The Different Paths To Love
I suspect that many people reading this story have had several relationships before finding their perfect partner. It is very romantic to believe that there is only one perfect partner for each one of us. This would appear rather unlikely, and given the number of potential matches we have to choose from, if it were true, what is the chance of any one of us ever meeting our unique Mr or Mrs Right? I am sure that there are many good matches out there for all of us and the partner we each finally settle for is governed by chance events as much as anything else. Choices we make in life, both big and small, will have significant effects on whom we finally meet and possibly spend our lives with.
This story explores the potential different paths our lives may take under the influence of tiny changes in events.
Introduction
It was at an office Christmas party in 1977 that I met two women who would be my lovers and one who would be my future wife.
I was newly employed at a large multinational pharmaceutical company and was a research biochemist with a doctorate in Biochemistry. I had received my Ph.D. from a red brick university in the north of England the previous summer and had moved to London a couple of months earlier. I was twenty-seven years old, single, and horny.
I had gone to the party because I had nothing better to do. That year Christmas Day fell on a Sunday and the last workday of the festive period was the previous Friday after which there was a four-day holiday break.
I had been planning to drive to Wales to meet my girlfriend for the holidays until she rang me on Thursday evening to inform me that she wasn’t sure “our relationship had a future” and “maybe we should have a trial break.” This was of course shorthand for “I’m finishing with you.” We hadn’t seen each other for about a month and I found out later that shortly after we had said our last goodbyes she had started fucking an old boyfriend.
I have to say I wasn’t that concerned. I didn’t think our relationship had much future either and, even If I had been inclined to make a fuss, her boyfriend was a Welsh rugby international who was six feet six inches tall, weighed two hundred and fifty pounds, and had hands the size of shovels.
I, by comparison, am a diminutive six feet tall and weigh one hundred and ninety pounds, unlike her paramour to whom she is now married. I am considered good-looking with blond hair and blue eyes. For the record, he is bald with cauliflower ears and a repeatedly broken nose but is universally considered a bloody good bloke by the millions who watch him on television in his new role as a rugby pundit.
That Friday evening I was at a loose end. My parents had gone to their villa in Portugal, and I had few friends in London and none I could intrude on that Friday before Christmas.
And so I went to the party. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if my parents hadn’t decided to leave Liverpool for the Algarve and broken their long tradition of hosting the entire family for Christmas lunch. Maybe I would have gone north that Friday and avoided that first meeting.
The Christmas Party 1977
The party was held in a large London hotel, and the ballroom and an adjoining reception room had been hired for the evening. The reception was at eight pm with dinner at half past. This was to be served at tables set out in the ballroom and there was a live jazz band and then a disco to follow. There were several hundred people present and I knew very few of them having only met the laboratory personnel with whom I worked daily.
I stood quietly at the reception with a tonic water in my hand and surveyed the crowd. It was a wide and varied group of individuals with only one thing in common; like me, they all worked for the same large multinational corporation. There were senior executives and scientists, laboratory workers, young secretarial and personnel staff, drug representatives, accountants, medical artists, and just about anybody else you can think of. There were males and females ranging in age from their early twenties to their mid-sixties.
I couldn’t see anybody from the laboratory in which I worked but as I scanned the crowd I saw a striking red-haired woman in a white evening dress watching me, but when I looked at her she quickly looked away
I was beginning to regret coming to the party and wondered with whom I might be sitting. I hoped I would not be sat with people with whom I had little in common and be forced to spend a boring evening listening to shop talk. I crossed the room to the board with the seating plan. It sat on an easel at the entrance to the ballroom and, as yet, only a few people were examining it. I found my name. I was sitting at table thirty-two at the back of the ballroom away from the dance floor. A Miss Mona O’Leary was sat on my right and a Miss Valeria Perez on my left.
I started to wonder whether the evening might turn out all right after all. I much prefer to sit at a table away from the dance floor. It is quieter and talk is easier, and I often wonder why the good and the great like to sit at the front. To be in the limelight I suppose. And I wondered who the unmarried ladies I had been sat next to might be,
Precisely at eight, the doors to the ballroom were flung open and we were ushered inside as the strains of Bing Crosby’s White Christmas rang out. In the far corner, there was a large Christmas tree maybe thirty feet high. It was decorated with scores of beautifully wrapped parcels and red lights and had a huge star at the top.
Each of the round tables had settings for eight people and in the centre of each one, sitting on a crisp white tablecloth was a large, multicoloured, enamelled centrepiece. Some were in the form of Santa Claus either standing or sitting in a sleigh and some were of a carousel or a snowman. Also on the table were two bottles of red wine and two bottles of white sitting on ice.
I found my seat at the table, marked by a handwritten card, and introduced myself to a couple already sitting side by side. They were Bill and Mary a married couple who worked in administration. Then John and James, both from marketing, sat down, and then a rather serious-looking young lady called Alice arrived and took her seat. She had short black hair and sad brown eyes and was primly dressed in an old-fashioned red collared dress. Lastly, Valeria and then Mona arrived, and I thanked the anonymous administrator who had made the seating plan. Mona was the “lady in white.” She was beautiful with wavy flame red hair and green eyes with a curvy ample body with a big bum and boobs. Valeria was the “lady in black.” She was shorter and slimmer than Mona but was a Latin beauty with a taut and muscled body, jet-black hair, soft brown eyes, and cherry-red lips. I estimated them both to be around my age or possibly a little older. I was spoiled for choice.
We had just had time to introduce ourselves to the others around the table when we heard the ring of a metal spoon being banged on glass and slowly the hubbub of conversation reduced to a murmur and then to silence. The managing director for the UK was standing holding a microphone. First, he welcomed everyone to the party and wished us a merry Christmas and a happy New Year and then he thanked everyone for their efforts over the previous year.
“In a few minutes, each of you will receive an envelope containing your Christmas bonus. This is one and a half months’ salary averaged out over the last year and is more than was planned. We thought it only fair that after the launch of E………, our new treatment for Type 2 diabetes, all company employees should share in our success.”
He sat whilst we quietly applauded and then half a dozen elves wearing green and red costumes and hats entered the room and delivered the envelopes to each table in turn. The envelopes were white with red edging and delivered on a silver salver which was placed in the centre of each table.
