As Good As Guitars Ch. 19

November 2012

It's 1am at the end of a long and successfully drunken evening and Rachel has already bailed, but finally Simon and James are ready to call it a night. As I help James with his coat, I see Leigh and Simon talking in the hallway, their heads close together and their voices quiet. It's nothing new - they've been friends almost since they met, and even closer since Leigh left me briefly last year. When I see James glance at them, I wonder if he sometimes gets a little jealous too.

Simon disappears and Leigh comes back to stand with me, sliding her arms around my waist, her stomach pressing into mine. "Hey, birthday boy. Is it bedtime yet?"

I kiss her, ignoring James, who's calling for a cab. "It's not my birthday until tomorrow."

"It's been tomorrow for an hour already - you're officially old." She's laughing at me, knowing that I'm a little appalled to be in the last year of my twenties.

"Twenty-nine is not old. And you'll be joining me soon."

"Not for three whole months yet, old man." She sticks her tongue out at me, but turns around when she hears the front door. "Won't be a sec."

Simon's reappeared, carrying a large cardboard box, and Leigh moves quickly to intercept him. "Can you put it in the study? Thanks, Simon."

They reappear after a moment, a shared secret written across both faces. I'm about to ask what they're up to - knowing that neither will confess - when the buzzer goes, telling us that the cab's arrived.

To my surprise, at the door Simon pulls me into a hug. "Happy birthday, mate." He kisses me on the cheek and they leave.

"What was that all about?"

Leigh looks too innocent. "I have no idea. Can we leave the washing up 'til the morning? I'm exhausted."

I feel a pang of guilt - now she's five months' pregnant she seems to be getting tired more and more easily. She's refusing to work fewer hours, so I've been trying to pick up as much slack as possible at home - and letting her sit up into the small hours and watch me get drunk isn't really very fair.

As if she can read my mind, she kisses me. "Stop looking so worried. It's not like you have birthday parties every day - you deserved a night off. But come on, the sooner you go to sleep the sooner it will be morning."

Laughing, I let her lead me to bed.

~

I don't drink often, and this time I get lucky and avoid a hangover. All the same, Leigh's taken the day off work and we enjoy a long lie-in.

Finally Leigh sits up. "It's no good, I must have tea." She swings her legs out of the bed, swaying slightly as she stands up. She's been grumbling at her expanding waistline, and I know she's still getting used to how her centre of gravity keeps changing. To me she looks as beautiful as ever, but I freely admit that I'm biased.

When she comes back to bed, she looks anxious.

"What's wrong?"

She fidgets, smoothing the duvet under her fingers. "Nothing."

When she doesn't elaborate, scenarios run through my mind, each more frightening than the last. I sit up. "Leigh?"

She looks at me, perhaps seeing something on my face. "The baby's fine. I'm fine, I promise."

The relief is enormous. "You don't look it." I try for levity. "It's my birthday - I'm allowed to ask for anything today. Tell me?"

She smiles for a second, but then bites her lip, looking unsure. "It's just... back in July I did something... It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I have to tell you about it."

My blood runs cold. I'm suddenly convinced she's going to tell me that she cheated on me, perhaps in retaliation for Olivia. I can't bear the thought - and I have absolutely no comeback. I sit there, dreading what she's going to say next.

Suddenly she stands up. "Fuck it. Just do it, Davies." She takes my hand. "Come with me."

Unresisting and still naked, I let her lead me to the study, where she stops in front of the box I'd seen Simon carrying the night before. I stare at it, not understanding.

"Happy birthday sweetheart." Her voice is shaking. "This could go either way, but I really, really, hope you like it."

The fear melts away, replaced by bemusement. What's she bought me that's worrying her so much? I search the desk for a pair of scissors and carefully slice the tape.

Inside the box are six packages, each wrapped in brown paper. When I kneel down and pull one out I realise that they're framed pictures. The one I'm looking at has a large "3" written on it in black marker pen. Putting it down, I retrieve the next and see that it's number 2. I unpack the remaining four, carefully leaning them against the wall.

I glance over my shoulder to see Leigh watching me silently, chewing on a fingernail. "Do I open them in order?"

She nods, and her nervousness starts to affect me. It's a moment before I pick up the first picture, but finally I tear the paper.

The first thing I register is that it's a photo, and the second is that it's of a girl. Her corset emphasises amazing boobs and a tiny waist, and her legs are long and slender in a tight skirt and incredibly sexy stiletto shoes. Her hands are held behind her head - something about the pose is familiar, but I can't quite work out why. She's looking warily at something or someone off-camera, as if she's waiting for something to happen.

