Best of Days

I ducked my head back under water, and forced myself to swim another four laps. Seldon was sitting on the side of the pool when I finished. The towel had gone and he was just in his damp boardshorts. He didn't have a half bad body, he wasn't flabby or anything, but he was remarkably hair free. There was no hair on his chest or stomach, just a small snail trail leading down to his crotch.

I pulled myself up on the ledge and sat beside him. I figured he wanted to talk to me and I had a good idea about the subject of the proposed conversation.

'Keep your legs straight when you kick,' he told me. 'You bend them at the knee a lot.'

'You sound like my PE teacher.'

'Sorry. I did squad swimming when I was a kid, and I guess some habits die hard.'

I glanced over at him. He wasn't a bad looking guy, and he'd been really good to me and Taylor. Decent, and respectful of boundaries. Plus, I'd had a really good time with him and his family the night before.

Was I willing to have sex with him? The answer, as much as it surprised me, was 'yes, of course'. If he wanted me, and obviously he did, otherwise he wouldn't have paid for the flights, then I was his for the taking.

It had been five years since I'd made a move on a man. Five years since I'd chanced rejection. Five years since I'd felt the exhilaration, the utter rush of adrenalin, that preceded the moment I put it all on the line. I knew I had to start things. If I didn't, the anxiety would only rise.

I was sitting to Seldon's left. I reached out and grazed my fingers along his left forearm, over the tattooed words 'the best of days aren't over yet'.

'What does this mean?' I asked. 'Why did you get it?'

Seldon glanced down at the ink.

'I had a life before I bought the takeaway,' he said. 'I thought everything was perfect, but one day, it all came crashing down.'

'I'm sorry to hear that,' I apologised.

'It was a long time ago. Now I often look back and wonder why I thought I was happy. I wasn't, but I'd convinced myself I was.'

'I think we're all guilty of doing that, to some degree or another.'

'No doubt,' he agreed.

We were physically close to each other, but I shifted a few centimetres nearer to Seldon. Our legs were almost touching. Neither of us spoke or moved for a minute. It was almost as if time had frozen. Then, near simultaneously, we leant over and kissed each other.

Fuck, it was good. Really, really good. We kept kissing, and we kept inching closer and closer, until Seldon told me to sit on his lap. I wasted no time straddling him, and almost immediately we were kissing again.

He let out a soft grunt and pulled me tighter against him. I could feel his erection pressing against my crotch but Seldon seemed unbothered by it, and it certainly wasn't worrying me. The prospect of having sex with him was now incredibly appealing. I could barely believe I'd spent so many days stressing about it, because at that moment, if Taylor hadn't been inside, I would have dragged Seldon into the bedroom and done a number of bad things to him.

How had I not noticed him for all of those years I was his neighbour? He'd been friendly to me, hadn't he? He was good to me, good to Taylor. Employed. Decent looking. Excluding the fact that was willing to pay for a woman to fly to Cairns to have sex with him - and I couldn't judge him on that any more, could I? Not now that I was the whorish single mother who'd taken him up on his offer - he was the perfect man.

'Mmm, Kristy, you taste and feel so good,' Seldon murmured, breaking the kiss. He smiled at me, his blue eyes locked on mine and his arms around my back, so that I didn't run any risk of toppling backwards into the pool. He leant forward and gave me a quick peck. 'Thanks for coming to Cairns with me.'

'Thanks for inviting us, and paying for the flights.'

He shrugged slightly and kissed me again.

'You survived a night with my family,' he said.

'They're hilarious,' I replied truthfully. 'They don't let you escape unharmed though, do they?'

He laughed softly.

'No, that they don't,' he agreed.

We started kissing again. I just couldn't keep my hands off him. Four years is a long time to go without sex or intimacy, and although I knew Seldon had paid for this moment to happen, I still enjoyed it as much as if he were a proper lover.

Eventually I pushed him away.

'We can't keep this up,' I said regretfully. 'Taylor will end up walking outside.'

'I was just going to push you into the water if I heard him coming,' Seldon teased.

'A real gentleman, huh?'

'Completely,' he agreed, kissing my nose. 'Can we continue where we left off tonight?'

I nodded. 'Sure.'

He squeezed me in a tight hug and kissed the top of my head. There was absolutely no hiding his hard-on, it was still poking into me.

'Okay,' he said regretfully. 'I'll stop now.'