Bill and Mary were the first to react and took the salver, and after taking the envelopes with their names on them, passed the tray to Alice who wordlessly put the envelope in her handbag without opening it. I did not look at my cheque either. I knew I would receive a quarter of my monthly salary because I had only been employed for two months. It was better than nothing but nothing to write home about.
Mona made the biggest fuss. She opened her envelope and smiled and then announced excitedly to the table, “I’m going to buy myself a Gucci handbag for Christmas. There’s one I’ve had my eye on for absolutely ages.”
Next, she turned to me, looked at my name card, and spoke quietly to me. “Where have you sprung from Dr West.”
“Will,” I said. “I work in pre-clinical research. In vitro testing to be precise. I’m a biochemist.”
“I’m a hospital rep,” she said.
Valeria had been listening and now she spoke. “How long have you been working for the company?” Her English was accented and sounded to be spoken by a Spanish speaker. It was very different from the East Coast American accent of Mona.
“Two months.”
“Ahh… That’s why I’ve not seen you about….. I would have remembered.”
And Mona murmured, “Wouldn’t we all.”
As this was happening the food arrived. For a change it wasn’t the standard mass-produced Christmas dinner churned out by pubs and hotels across the county; slices of turkey so thin you can see through them with rock-hard roast potatoes, soggy sprouts, and soft carrots washed in watery gravy or a vegetarian option of nut-roast, the same vegetables, and no gravy.
I had opted for a salmon terrine as a starter and a main of roast duck with cheese to follow.
For a little while, the conversation stilled as we enjoyed our food and the wine started to flow. I am not a big drinker. I don’t like the loss of control it brings, but both Mona and Valeria had a couple of glasses, and Mona in particular become more effusive as the evening progressed.
At one point she directly asked if I had a girlfriend and briefly touched my hand with hers.
“No, I don’t,” I said.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Valeria stiffen. “She doesn’t either. Nobody wants her.”
This was said with a smile, but I sensed she was being serious, and I realised that each one of them fancied me.
It may same strange, but I wasn’t sure what to do. I was young, single, and horny and two attractive women were making it clear they liked me. I liked them both in their very different ways and if I had been alone with either of them would have instantly given in to their advances. I told myself that if I chose one over the other I would be hurting the other, but the reality was that I fancied both and couldn’t make up my mind which one to respond to.
And so I decided to play it cool, pretend I wasn’t aware of their interest, and get through the evening without offending either. I could always make a play for one or the other in a day or two. I still had hopes of being alone with one or other of them that evening in which case….
We listened to Jazz and later the disco started, and Valeria asked me to dance. As we bobbed around on the dance floor Mona watched us like a hawk. A short while later when I danced with Mona, Valeria looked on intently.
In the meantime, Bill and Mary had made their excuses and left early whilst John and James only had eyes for each other, and I suspected were gay. Only Alice seemed to realise what was going on and looked on with impassive interest.
Toward the end of the evening, Valeria excused herself to go to the bathroom. Just for a moment, Mona was distracted having been approached by her boss who wanted to discuss something work-related. This was normally taboo, but he was a workaholic. As her back was turned I hurried after Valeria.
*****
This is where the story proceeds down two different paths. Each will be told in turn.
First Mona
I walked out of the ballroom, but Valeria had already disappeared, so I went to the men’s toilet and relieved myself, and then washed my hands and face. As I was walking back towards the festivities Mona appeared.
“So that’s where you are,” she said. “Come here.”
And she pointed to a bunch of mistletoe hanging over her head. It would have been churlish to refuse, and I stepped over and kissed her lightly on the lips. Mona kissed me back… hard, and soon we were in a clinch. Suddenly she disengaged and whispered urgently. “Not here. I have a room in the hotel. Come after the party finishes. Give me twenty minutes start. Room 865.”
A little later I sat at the table with the taste of strawberries on my lips whilst Mona and Valeria traded veiled insults and I feigned indifference. For the first time that evening, I was pleased that I did not drink. I had a feeling that alcohol would have impaired my performance later that night.
Slowly the evening wound down and the disc jockey started to play the slow smoochy numbers. I had one dance with Mona and then one with Valeria although I made sure not to hold either too close.
Valeria had her back to Mona on the far side of the dance floor when she spoke.
“Are you doing anything this Christmas Will?”
“Not much,” I said.
“Ring me tomorrow. I’m in and out but you’ll catch me some time. The number’s in your pocket.”
And I felt her hand briefly in my jacket pocket.
The party finished and people picked up their coats, gloves, and scarves and joined the queue for a taxi outside the hotel. Mona had disappeared when I saw Valeria leave, and I returned to the main hotel bar and ordered myself a tonic water with ice and lemon. Whilst I was sitting I extracted Valeria’s note from my pocket and placed it in my wallet. I waited half an hour before I took the lift to the eighth floor and walked to Mona’s door. The corridor was empty when I knocked softly on her door, and she let me in.
She was dressed in only a long yellow silk nightdress that clung to her ample body. She said nothing but reached up and kissed me hard on the lips and once more I tasted strawberries.
“Would you like to take a shower?”
“I would like to get clean.”
She smiled. “Good there are clean towels on the rack.”
Mona had taken a suite for the night, and I removed my shoes, Jacket, and tie and padded into the bedroom with her. She lay on the bed propped up with pillows as I went into the bathroom.
I soaped myself clean and walked back into the bedroom with a bath towel wrapped around my waist. As I walked towards the bed Mona stood and embraced me with her soft body held hard against me. Then I felt her reach down and unfasten the towel which fell to the floor at our feet.
Mona stood back and gazed at me. I stood in front of her. My penis was hard and ready.
“Oh my. You’re cute…. and fit.”
Then she bent, took the hem of her nightdress in both hands, straightened, pulled it over her head, and threw it aside.
Now she stood naked in front of me. She was truly beautiful. Her red hair hung in waves over her shoulders. Her skin was milky white, and she had breasts the size and shape of half-melons. Her narrow waist was accentuated by her wide hips and large buttocks which she had shown me by performing a pirouette. Where her ample thighs met her sex it was shaved to reveal a fleshy camel toe. Her body was soft and rounded and “built for comfort.”
We lay together and kissed as she stroked me, and I found her button with the fingers of my right hand. Then I took her nipple between my lips and gently sucked as I continued to rub her clit. She moaned… gently at first and then louder as I continued to rub. I took my lips from her breasts and watched her beautiful face as she took her first orgasm. Her eyes widened, her mouth opened as she groaned in release, she stopped stroking me and held me tight in her fist, and her pelvis writhed under my touch.