I stare at it for a second, and then suddenly realise what I'm looking at. It's Leigh.

"Jesus..."

"Is that good Jesus or bad Jesus?" She still sounds anxious.

"Good Jesus, definitely. That's..." I swallow. "Well, it's had an effect."

Leigh smiles, glancing down as if to check for herself. "That's something, anyway. I just hope you like the rest."

I pick up number two.

This time her wrists are tied in front of her, and she's gagged. Her mouth stretches around the cloth, but her expression is defiant - she's enjoying what's happening to her. When I can tear my gaze away from her face I see that her skirt's gone and that she's wearing stockings.

At this point I'm not 100% sure that she's not alone, but the next frame removes any doubt. The scene has moved on, and this time Leigh is upended over the back of an armchair. Her face is hidden but her rosy pink bottom is clearly displayed, as is the woman stood over her, caught mid-swing as she spanks Leigh. I'm not entirely surprised to see that the other woman is Olivia.

"Did you go through my address book again?" I'm teasing, but Leigh still looks a little guilty when she nods.

If I've been surprised by the first three pictures, it's nothing to the shock when I see the fourth. Leigh's still bent over the chair, but this time her face is in Olivia's crotch. Olivia is gazing at the camera with an expression that I know very well - it says she's unequivocally in charge, and she's loving every minute of it.

I hear Leigh moving behind me, and turn around in time to see her sit down heavily on the nearest chair. I scramble up and over to her. "Sweetheart, are you okay?"

Her face is pale. "Yes. I think so, anyway. But I'm beginning to understand a little bit how you felt last year." She glances up at me, her eyes wide.

"Leigh... the photos are amazing. Look at me." She follows my gaze, and when she sees how hard I am she giggles.

"Really? You're not mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad? That -" I point at number four, "- is the hottest thing I think I've ever seen."

She smiles mischievously. "Wait until you've seen five and six." I start to turn away, but she catches my hand, pulling me back. "Gil... you honestly don't mind?"

I think about it. "Well... I've never seen you quite like that before, so I'm a little surprised. And I'm a bit jealous that you did it with Olivia and not me... But no, I don't mind - not in the slightest."

Leigh looks relieved, and lets go of my hand. "Then go and open the others, and see just how depraved your quiet little girlfriend can be... when she's with the right lover." Her voice is teasing, and my cock twitches.

The fifth photo shows Leigh standing, holding onto a bar above her head with her head thrown back in either pain or pleasure. Her eyes are screwed shut and her hair is a mess, and she's slightly blurred, as if she couldn't keep still for the camera.

The source of her agitation is easy to see. Olivia's mouth is on her breast, and her hand is poised delicately inside Leigh's knickers. I stare at them, my mouth going dry. If I'd been the photographer, there's no way I could have stayed composed enough to take these pictures.

Leigh moves to kneel by my side, her warm skin rubbing against mine. Her breath tickles at my ear. "Do you like it?"

I have to swallow. "Very much."

"She made me beg." Her voice is low, turned-on. "I was pleading with her... but she wouldn't let me come. I was thinking about you seeing the photos, hoping you'd like them..."

I'm so hard now that I'm aching, and there's still another picture to come. It's worth the wait. Leigh's lying back on the bed, her wrists tied above her head.

I look sideways at her. Her face is flushed and she's breathing hard. She looks back at the photo. "I'd forgotten how horny this one was."

I turn back, looking at the rest of the picture. Olivia is knelt on the bed, and the photographer has caught the perfect angle to clearly show her licking at Leigh's clit. Leigh's hips are pushed up, every line of her body showing strain and tension. I would sell my soul to have been on the bed with them.

Leigh shifts position next to me. "Gil..." Her voice is hoarse. She clears her throat. "Fuck me, Gil. Please?"

My cock twitches again, leaking pre-come. "With pleasure, m'lady. How do you want me?"

She turns to her left and onto her hands and knees, and looks at me over her shoulder. "Like this."

I move behind her and slide into her, the sensation making us both shiver. She's already very wet and I'm not sure how long I can last. I hold still, reaching round to her clit.

When she feels my fingers she bucks backwards towards me. "Oh god! That feels good... more..." Her head hangs low, and I don't think she's ever looked so uninhibited. I move my fingers faster, hardly needing to move as she rides me. I'm beyond speech, not thinking of anything other than getting Leigh off before I come myself. At last she cries out and I feel her muscles contracting around me - the feeling is too much to resist and I come almost instantly.