I clambered off his lap, kissing his forehead on the way.

'I might go inside and lie down for a bit,' I said.

'I'll go for a swim,' he said. He glanced down at his crotch. 'Try and 'calm down' a bit.'

'Hah, yeah, you can't really go walking around with that poking out.'

He gave me an evil grin as he slipped into the water.

'I'll go for a swim,' he promised.

'Keep your legs straight. No bending at the knee,' I teased.

He splashed me.

'Smart arse,' he laughed.

I just laughed, picked up my towel and went inside to shower and wash my hair.

After I was clean, and I'd blow dried my hair, I started repacking my clothes into the cupboards. I'd only done a rush job the day before, but given we were still here for another week, it made sense to get everything neatly organised.

There was a freestanding wardrobe in the room that was half packed with boxes. I promise you I wasn't snooping on purpose. I only looked in the top box because it looked a bit unstable and I wanted to see what the contents were before I tried to pick it up.

There were photos in the box. Not just old prints or albums that had been inherited from deceased relatives, but a collection of photos, both professional and amateur of Seldon and his life before he owned a takeaway. In contrast to the grungy, long-haired Seldon I knew, this one had a short back and sides and wore a suit.

As well as the short hair and nifty clothes, Seldon had also had a long term female partner. I did the female thing of automatically comparing myself to his girlfriend. She was around my height and weight, and probably the teeniest better looking, but she had money and it showed. There was a very polished air to her and Seldon. A power couple, set to take on the world.

I kept sifting through the photos. There were wedding photos that told me Seldon had not only loved, but married the woman and as the years passed, two became three. A baby had been born.

Seldon had never mentioned anything about having a child, but the baby was definitely his. There was a photo of him in scrubs sitting alongside his wife, who'd recently had a caesarean, holding the baby. A girl. The baby was a girl. I followed her progression from newborn to early infancy to the chubby, gurgling, rolling stage.

I tried to gauge how old the photos were, and ended up finding the answer on the back of one of the prints. The baby was born nearly eight years ago. There were plenty of photos of Seldon, his wife and the baby, but the sudden onslaught of pictures stopped when the baby was somewhere around six or eight months old.

My curiosity was piqued. I searched through the other boxes, looking for photos, but found nothing but old clothes, household bills, and bits and pieces. There was only the one box that contained pictures of Seldon in his former life.

I sat on the edge of the bed and wondered what had happened to his wife and child. Perhaps they had died? No, no, that can't have been it. If they'd died, then there would have been at least one photo of the wife and child still out on display. Plus, surely Seldon or his family would have mentioned his daughter on occasion? I've known people who've lost children, and their families most certainly haven't just pretended the child didn't exist.

I've never had much time for parents who don't support their children. At the end of the day, whether you intended to create them or not, they're in this world because of you and you need to be responsible for it, not only for the child's sake, but because who the fuck else should bear the financial brunt? The taxpayer? I think not.

It honestly pisses me off far more than I admit that Roy went and had five other bloody kids and left me to solely cover Taylor's costs. Roy knew damn well I'd work my arse off to pay for everything Taylor needed, so he just moved on with his life as he felt fit. Too bad if I might want to take our damn kid on holidays, or buy underwear from somewhere other than Kmart, or not spend five years sharing sixty square metres with a child so I could afford a townhouse in a lousy suburb nearly an hour away from work.