I lay between her legs and holding my erect penis in my hand I looked down at her labia and placed the tip between her lips before slowly sliding myself deep inside. She was so wet and sighed with pleasure as I penetrated her. I moved slowly at first and then faster. My strokes were long and slow, and I kept up a regular rhythm.
Soon she started to moan once more and then she began to talk quietly.
“I feel full. I feel full.”
“Oh, that’s good. So good. So good.”
And then more loudly and urgently.
“Don’t stop! Don’t stop! Don’t you dare stop! Don’t you dare fucking stop!
“Fuck me! Fuck me!”
“Fuck me hard! Fuck me hard!”
“!I’m going to come! I’m going to come! I’m going to come!”
“I’m coming! I’m coming!”
“Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”
As she orgasmed she bucked wildly under me whilst her thighs tightened around me, and her face and upper chest grew pink and flushed. I did not stop thrusting and her orgasm was long and hard until she finally lay still.
We weren’t finished. She knelt on all fours, and I fucked her doggy style, and then as I lay on my back I watched her kneel astride me and ride me like a cowboy.
She ground herself against me, alternately leaning forward towards me or kneeling upright. Finally, with her head thrown backward, she drove herself up and down on my bone-hard erection. And she was still very noisy.
“Oh fuck! Oh fuck! Oh fuck”
“Fill me with your cum! I want you to cum inside of me!”
And then she reached down. and as she rose and fell on me her tits bounced and clapped and her fingers were a blur as she desperately sought her climax. I saw her start to flush, and I felt her thighs start to tighten until she screamed in passion.
“Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yesssssssss!”
And I felt her vaginal muscles tighten and grip me tight. This and the vision of beauty sitting astride me was too much, and I also came, squirting my sperm high inside of her.
It was late and I was exhausted, and I soon fell into a deep dreamless sleep. In what seemed to be a short while later I was woken by Mona who was already moving around the room.
“Good morning,” she said.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Half past seven. Didn’t I tell you I have a flight to Boston this afternoon? I’m going home to my parents for Christmas and the New Year. I’m flying back on the Sunday afterward. I’ve left my phone number on the table. I know where to find you.”
A short while later she was gone.
And then Valeria
After my night with Mona I nearly didn’t telephone Valeria but in the end I convinced myself it wouldn’t do any harm. I had nothing planned for Christmas and looked to be alone for the next four days. So, early in the evening I picked up the phone and dialled the number she had given me. On the third ring, Valeria picked up.
It turned out Valeria lived in Wandsworth not far from my rented terrace house in Putney and only a few minutes away by tube. It was a cold drizzly evening and I arranged to meet Valeria in the East Hill pub at eight o’clock that evening.
I arrived a little early and sat in the corner facing the door drinking a glass of tonic. Valeria entered shortly afterward and crossed to the table where I was sitting, and I stood as she smilingly took my outstretched hand. I bought her a glass of wine and we sat and talked.
She too was a drug rep and visited GPs to sell the company’s medication. She was from Spain and had originally come to Britain to learn English but had stayed. She had been married when she was twenty-one but had divorced three years ago after three years of marriage.
“We were too young. I just wasn’t ready.”
She changed the topic.” I didn’t think you’d ring.”
“Why not?”
“Just a feeling,” she said.
And I didn’t press her for a fuller answer, but I suspected I knew what it might be.
I enquired why she wasn’t going home for Christmas, and she told me that she didn’t get on well with the families of her parents, both of whom had divorced and remarried. She had an elder sister who was married and lived in Madrid, but she and her young family had gone on holiday for Christmas. Valeria would visit them sometime in the New Year when plane tickets were cheaper.
Then we talked about me, and I told her a little about myself. We chattered amiably and soon it was approaching closing time.
“Shouldn’t tonight be when you celebrate Christmas?” I asked.
“I haven’t celebrated a Spanish Christmas when I’ve been in the UK since before I married. My ex-husband used to take us to his parents in Birmingham for Christmas dinner. Tomorrow is probably sausage, egg, and beans washed down with red wine. My housemate is away for Christmas and the New Year.
“Would you like to come to me for Christmas dinner?” I asked. “I’ve got a large chicken, potatoes, carrots, peas, and sprouts. If you can contribute the sausage I can make stuffing. I bought myself a cake and a pudding.”
“Sausage and beans alone or roast chicken with the trimmings with company. There’s a choice. What time do you want me?”
“Do you want to go to mass?”
“I’ll go this evening. To midnight mass. Do you want to come with me? You can have a cup of coffee at my place first and then go to Church.”
“In that case around ten o’clock. The downside is you’ll have to walk. There are no underground or buses. I’m about half an hour away if you come on foot. I can walk over and walk you home if you’d like.”
“A brisk walk tomorrow morning will do me good. You don’t need to fetch me thank you. Use the time tidying,” she said laughing.
We walked to her house. It was a terraced house off the main road. Once through the door, it turned out to be warm and cosy. It was well looked after with modern furnishing. Valeria made us each a cup of coffee and just after twenty to midnight we left for the church returning to her house by one o’clock when I kissed her on the cheek and walked home.
***
I woke at nine o’clock Christmas morning to the sound of the alarm clock ringing. I showered, shaved, and dressed and was on my second cup of unsweetened black coffee when the front doorbell rang.
Valeria stood at the step. She looked ravishing in the full light of day.
“Merry Christmas,” she said.
“Merry Christmas. Come in.”
We kissed on each cheek, and she gave me the shopping basket she had been carrying.
“Here’s the sausage you wanted. There are also a couple of bottles of red wine; Spanish of course, and some Toledo marzipan and some turron. We eat them at Christmas and my parents sent them to me.”
“I’m sorry I don’t have anything to give you,” I said
“Apart from Christmas lunch. And I am sure you’ll find something to give me later.”
Lunch was a success. We ate slowly and cracked open a bottle of wine. For once I exceeded my usual limit of one glass and by the time we finished eating I was feeling mellow. Valeria insisted on helping wash up and when the kitchen and dining room were tidy it was three o’clock and time for the Queen’s speech. After that, we sat and watched Billy Smarts circus and then The Wizard of Oz.
