A Game of Consequences Ch. 01

"Well, he's never made a pass at me, or anyone else I know for that matter."

"No, Tony wouldn't. He's very quiet and unassuming, and he wouldn't dream of compromising himself or anyone in the school. He's also a very kind and gentle soul. I think that he sees himself as the 'father of the school', and wants to ensure everyone is OK, regardless of their age, gender or sexual proclivity." She took a final drag on the cigarette, dropped the stub and crushed it under her shoe. I did the same.

"Mr Palmer doesn't seem to be too fussed about most of the group sneaking off to shag in the rooms upstairs. And it seems it doesn't worry you either."

Suddenly she looked sad. She picked up her wine glass and turned back to look at the view. "Of course it worries me. If any of the girls got pregnant, I'm sure questions would be asked. But short of banging on every door and demanding a condom inspection, there's not a lot I can do. Anyway..." She drained her glass. As she brought it down again, I noticed her hand was shaking. A tear began to roll down her cheek.

This time it was my turn to put a reassuring hand on her arm. "What is it, Miss? There's something wrong. I don't like to see you unhappy. You can tell me - I promise I won't breathe a word of it."

When she turned back to face me, there were tear streaks on her face, which she tried to wipe away with her free hand.

"Don't you worry about me, Richard. I'll be fine."

"Miss, you don't look fine. You look very sad. Is it something I said?"

"Richard, it's very considerate of you. It's just..." She paused and looked out over the rather spectacular view of Rome before us. "Actually, Richard, it's all a bit of a bloody mess, to tell the truth."

I knew better than to speak, so I just waited.

"A week before we left, quite by chance I discovered that my husband was sleeping with someone from his office. We've been married for nearly twelve years. I thought we were both really happy, but it seems he wasn't. He tried to bluster it off, pretend it was a one-night stand, a total aberration, out of character, a terrible mistake. But I began to piece together a few clues and realised that the affair must have been going on for months. I nearly cancelled this trip; I even asked around to see if anyone else could go at short notice, claiming that something had come up. Tony spotted it, of course, and we had a little heart-to-heart. He told me to stay with it, to go to Rome - he knew I loved the place - and to make up my mind what I wanted to do when I got back. I think I've decided. I'm going to ask Michael for a divorce and then move to another school and make a fresh start."

"But - but I thought - we all thought that you were so happy at the school. Everyone loves you - loves your lessons, I mean. The place wouldn't be anything like as good without you!"

"You mean 'without the opportunity for sixth-form boys to try to look up my skirts'?" She smiled again, which was lovely. She looked even prettier with her moist eyes and her slightly sad smile. "No, as much as I like it there, but I think it's time to move on. And anyway, why should you care? You'll be at uni pretty soon, so you won't miss me."

"Miss you? Of course I'll - we'll all miss you. I mean..." I was looking straight into her eyes. She was looking sad and beautiful at the same time. Without thinking, I leaned forward and kissed her, softly, gently, affectionately. It wasn't an overtly passionate, sexual kiss - just the sort you give someone you're very fond of.

She didn't pull back. We held the kiss for maybe ten seconds. I could taste the exotic, aromatic flavour of the Sobrani in her mouth. I was also acutely aware of her breasts, pressing against my chest, of the heat of her body so close. Down below, something began to stir.

When I finally broke the kiss, she looked at me with a mixture of amusement and surprise. "Well, well, Richard. What was that about?"

"I - I don't know. I guess..."

And then she leaned forward and kissed me. This kiss took over where the last one left off. Her lips parted, gently sucking mine. Her tongue played lightly in the gap between my lips. Her arms came up and around my chest, crossing over and gently holding my shoulders. I hurriedly put down my glass and swept my arms around her. It felt good - very good - to hold her close.

We kept kissing, getting more passionate, using tongues and lips. Her arms moved up and down my back, seemingly tracing the outline of my chest, my waist. Then her hands slid onto - and then squeezed - my bum. The surprise made me break the kiss.

"Has anyone told you that you have a sexy arse, Richard? I guess they probably haven't if you've mostly been with girls your own age. But you have, Richard. And the rest of you is pretty gorgeous too - from what I saw at the swimming gala."

"Did you - did you know that I've fancied you for - for like, ages?"

She smiled. "Yes, I did. Or at least suspected it. Of course, you're not the only one, and I'm not saying that out of conceit. I knew when I took the job that there would be some among the dozens of hormonal teenage boys who might be attracted to an older woman like me who's not in bad shape and doesn't like to conform to the stereotype. You've been one of the more blatant ones."

I pulled back a bit. "Oh. I didn't realise that I was being so - so obvious. I really..."

Her mouth pressed back onto mine, and I forgot anything I was going to say. Her hands seemed to want to feel every contour of my bum through my tight jeans and to pull my hips closer to her. On an impulse, I ran my hands down to her bum. I didn't squeeze as hard as she was doing, but I enjoyed the firm, pert contours. And things were getting quite uncomfortable inside my jeans - at least at the front.

"Richard," she said, breaking the kiss once more. "What I meant was, I often caught you looking at me, saw your expression, and I was genuinely flattered. You're very good-looking. I'm sure you could have any girl in the sixth form, and yet day after day I see you staring longingly at my thighs and my bum and my breasts. I guess at first it was slightly amusing; the first time I started teaching you, you were only about sixteen. But more recently - I have to admit, Richard, that it can be quite a turn-on." She squeezed my bum again.

"Of course I looked, Miss. All of us did. There's only so much a boy can take! I think that every bloke in the sixth form had a fantasy about you." I thought, 'I certainly did. Most of them were too dirty to repeat'.

She looked straight into my eyes and smiled again. "Richard, are you good at keeping secrets?"

"Of course, Miss. You can tell me anything. I swear I'll never tell a soul."

"OK then." Her smile turned into a grin, and I felt a hand slide around from my bum to my crotch. I almost came in my pants. She cupped her hands over the bulge that was forming there and said "And if you ever do, I'll squeeze these 'til your eyes pop!"

My eyes were pretty wide by then anyway, but I believed her.

"You know Richard, teachers have fantasies too. Quite a few of mine have been about you. Want to know what we did in them?"

"I - yes, Miss." Jesus! This was becoming hotter than a very hot thing that had been super-heated in a volcano.

"Well..." Her hand stroked around the bulge. "Rather than tell you, why don't I show you? How about we go upstairs, now, and see if our fantasies have anything in common?"

At that moment I knew how a lottery winner must feel when they see all of their winning numbers, plus the bonus ball, come up. Meanwhile, a pebble dropped, and the ripples started to spread.