Somehow, though, I just couldn't imagine Seldon being the kind of man to abandon his family. Which made it all the more puzzling, didn't it? What happened to Seldon's wife and daughter? What had happened to turn him from a white collar family man into the single, apparently childless, owner of a takeaway?

~~~~~~~~~

Taylor wanted hamburgers and chips for dinner, and not just any hamburgers and chips. Not ones from a local takeaway, or the ones that I made, no, he wanted Seldon's hamburgers and chips.

Seldon good-naturedly accepted the request and said he'd do what he could.

'It won't taste exactly like food from the takeaway,' he warned Taylor. 'I use commercial suppliers, and their products taste different to what my Mum's been buying from the supermarket.'

'That's okay,' Taylor agreed.

'Cool. Well, how about I cut you a deal,' Seldon said. 'I'll make these hamburgers and chips, and tomorrow we'll go out to a reef and do some snorkelling, but I want something from you.'

'You want me to do the washing up?' Taylor guessed.

'No, but now that you mention it, that's not a bad idea,' Seldon replied. 'I want you in bed by eight-thirty.'

'That's really early,' Taylor groaned.

'Yeah, but you look really tired, and we've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow,' Seldon argued. 'So how about it? Do we have a deal?'

Taylor nodded. 'As long as Mum helps me with the washing up.'

'I will,' I promised.

'Good,' Taylor said. 'We have a deal.'

Seldon duly made dinner and we sat down at the table to eat.

Taylor and I normally ate in front of the tellie, but somehow, with Seldon around, it seemed natural to sit at the table together. I chewed my burger as I watched how Seldon interacted with my son, and again found myself pondering what had happened to his daughter.

I've dated a couple of guys over the years, none of whom had kids of their own, and they all treated Taylor the way Seldon was; cautious but friendly, trying to forge a connection without seeming too over the top. Seldon was a bit more comfortable with Taylor than most because there was an existing relationship, and he was no doubt accustomed to dealing with teenaged, male, customers at his takeaway, but he was by no means confident. It was clear he wasn't an experienced parent.

We finished eating, washed up, and by some miracle, got Taylor off to bed by eight-thirty. I knocked on his bedroom door at nine o'clock and was greeted by silence. I knocked again. Nothing. Very slowly and cautiously, I cracked open the door. My son was fast asleep.

I went out to the kitchen where I could hear Seldon pottering about.

'He's asleep,' I said.

'You sure?'

'Yeah, I went in and checked on him.'

'You're brave,' Seldon said. He was in the midst of rolling himself a joint. 'One day you might end up doing what my Mum did to me, and catch him having a wank.'

'Ugh, don't say that,' I said, whacking his arm.

Seldon was in the middle of licking the tally-ho paper, but he didn't break stride. He just grinned, sealed the joint, and asked if I wanted one.

I hesitated.

'No?' he asked.

'Yes,' I corrected. 'Thanks.'

Seldon rolled another, then hunted around the kitchen cabinets for a lighter.

'I'm convinced there's a mysterious stockpile of lighters somewhere,' I said. 'I used to smoke when I was younger and I swear I bought at least one a week.'

'I used to have a brass refillable one,' Seldon said. 'Ah ha! Found one.' He held up a lighter. 'You want to go outside and smoke with me?'

'Sure.'

He grabbed two cans of soft drink and a packet of jelly snakes on the way out. I bit back a smile as I followed him out the French doors, to the outdoor setting.

The marijuana, the admission he was an ex-smoker, and the mention of the brass lighter didn't at all surprise me. What had surprised me, and what continued to surprise me, were the pictures of Seldon in a suit and a tie.

We sat outside and smoked our joints in near silence. I only made it halfway through mine. When the ember died, I just put it aside and waited for the high to settle over me.

I've never been much of a drinker. I'll have a wine or pre-mixed spirit if everyone else is drinking and declining will make me seem like a spoilsport, but give me weed over booze any day. I like the calmness it brings, the wonder and relaxation.

Seldon was obviously the same. He opened both cans of soft drink and handed one over to me, but he didn't speak. He was just letting the THC wash over him.

I gazed at him and could easily imagine him as a teenager. What had happened in between then and now? What was the deal with the suit, the wife, and the daughter?

'What did you do before you owned the takeaway?' I asked curiously.

'Hmm? Oh, I was a banker.'

'A what?' I was most definitely high. I giggled a bit. 'You're kidding.'

Seldon smiled faintly.

'No,' he said. 'I'm not. I worked for NAB.'

'That's funny. Why did you go and do that?'

'Nobody knows why they want to be a banker. Money, maybe? I always wanted to do something where I was actually doing something, but my teachers told me I should go to university. I went to university, got a degree, and found a job.'

'And you became a banker.'

Seldon smiled at me. 'I did.'

'Why did you stop being a, um... a banker?'

Holy fuck I was stoned. It was a good thing I hadn't smoked the whole joint. I took a sip of my drink and wondered if I was going to be too out of it for sex.