At some time during the film and emboldened by the third glass of wine I put my arm around her and kissed her and Valeria kissed me hungrily back, Soon I placed my hand over her breast. At first, she did not react but then she took my hand away and looked intently into my eyes.
“I am going to sleep with you but just not today. It’s Christmas day and I’m a bad Catholic but still a Catholic. Can you wait for just a little please?”
I nodded.
So we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening snuggled up watching television. We stopped for turron, marzipan, and Christmas cake with a cup of tea, and then about ten o’clock Valeria popped the question.
“If I stay the night can you keep your hands to yourself until morning?”
And for the second time, I nodded.
She stripped to her bra and panties and got into bed. I stripped to my boxer shorts and got into the bed beside her, and she lay in my arms with her back to me and her bum against my groin. She must have felt my erection against her bum crack.
“Down boy, she said. Go to sleep. It will soon be morning.”
The wine had made me sleepy and despite the presence of a half-naked and very beautiful woman in my bed, I fell asleep.
***
When I awoke Valeria was no longer half-naked. She was totally naked, having stripped, and got back into bed next to me. I woke as she rubbed her buttocks against my groin and reached around and felt her naked breast and I realised she had removed her bra. Her breasts were small but perfectly formed and I felt her nipple large and hard between my fingers. I kissed the nape of her neck as I gently fondled her, and she turned to face me, and we kissed.
“Slowly. Make the moment last,” she whispered gently.
We kissed some more and then she got to her knees, pulled back the duvet, and knelt by my legs facing me. She put the fingers of each hand under the waistband of my briefs and slowly pulled them down, and once they were around my ankles I kicked them off.
“Lie back.”
I watched as she took my shaft in the fingers of her right hand and slowly withdrew the foreskin to expose the swollen glans before bending forward and taking the tip into her mouth. Then as she slowly wanked me her head bobbed up and down. She knew what she was doing and soon I was as hard as iron and ready for the next act.
First, she opened a small packet and rolled a condom onto my member.
“We don’t want any accidents”
She squatted astride me with her palms flat on the bed on each side of the bed next to my chest and slowly lowered herself onto me. Her vagina gripped me tightly as I entered her and soon she had taken all of me inside and then she started to effortlessly raise and lower herself onto me. She maintained a steady rhythm and I was able to watch my penis appear and disappear in turn, whilst her firm well-muscled thighs rippled as they moved.
She was a beautiful sight. I had never bedded a woman who could fuck like this, and my pleasure was intense. At first, she took her pleasure silently with the tip of her tongue poking through her moist red lips. After a short while, she whimpered softly and started to pick up the pace until I felt her vaginal muscles relax and contract around me and then tighten as her thigh muscles did the same. Then she writhed and ground against me and gave a long soft groan of ecstasy before she climbed off me and lay beside me.
Next, I made her lie over the edge of the bed and took her doggy style. My penis slid easily inside her, and it was not long before she started to drive her pussy against me desperate to climax again, and then bucking against me I heard her softly moan in her passion.
She wasn’t finished, She rode me cowboy style to several more orgasms before asking me to fuck her missionary. Then as she frantically fingered her bud she came again.
“Your turn now,” she whispered, her face flushed with excitement and her body glistening with sweat. And once again she knelt and took me in her mouth. She used her tongue and lips and fingers to keep me on the edge until I could stand it no longer and my penis pumped rhythmically, and I ejaculated deep into her mouth.
Later as we lay together, her head resting on my chest, she spoke. “That was wonderful. I’d forgotten what it felt like to have a man inside me. I didn’t know much I needed a good fucking….When will you be ready to go around again?”
We went again later that day and the day after that. The week between Christmas and New Year we fucked like bunny rabbits. Towards the end of a week, I noticed Valeria seemed to be becoming increasingly thoughtful and on New Year’s Eve I asked her what was on her mind.
“I didn’t plan this to get serious. I’m not ready for a serious relationship just now although I don’t want to stop either. I don’t want you to get hurt so if you’re happy with sex with no strings but no promise of a lasting relationship”…..She let the words hang.
What could I say?
“Thank you for your honesty.”
Our relationship faltered after that. We saw each other a couple of times the following week and always at my house. The sex was still very good. Her flatmate had returned, and I think Valeria was ashamed of our relationship and described her flatmate as a prim virgin.
In early January, my thoughts turned to Mona when I realised that she must have returned from The States, but I controlled my urge to ring her, and she never tried to contact me. I put it down as a one-night stand and moved on.
In the second week in January Valeria visited her sister in Madrid for two weeks and it was following this at the end of the month that I finally met her flatmate. It was unplanned. One Friday evening Valeria told me that “the virgin” was going away for the weekend and had returned to her house on Saturday morning because she had a dental appointment.
That afternoon on the spur of the moment I dropped in unannounced on Valeria at her house. I had visited the Arndale Centre in Wandsworth and was passing the street where she lived.
*****
First Valeria
I hurried after Valeria and saw her disappear around a bend in the corridor and I hurried after her. As I turned the corner she was standing waiting for me.
“Are you following me?” she said with a grin on her face.
“I guess so.”
“And?”
I took a deep breath and spoke.” Can I see you again after tonight?”
“That would be nice.”
“I’ll give you my phone number when we get back inside but right now I’m dying for a pee.”
Then she turned and disappeared into the ladies’ toilet.
I went into the men’s toilet, had a pis, and washed my hands and face. I returned to the ballroom and as I entered the room Mona rushed past me in the opposite direction.
A little later they both reappeared and Mona asked me to dance. As she led me by the hand onto the dance floor she pressed a note into my palm. I heard her say something, but the music was loud, and I only caught the word “number.” I placed the note into my jacket pocket.
The party wound down and the guests started to leave. Bill and Mary had left early, and John and James were still deep in conversation with one another. Alice was sitting at a table close by and was talking to another young lady. She appeared to have lost interest in watching us. Mona had disappeared to I know not where when Valeria handed me a slip of paper.
“This is my home phone number doctor. Ring me tomorrow. We can have lunch together if you like.”
We got our coats and joined the queue for a taxi.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“Wandsworth.”
“I’m going to Putney. Shall we share?”
“Good idea,” she replied.
Once in the cab, we talked amiably.
“I wonder where Mona went,” I remarked.