We kneel there for a long moment, neither of us eager to move until eventually I ease out of her and we lie down where we are, too sated to bother moving anywhere else.

"Do you think it's the pregnancy hormones making me so horny?"

I adopt an expression of mock outrage. "I'm insulted - I thought it was my superior skills in bed that turned you on."

She's laughing at me. "No, that's just convenient. I think it's the pregnancy."

"In that case, I'm getting you knocked-up again as soon as possible." Leigh doesn't reply, and I lift my head to look at her. "Married for ten years with four kids - that's what you said, wasn't it?"

"It was. Last November seems such a long time ago now, doesn't it? So much water under the bridge." She reaches for my hand. "I love you, Mark Gilwood."

It's a moment before I can speak. "And I love you, Leigh Davies. You're the most incredible, forgiving, open-minded, sexy..."

"Don't forget pregnant-horny."

"...pregnant-horny woman I've ever met. You're wonderful."

"I know." She sounds smug. "But you're worth it. You're pretty wonderful yourself."

We lie there for a while longer, holding hands. Finally Leigh sits up. "God, I'll be glad when the space invader's moved out. I can't believe I've got four more months of this."

She starts to stand up but loses her balance, and I roll up onto my knees to catch her. We end up with her stood up, looking down at me. Suddenly everything makes sense.

"Leigh..."

She looks at me. "What is it?"

Now I've started I don't want to stop. I take her hand. "Leigh... you're amazing and I love you. I never thought I'd ever meet someone who's as right for me as you are. You make me happy in so many ways."

She bites her lip, suddenly looking nervous. "Gil..."

I shift onto one knee, wanting to do this properly. "Leigh Davies, will you marry me?"

For a long moment she doesn't say anything, looking down at me in apparent confusion, as if I've suddenly started speaking Russian. Then her face lights up and she drops to her knees, kissing me.

"Yes. Yes yes yes -- of course I will."

I hold her tight. "Thank god. For a second there I thought you were going to say no."

She hides her face in my neck, and a trickle of water tells me that she's crying. After a moment she raises her head, sniffing slightly. "You're not just asking because I got jiggy with Olivia? You do know that was a one-off?"

Despite everything, my cock twitches at the thought of Leigh and Olivia getting jiggy together.

"No, it's not just because of the photos. It just seems... well, obvious, really."

She laughs shakily, then stands up carefully, unwrapping my arms from around her waist. I look up at her in fear, until I see that's she embarrassed. "The thing is, I really do have to pee."

~

Later, after we've rung her parents and mine to tell them the news, we're sat in the living room. Leigh's lying with her head in my lap, looking up at me, grinning.

"I hope you meant it - there's no going back now. Not now you've told my dad."

I lean down to kiss her forehead. "No going back, I promise."

We lie there quietly, each lost in our own thoughts. I'm the first to break the silence. "Leigh..."

"Mm?"

"The photoshoot with Olivia..."

"What about it?"

"Who organised the photographer? Was it you?"

She opens her eyes. "No. He was a friend of Olivia's, I think. Some guy called Graham." She's smiling to herself. "He was cute... a Scottish accent and such blue eyes."

Surely there's only the one. "Did he have short grey hair? Sort of like an older James Bond?"

"Yes... why? Do you know him?"

My stomach lurches. I don't want to tell her.

Leigh sits up. "Gil?"

I look at her. "Yes, I know him. He was the first guy I ever slept with."

For a second she just looks at me, open-mouthed - and then she bursts out laughing. "Thank god for that. I thought you were going to tell me... well, actually, I don't know what I thought you were going to say. But that does explain why he was able to stay so calm as he took the photos. I did wonder, afterwards."

I stare at her. "You don't mind?"

She shakes her head, still giggling. "No. Haven't I told you that before? Besides, it's kind of hot. He was gorgeous." She bites her lip. "I do like the idea of him corrupting you."

"He's got a husband, and they live very happily together north of Glasgow. If you think I'm going to set up some kind of reciprocal photoshoot just to satisfy your perverted tastes..." I trail off, thinking about the idea. It does have a certain appeal.

Leigh's on her knees, looking up at me with wide puppy-dog eyes. "Please Gil, say you will. Please...? You could do it as a wedding present. For me?"

I sigh. Something tells me that I may have met my match - and that's just fine with me.