Seldon opened the bag of snakes and pulled one out. He put the head in the mouth and stretched the tail out as far as it could go. 'I'll tell you some time, but not now. Really, I'll tell you, but it's not a story for tonight.'

'Why not?'

He chewed the snake slowly and carefully. He offered me the bag, and I took one, but I didn't put it in my mouth.

'It's a sad story,' he said. 'It always puts me in a funny mood. I don't want to be like that around you, not this early on.'

I nibbled on my snake.

'Do you want to have sex?' I asked.

He shrugged.

'Sure,' he said. 'You?'

'Yeah, definitely. I haven't fucked anyone in four years. I think it would be nice to get intimate with a penis.'

'Four years?' He ate another snake. 'Fuck. That's a long time. Why haven't you slept with anyone in four years?'

'No time, no money.' I laid back in my chair and stared at the night sky. The stars shone brightly against a blanket of black ink. 'I feel weird, too, like my life is so different to everyone else's, and I don't know how to bridge that gap. Other women my age take all these great selfies, and understand Instagram, and go partying, either that or they're married and live in a great house in a great suburb. Then there's me. I just feel very different. It's as simple and as difficult as that.'

'I understand. Sometimes I feel like I'm staring through a window, watching everyone else live their lives.'

'Totally.'

He took a sip of his drink. 'The last woman I slept with was a prostitute.'

That caught my attention. I sat up and stared at him.

'Really?' I asked.

'Hmm,' he confirmed. 'It was weird. I couldn't cum.'

'Was she pretty?'

'I guess so. It's not really looks that make you cum, though, is it? It's not enough. Maybe when I was younger it was, I can't really remember, but not now. I want someone to kiss me. I want to make them orgasm.'

I took that as a hint and filed it away for future reference. When we had sex, I'd have to kiss him, and do my best to cum.

We stopped talking and just sat. Seldon fiddled around with his phone and put some music on. It was all good. The whole evening was good. If you're not a stoner it's probably hard to understand, but it was just a very peaceful moment. Time loses all meaning when you're high, and everything seems more profound.

After a while, Seldon reached over and picked up my half-smoked joint. He lit it and we finished it off together, just to ensure the high didn't begin to dissipate.

'Would you like to go inside?' he asked.

'To your bedroom?'

'If you want,' he said.

'I think we should. I'm not very coordinated when I'm high. I don't think I'll be able to move inside to the lounge, and then to your room.'

Seldon walked over and helped me to my feet. With a giggle, I fell against him and hugged him. I was glad he was going to fuck me. It had been a hell of a long time.

'Four years,' he remarked, obviously thinking what I was thinking. 'Shit.'

'Yeah.' I kissed his cheek. 'You want to put me out of my misery and bring me inside?'

He laughed under his breath and half-carried, half-led me to his bedroom. He shut the bedroom door behind us, but didn't turn off the light.

'Can we turn that off, please?' I asked.

'Yeah, but do you mind if we keep a bedside light on?' he asked. 'I like to see what I'm doing.'

I giggled again. 'I don't. Yuck.'

'Ouch, you're insulting me already and I still have my clothes on.'

I laughed harder.

'Not you, silly,' I explained. 'You look just fine. It's me. I don't want to look down and see my fat bits jiggling.'

'I do. I want to see you naked.' He held my face in his hands and kissed me. 'I want to see all of it.'

I remembered that he'd paid for this, so I should probably go along with what he wanted.

'Okay,' I agreed. 'But I won't be offended if you turn the lights off halfway through.'

'I'm not going to be doing that,' he assured me.

Seldon sat me on the bed, turned on the bedside light, and turned off the overhead light. The room was a lot darker with just the lamp on, and I felt a tiny bit more confident.

I was stoned, but even on the straight and narrow I would have happily consented to sex, so the kissing and mutual exploration that followed was extremely pleasant. He had me naked in no time at all and was hungrily moving his mouth and hands over my body.

I kicked him away when he tried to go down on me.

'Why not?' he asked.

'I don't know,' I replied. 'I haven't been laid in four years and you want to start things off by eating pussy? It's too intimate. Come here. Kiss me again.'

Seldon laid beside me and cuddled me. Even in the dim light his blue eyes shone brightly. They were a beautiful colour.

He leant in and tenderly kissed me. His body was harder and more angular than mine, and he had a long, thin penis which was pressing into my hip. I held him close and just kept rubbing my hands over his body, admiring him. I like to take things slow, to let my body warm up and my nerves dissipate, and Seldon seemed content to move to a more casual pace of love-making.

I ended up on my back while he kissed and nuzzled and sucked on my earlobes, neck and breasts. This time, he didn't try to move below my waist, but I was getting seriously horny and when he rested a hand between my thighs, I didn't push it away. After a while, his fingers curled upwards, spreading my labia and gently checking how damp I was.