“She stayed at the hotel,” said Valeria. “She’s flying to Boston for the holidays. Didn’t you hear her say?”
A little later we crossed the Thames, and the cab dropped me off in Putney and as I got out I turned to Valeria. “I’ll ring you around ten and lunch is on me. Goodnight.”
When I arrived home I discarded my coat and took off placed it over the back of a chair and then I had a thought. I reached not my jacket pocket and retrieved two slips of paper. The first said Valeria and had a London phone number written on it. The second said 865 and I realised that I had misheard Mona and missed my opportunity to screw her. She had given me her room number and not her telephone number. Briefly, I considered getting a cab back to the hotel but knew I had missed my chance.
***
The following morning it was Christmas Eve. I woke around nine o’clock and showered, shaved, and drank two cups of black coffee before I phoned Valeria.
“Good morning Valeria. It’s Will.”
“Good morning. Do you still want to buy me lunch?”
“Of course.”
“I’ve got some shopping to do. Shops will be shut for a couple of days, and I don’t want to starve.”
“We can do it together after lunch.”
“In that case come straight over.”
She gave me her address in Wandsworth about half an hour’s walk away. I could have caught a bus or taken the tube but although it was cold there was no rain, and I thought the exercise would do me good.
I arrived at her house in the late morning and Valeria was waiting for me at the door and we headed on out.
“Are you happy to walk a little more?” she asked.
“What do you have in mind?”
“A stroll around the common and then a drink in the pub before lunch. I know a nice little Greek restaurant we can go to. It won’t cost you an arm and a leg either.”
The walking gave us both a healthy appetite and just after midday we were sitting at a table where we ordered lamb kebab with chips, tahini sauce, and a salad. Valeria had a glass of white wine, and I had a tonic water.
She told me about her failed marriage and her family in Madrid and how she was alone over Christmas. Her flatmate was away for the festive season and would not return until after the New Year. I, in turn, told her about my family and my recent failed relationship. I hadn’t intended to, but she was inquisitive and understanding and I found myself warming to her.
“What are you doing for Christmas?” I asked.
“Get up late. Sausage, egg, and beans with red wine for lunch. TV in the afternoon, church in the evening, a book, a hot bath, and bed.”
“I’m alone too, Why don’t we spend it together? Don’t you celebrate this evening in Spain?”
“In Spain yes, but not since I’ve been living in England. And in answer to your second question,” I’d love to spend it together.”
“I have a chicken and vegetables,” I said. “I can do a roast dinner.”
“Why don’t you let me cook? I like roast chicken but the British habit of boiling everything becomes a little boring. If you contribute your chicken we can buy some prawns, mussels, and maybe some squid and I can make paella for Christmas dinner. I have some Spanish Nougat and Marzipan. I also have some wine, but we can buy a few bottles of red to make sure we don’t run out.”
“No need,” I said. “I have several bottles of good red wine my Dad gave me. They’re hiding in a cupboard somewhere. I assume you cook a good paella?”
“Is the pope a catholic?” she replied.
As promised I paid for lunch, and we spent the afternoon shopping for ingredients and for the basics we were going to need to survive the long holiday. I splashed out on a variety of cheeses and crackers and some fresh fruit, and we slowly walked back to Valeria’s house.
Her home was warm and cosy and very quiet after the hustle and bustle of the crowds of people doing last-minute shopping.
We spent a quiet Christmas Eve together. We ate Valeria’s’ Christmas lunch of sausage, egg, and beans with red wine.
“Don’t forget the chicken in the morning or there’ll be no lunch, “quipped Valeria.
Then it was time to go, and I kissed her briefly on the cheek as I left and headed out of the door with a promise to return the following mid-morning.
***
The paella we had for lunch was wonderful. I had two glasses of red wine, and this was one more than I normally drink. Furthermore, I normally drink only in the evening, and I was still pleasantly mellow and disinhibited when we sat down to watch the Queen’s speech on television. We snuggled together and then I leaned over, and kissed Valeria and she kissed me back, and soon my hands started to stray.
She stopped kissing me and sat up holding my hands in hers. “Please can we wait for a little? It’s Christmas day and I’m going to take communion in a few hours. I’m going to sleep with you just not today. It will be worth the wait I promise. OK?”
“OK,” I replied.
In the early evening, we returned from Church and Valerie laid out the table with cheese, cold meats, and pickles with bread and crackers. Then she opened another bottle of wine and we sat and ate and kept up a Christmas tradition. We played English scrabble with Spanish language tiles. I think she must have cheated because she won!
By late evening I had drunk more wine than I had ever drunk before. I was not drunk but I was not looking forward to the walk home.
Valeria must have been thinking the same thing. “I’m not sure how you are going to walk home. If you can keep your hands to yourself and your underpants on… you can share my bed.”
So, a little later, I lay in her double bed wearing only my briefs and she got into bed beside me wearing a bra and panties. I lay on my side, and she turned her back to me and pushed her bum against my groin…. Nothing stirred.
She turned and kissed me. “I’m safe until morning at least. Goodnight Will.”
Then she giggled.
***
I woke with a muzzy head. Valeria’s side of the bed was empty. I pulled on my clothes and went downstairs where I could hear movement in the kitchen. She turned as I came into the room.
“Good timing. There’s fresh orange juice and two aspirin tablets on the table and the coffee’s just finished percolating.”
Half an hour later I was starting to feel almost human once more. Valeria had stayed silent much of the time but now she spoke. “We need a walk to clear our heads. Why don’t we head over to your place? You can pick up a couple of changes of clothes and your razor and toothbrush.”
When we returned to Wandsworth the combination of fluids, vitamin C, aspirin, black coffee, fresh air, and exercise in no particular order, and the passage of time had me feeling both fully recovered and hungry. We reheated the remainder of the paella left over from Christmas lunch and ate it for lunch following which Valeria rose from the table.
“Shower and a siesta for me. Are you coming?”
I didn’t need to be asked twice.
Shortly afterward we stood naked together in the shower. I rubbed soap over her back and chest and her small firm breasts as she soaped me. Then I moved down to her buttocks and the sensitive spot high between her thighs and felt her hand close around my penis which was erect and ready. She knelt in front of me on the shower floor and as the water cascaded over her jet-black hair and onto her back she took me into her mouth and slowly started to fellate me with one hand working on herself
I was hard in her mouth when she stood and led me to the bed. As I sat on the edge of the bed she reached into the bedside drawer and retrieved a condom. She lay on her bed with her legs spread and I lay between them and watched her as I slowly entered her. Her pussy was tight around me as I started to move on her slowly at first and then faster.
