him in the afternoon when she and Elaine resumed their work alone after a light lunch.
In the evening they drove into town and rented a couple of DVDs. One of them turned out to be a dull thriller so they watched the other one, a romantic comedy. Although not at all erotic, it made Martine think of sex. She kept thinking about it. She wanted a shower but the shower pump was broken. In any case, she had already washed herself down right after they had finished in the garage so it would look strange if she disappeared into the bathroom again; but she needed some place private to go so she could relieve her sexual tension. She had her own bedroom for the weekend but it was right next to Elaine's mother's and there was no lock on the door. She supposed no-one would walk in on her and she was good at keeping quiet while she satisfied herself, but she was also feeling a little nervous from being in the strange house and she was unsure if she would be able to get aroused enough to find fulfilment. By the time the movie was over it was late anyhow and she was tired. Once in bed, she tried to read a book but couldn't concentrate. After a little while she began to feel relaxed. She started to touch herself and imagine Mister Needham making love to her in the garage, entering her from behind while she was bent over the dirty work bench. But she was too tired and the fantasy dissolved in sleep before she could come.
In the morning she was woken early by the sounds of Elaine and her mother moving about. Elaine had warned her that she and her mother would go to church on Sunday, so she paid no attention until the door slammed and she realised she was alone. The idea of being alone at last excited her. She stretched out in the bed and felt the air on her toes as they pushed through beyond the duvet. She wriggled her feet and became aware of a stiffness in her muscles all along her legs and lower back. It was all that bending she did yesterday. She started to massage her legs, thinking all the while of Mister Needham and the way he had come into the garage while she was bending down. Suppose he had fucked her like that from behind? She wondered if he had thought about that. He had been friendly with her without exactly flirting. He had behaved very properly and shown no favouritism either to her or to Elaine. This surprised her slightly as she believed Elaine to be the attractive one and she imagined that Mister Needham had more reason to be friendly towards Elaine, being her mother's neighbour. But she thought he had really liked her.
Her fingers travelled up the insides of her thighs and she lay back and started to dream. She was just beginning to get aroused when she heard the door slam again. Back so soon?
She pulled the duvet over herself and curled up in her sleeping position. There was a heavy tread on the stairs. It didn't sound like Elaine or her mother. Then there was a banging in the bathroom. She thought she had better go and investigate.
She had forgotten to pack any night clothes but Elaine had lent her a T-shirt. That was all she was wearing. She slipped on a pair of jeans and went into the hall. It was Mister Needham in the bathroom. Instinctively she covered her breasts with her arms. She didn't want him to see her nipples poking through the thin cotton.
'Mister Needham, what are you doing?' she asked.
'Ah, sorry love, I thought you were all at church. Betty asked me to look at the shower pump and I thought now would be a good time. I didn't know you were still here. I could go and come back another time.'