Valeria was not a screamer. She moaned gently as I pushed myself against her and then started to frig herself as she grew close. Soon she started to writhe, her thighs and vaginal muscles tightened around me, and I heard a long drawn-out sigh of ecstasy.
I lay on my back, and she knelt astride me cowboy-style and rode. I reached up and held her breasts with her large nipples hard between my fingers. I watched her as we took pleasure from one another. Her head was thrown back, the tip of her tongue protruded through her red lips and her beautiful brown eyes were wide and longing.
She trembled and her mouth opened wide as she came once more. Her orgasm seemed to last forever, and she took it in total silence. She continued to grind against me, and her orgasms continued in waves one close after the other. Finally, she sighed and lay next to me.
“I’ve been so greedy,” she said. “Your turn.”
She knelt between my legs facing me, removed the condom, and I watched her as she took me in her mouth, and head bobbing up and down, eyes staring into mine, she slowly took me to the edge and then over it. My penis throbbed rhythmically, I groaned, and she beamed with success as white goo dribbled out of the corner of her mouth.
“When will you be ready to go again, “she asked as we lay in bed later. “That was so good. I can’t believe I’ve gone three years without having a man.”
That evening I fucked her again. This time she knelt on all fours on the bed, and I took her from behind before finishing with soixante-neuf.
For the next week, we fucked every night but then on New Year’s Eve, I sensed that something was preying on her mind, and I asked her what it was.
“I like you Will. I do, I’m just worried this is going too fast. I don’t want a serious relationship right now. Can we take it a little slower? The sex is great so if you are happy with that…..No strings…”
And then Mona
Just after New Year, I got a phone call at work. It was Mona.
“Hello Will. Happy New Year. You stood me up.”
“I’m sorry. I thought you’d given me a phone number, not a room number, and by the time I discovered my mistake I was halfway to Putney.”
“Would you like to make it up to me?”
I hesitated. Valeria had made it quite clear that we weren’t in a serious relationship and Mona was offering sex on a plate with a very beautiful woman. Before I could answer Mona continued.
“Meet me tonight at eight after work. Do you fancy Chinese first?” and she named a restaurant in Chinatown.
Whilst I enjoy Chinese food I can never remember exactly what I ate half an hour after rising from the table and that evening was no different. Not least because my memories of Mona are of what happened after we ate.
Mona had booked us into a five-star West End hotel for the night. Her parents were Boston rich, and she had told me she liked to travel first class in life. We didn’t take the tube from Chinatown; I hailed a passing cab and half an hour later we entered our room.
No sooner had I removed my coat and Mona hers’ than she crossed the room and raised her lips to mine, and we kissed. The kiss was long and hard, and I felt her place her hand on each of my bum cheeks and push her groin onto mine as she pushed me towards her.
Then she turned and headed for the bathroom door.
“Me first,” she said.
Shortly I heard the shower running and then it stopped, and she reappeared wearing a white bathrobe and slippers. Her red hair was wet, and she was drying it with a towel. “And now you,” she said. I like my men clean before they get dirty.”
A few minutes later I too was showered and robed. When I re-entered the bedroom Mona was sitting in the middle of the bed with her back to the headboard. She was still wearing the robe but had folded the duvet and placed it on the armchair in the corner of the room. I crossed towards her, and she rose to meet me, and we stood and kissed before she stood back and slipped the robe off, and let it fall to the floor.
She was beautiful. He skin was pure white, and her breasts were like firm half-melons She had a narrow waist but ample soft curvy thighs and wide hips. Her sex was shaved clean, and her labia were swollen and fleshy. She turned once and showed me her large round buttocks and spoke. “Show me.”
I disrobed. My penis was hard and throbbing. She looked me up and down.” Oh my,” she said.
She sat on the edge of the bed, and I gently pushed her onto her back and knelt between her legs and start to lick her. At first, I slowly licked the length of her slit but soon her clitoris was swollen and hard under my tongue and I concentrated all of my attention there. To begin with, Mona whimpered but soon she started to moan, and then talk. My tongue flickered rapidly against her bud as her juices flowed and as she noisily moved toward her first orgasm.
“Oh yes! Oh yes! Oh yes!”
And then her hips lifted off the bed as she drove herself up against my tongue and she jerked in rapture, and I heard her long howl of pleasure.
“Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
I stayed on my knees but lifted my head and looked down at Mona who lay still on her back watching me with her legs spread and her feet planted firmly on the floor. Her camel toe was thick and meaty and glistened with her secretions and my prick was like a ramrod.
“And now I’m going to fuck you rigid,” I said.
And I heard her urgent reply. “Pleeeeeease!”
My penis slid between her lips and deep inside of her with no resistance, Her vagina was slippery with her juices as I rammed my prick in and out of her.
She came again almost at once. Her hips jerked and she ground against me as her back arched and she clawed wildly at the bed sheets with her hands tight by her sides….. and she screamed…. long and loud.
I didn’t stop and her orgasms came in waves. She didn’t stop talking.
“I love it. I love it. I Love it!”
“Give it to me. Give it to me! Give it to me!”
“Fuck me deep. Fuck me deep. Fuck me deep!”
“I’m going to come! I’m going to come! I’m going to come!”
“I’m Coming…! I’m coming…..! Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Finally, she lay still. Her body was slick with sweat, her breasts and face pink and flushed, as she lay beside me.
She smiled. “Your turn now. Please come inside me,” She knelt and took me in her mouth and whilst she pulled my foreskin back and forth she worked my mushroom head with her tongue and lips. I was rock hard when she rose turned and knelt on all fours. I knelt behind her and entered deep inside her. My balls slapped as I ploughed her. She started to talk again as she drove her beautiful pale arse against me.
“Fuck me, you bastard. Fuck me hard, you bastard. Fuck me! Fuck me! Fuck me!”
I need it. I need it. I need it so bad! I want It! I want it!
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
And her thighs trembled, her arse hole spasmed, and her cunt clamped down around my penis and as she came I came. I felt my shaft pulse, and then pulse again and again as she gripped me tightly, and my semen flowed high inside of her.
And then we lay quietly together, and we slept.
When I woke in the morning she was gone. She left a note. “Thanks for a lovely time. Let’s do it again soon. I’ll ring. I know where to find you. M xx”
***
As it turned out I never slept with Mona again and my relationship with Valeria limped on for a couple of days until she went to visit her sister in Madrid. I did not see her again until one Friday night late in the month after she had returned. She stayed the night but went home early on Saturday because she had a dentist appointment that morning.
She had promised to ring me later, but in the early afternoon I had gone shopping in the Arndale Centre close to her house and decided to visit on the off chance she might be in. I stood on her doorstep and rang the bell.
.
*****
First Mona and then Valeria… continued
I stood on the street outside Valeria’s house and rang the bell and waited. I heard someone come to the door and it swung open, and I stood gaping in stunned silence. There on the doorstep stood her flatmate, a very unlikely “prim virgin.”
It was Mona!
I was struck dumb and just stared. Mona broke the silence. “You’d better come in.”
I followed her into the lounge and sat down. Mona appeared completely unphased. “Valeria will be home in five minutes. In the meantime would you like a cup of tea? Isn’t that what Brits like to drink when they’ve had a shock? Then we’ll explain.”
A little later Valeria, Mona, and I sat together, and Mona started to talk. “Valeria and I are partners and lovers and have been for two years and we are both bi. Since we have been together I have had several men in my bed and Valeria has accepted that because I never hid any of them from her. All of them, you included, were about the sex. Valeria, until you came along, never had a boyfriend in all the time I have known her.”
Valeria continued. “My marriage failed because my ex was a violent drunk. It put me off men, but I had Mona and for a long time she was enough. Sometime before Christmas I was talking to Mona and told her I was ready to dip my toe back into the water. And then we sat next to you at the party, and we agreed we’d both like to have you…. and then we did. When you rang me on Christmas Eve I knew you’d been with Mona in the hotel. She rang me from Heathrow and told me you were great in bed. And you are? I’ve never lied to you. I told you our relationship had no long-term future…….I’m sorry”
I sat quietly for a minute thinking and then stood.
“I’m sorry too I said. Goodbye Mona. Goodbye Valeria. `I doubt we’ll talk again.”
And I turned and walked out into the street closing the door firmly behind me.
*****
First Valeria and then Mona… continued
I stood on the street outside Valeria’s house and rang the bell and waited. I heard someone come to the door and it swung open, and I stood gaping in stunned silence. There on the doorstep stood her flatmate.
It was Mona!
I was struck dumb and just stared. Mona broke the silence. “You’d better come in.”
I followed her into the lounge and sat down. Mona appeared completely unphased. “Valeria will be home in five minutes. In the meantime would you like a cup of tea? Isn’t that what Brits like to drink when they’ve had a shock? Then we’ll explain.”
A little later Valeria, Mona, and I sat together, and Mona started to talk. “Valeria and I are partners and lovers and have been for two years and we are both bi. Since we have been together I have had several men in my bed and Valeria has accepted that because I never hid any of them from her. All of them, you included, were about the sex. Valeria, until you came along, never had a boyfriend in all the time I have known her.”
Valeria continued. “My marriage failed because my ex was a violent drunk. It put me off men, but I had Mona and for a long time she was enough. Sometime before Christmas I was talking to Mona and told her I was ready to dip my toe back into the water. And then we sat next to you at the party, and we agreed we’d both like to have you…. and then we did although it didn’t go to plan. Mona was meant to have you first before she flew to Boston, but she didn’t. The music was too loud, and you misheard her. It didn’t matter in the end. I told her how good you were in bed. You should be flattered. And I never lied to you, and I never made any promises to you. I was going to let you down gently and finish our relationship this week. You weren’t meant to find out about Mona and I’m sorry Will. I am You’re a nice guy.”
I sat quietly for a minute thinking and then stood.
“I’m sorry too I said. Goodbye Mona. Goodbye Valeria. `I doubt we’ll talk again.”
And I turned and walked out into the street closing the door firmly behind me.
*****
The Christmas Party 1978
The following year Christmas fell on a Monday and my parents hadn’t decided to go away. I had originally planned to travel to Liverpool on the Friday evening after work but decided to go to the company Christmas party which had been such fun the year before. I was between girlfriends having had some short-term flings during the year. I didn’t expect to be sat between two eligible and beautiful women on this occasion and had been prevailed upon to attend by my work colleagues.
Once again the party was held in a London hotel with live music, a discotheque, and a sit-down meal; this time my bonus was worth having. As before a tall Christmas tree sat in the corner of the room but this year there was a silly hat and a quality Christmas cracker at each place setting. When I looked at the sitting allocation at my table there was only one name I did not immediately recognise…. Miss Alice Llewellyn… and she was sitting next to me.
When I reached the table Miss Llewellyn was already sitting in her place and I immediately saw that I did know her. It was Alice, the young woman who had been witness to some of the events of the year before. Her dark was still cut short, and she still had a serious air to her but was more attractive than I remembered from the first time we had met. Her facial features were unusual and sculpted, she certainly had a nice figure, and her evening dress was a bright yellow and showed her body and legs off nicely.
“Good evening Dr West.”
“Will,” I replied.
“I know,” she replied. “I’m Alice I was at the table with you last year. I thought you might not remember me. You seemed to have your hands full.”
“Quite a coincidence that we have sat again together this year,” I said.
“It would have been fairly unlikely I should say, and I should know. I’m a statistician. It’s no coincidence though. I arranged it. My Boss insists we all attend these parties and I’ve been to four. The last one was the first that was remotely interesting. J figured sitting with you again might be fun and at the very least I might find some intelligent conversation. I spoke to the lady who arranged the seating. Her name is Terry.”
“I’m flattered.”
“Don’t be I don’t do flattery. I’m far too serious.”
And then she fleetingly smiled, and her face lit up and as she did she became a different person, and I wondered about the person behind the mask.
That evening we talked. The conversation was not about us but about the thing that mattered to us. I found out that she was a serious amateur astronomer and that we shared an interest in both the American and Russian space programmes, She also found time to read extensively. She played chess, backgammon, and go, although I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised at this. She spoke English and Welsh and was a proud Welsh woman. I in turn described my love of travel and although she hadn’t visited the places I talked about she had read about them in books and was able to tell me things I didn’t know.
The only thing we disagreed on were the relative merits of rugby and football. I was, and still am, a Liverpool supporter and liked to go to Anfield whenever I could. She told me of her love of rugby and how she liked to go to Cardiff Arms Park and her eyes shone when she recounted the game against France from the previous March when Wales had won their first Grand Slam in thirty years. She had gone with her Uncle and remembered the atmosphere and how she cried when the crowd sang their anthem, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau or Land of my Fathers. I, in turn, told her of my trip to Wembley in May to watch my beloved Liverpool beat Club Brugges and retain the European Cup. In the end, we agreed we had both had a good year.
We talked to the exclusion of the people at the table around us. We nibbled at the food and sipped the wine and talked and talked some more until suddenly the music grew quiet and the evening ended.
“Can I see you again,” I asked?”
“If you want to,” she said hesitantly “I’m away until Boxing Day evening. I’m going to Harlech for Christmas. That’s where my Mum lives. Here’s my home number in Richmond. If you still want to see me you can ring me after Christmas when I’m back.”
And then she was gone.
Alice
Christmas that year was very different. I drove my new car to Liverpool on Christmas Eve and spent Christmas Day and Boxing Day morning with my parents, brother, and sister. We did the usual things; swapped presents and ate too much, went to Church, and listened to the Queen’s speech. My mother fussed, my father drank too much, and he and I argued politics. The entire time Alice was never far from my thoughts.
I arrived back in Putney in the early evening and just after seven I rang Alice, who answered after what seemed to be a lifetime of ringing.
“I’m sorry I was in the shower. I nearly didn’t hear the phone.”
“How are you?”
“Dripping wet.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I know.”
“I enjoyed talking to you on Friday.”
“Me too.”
“Care to repeat it this evening?”
“Now. Are you serious?”
“Why not? I can meet you in The Angel and Crown just off Richmond High Street. Do you know it?”
“I can find it.”
“Fine. One hour then. See you soon.”
And I put the phone down before she could change her mind
I was sitting in the pub when she walked through the door. It was a cold evening, and she was wrapped up in a long red woollen coat, bobble hat, scarf, and gloves. I went to the bar and ordered her a babycham and lemonade and when I returned to the table she had removed her coat and hat and was sitting in a figure-hugging skirt and sweater. She had applied makeup and looked extremely desirable.
“Thanks for coming,” I said, and she gave me one of her beautiful smiles.
That evening we talked a little about ourselves and I told her about my parents and my background. It turned out that Alice was from a broken home. Her father had deserted her and her mother when she was eight years old, and she had been brought up by her mother who had never re-married. Her mother had made great sacrifices for her, and Alice was determined not to let her down. She had worked hard at school and applied herself at university and got a first-class degree in mathematics and statistics.
“I guess that’s why I’m so serious,” she said. “Sometimes I envy people who don’t take life so seriously. Like those two girls, What were their names?”
I didn’t want to lie to Alice, so I told her they weren’t important, and this seemed to satisfy her
“Have you had many girlfriends?”
“A few.”
“I’ve never had a boyfriend.”
And I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “I can’t imagine why. You are pretty and intelligent and good company.”
I next saw Alice two days later when we went for an Italian meal and afterward, I drove her home. I parked the car outside her rented flat which was on the top floor of a semi-detached house, and she invited me inside for coffee. She had left the central heating on and the flat was warm and welcoming. I took off my coat and shoes and entered the lounge where a large white fluffy cat with bright blue eyes lay curled up against her radiator. He (I discovered later) raised his head, looked at me disdainfully, and went back to sleep.
A short while later Alice came into the room with two steaming mugs of hot coffee. She handed me one and sat in an armchair next to where I had sat on the sofa. The cat stirred, stretched, and mewing softly leaped onto her lap where it lay looking possessively across at me.
“This is Ringo,” she said. “He loves me unconditionally. Animals are so much easier to deal with than people don’t you think?”
“People are complicated,” I said. “But you have to try to get along with them. You don’t want to spend your life alone do you?”
“I used to think I did. Lately, I’m not so sure.”
Then she changed the subject and we started to talk about music, and she told me of her love of the classical variety and put a record on her turntable and we listened to Beethoven’s piano sonatas until the small hours of the morning.
***
We spent New Year’s Eve together. Alice had been planning to travel to North Wales to be with her mother, but it snowed badly the day before and she had to cancel her plans.
“Would you like to spend it together,” I asked.
“Yes please Will. That would be nice. Can I cook something?”
“Just not roast chicken or paella,” I said.
“Don’t you like chicken?”
“Yes but I’m not in the mood for it.”
In the event, she cooked roast Welsh lamb with vegetables and gravy, and we toasted the New Year in with Champagne. Then for the first time, we sat close together, and I put my arm around her. She stiffened but then relaxed and I could hear her heart beating. She turned to me anxiously, took my arm from around her shoulder, and placed my hand in my lap.
“Will. Are you going to hurt me?”
“Why would you ask that?”
“You can have any woman you want. I know you had one or both of those two from last Christmas and others before that. I wish I could but I’m not going to play games. I want a serious relationship or nothing at all and I’m not just going to fall into bed with you. So why would you possibly want me? I’m not even particularly pretty.”
And then she started to cry. “And now I’ve put you off and you won’t want to see me again.”
I put my arm back around her and held her tight until she stilled, and then I kissed away the tears from her eyes.
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“I will never hurt you,” I said. “I promise. You are everything I could ever want.”
And then she smiled her beautiful smile and for the first time we kissed, and I knew I would keep my word.
***
That New Year snow came from the North and the snow lay deep on the streets and drifted under the influence of a cold and bitter wind. For Alice and me it was the winter we found love, and forty years on we remain together and have raised two children. I have been faithful ever since I met Alice for the second time, and she never asked me about Mona or Valeria again.
Alice is the love of my life and my soulmate, but I still wonder what would have happened if either she or I had not attended either one of the Christmas parties, or if Alice had not arranged to sit next to me at the second. Would we have ever found each other? I asked Alice this question once and she told me that when she changed the seating plan “she was giving chance a little prod. Statisticians understand all about the vagaries of fate.”
What she could never explain was why she wanted to sit next to me in the first place. Why would a shy, introverted, and distrustful virgin wish to spend an evening talking to a promiscuous extrovert like me?
Heaven only knows but thank goodness she did!
***