Charlotte

"I'll have a glass of wine now," he said. "We'll finish tomorrow, okay?"

Charlotte smiled. "Please do," she said, "It feels festive, looking at you have one. Maybe I can join you again tomorrow."

Matt poured himself a glass and raised it. "To health and friendship," he said.

They sat talking for a little while Matt sipped his wine, but he saw that Charlotte was very tired.

"I think it's time for you to go sleep, Charlotte," he said.

She smiled, tired but happy. "You're right. I think I'd better."

She got up, and Matt came along to the bathroom where she brushed her teeth. When she sat down to relieve herself he went outside, waiting to accompany her back to bed. He tucked her in and kissed her forehead; and he sang her a lullaby without being asked.

Charlotte put out her arms towards him, and put them around his neck to kiss his cheek. "Goodnight, Matt," she said. "I love having you for a friend!"

"Good!" he said. "Sleep tight, Charlotte!" He put the candles on the tray and went out, pausing in the doorway to look back at Charlotte and flash her a smile. He carried the tray downstairs and quickly cleared everything away.

He spent the remainder of the evening listening to music, thinking about Charlotte and having a stiff dram. When he closed his eyes he saw her clearly - her eyes, her smile, her breasts and bottom. She was beautiful, and she was sweet. She was happy to have him around. But of course she'd been ill, and she might confuse a feeling of gratitude with feelings for him. Then, there was Jackie - he still was very glad that that relationship was over and done with, closed, finished. Did he dare? It was an overwhelming question, and he didn't reach a clear conclusion. He went to bed at eleven, feeling a little confused.

He looked in on Charlotte for a moment, and when he saw her lying there asleep his heart went out to her. He rather thought he ought to try.

When he got up the next morning he almost bumped into Charlotte who emerged from the bathroom.

"Good morning," she said. "I'm really feeling a lot better! Almost back to normal, in fact. You are an excellent nurse!"

"I don't think I did anything much," Matt protested. "We just let nature have her course."

"But you cheered me up no end, and that is half the healing process." She smiled. "You do have to read the rest of Dickens to me, whatever else you do!"

"I will. I'll go and see to our breakfast. Any preferences?"

She nodded. "Did you buy any cereals, by any chance?"

"Yes, I did. Cereals, then? Anything besides?"

"Tea, please."

"That goes without saying. Will you come down, or would you rather have it served upstairs?"

"I'll come down. I've lain in bed long enough."

"Good. I'll get things done, then."

He went downstairs and prepared breakfast. He realised that his presence wouldn't be required any longer when Charlotte was capable of caring for herself. Oh well, that was what the exercise had been all about. He was happy to see her look healthy again. Still...

They had breakfast together at the kitchen table. When they'd finished Charlotte went upstairs to shower while Matt cleared away the breakfast things and made the kitchen presentable again. Then he took his turn in showering.

When he came downstairs again he was greeted by the smell of coffee.

"I thought you might like some," Charlotte said. "Right?"

Matt did. They went into the living-room, and Charlotte sat down in the chair he had occupied the two evenings he'd been there. He smiled at her and sat down on the couch.

"I do enjoy this so much! Shall I finish the Carol now?"

Charlotte nodded and she sat back to watch Matt and listen to the story. She secretly missed the intimacy of her bedroom a little, but then, it was good to be up and about again.

When Matt finished reading he went into the kitchen to get them another cup of coffee. They sat together talking. Charlotte really felt up to scratch again, and so they decided that Matt would go home after lunch, to see to things there.

"I'll prepare lunch, to finish things," Matt said.

"Or we could do so together," Charlotte said.

Before they had any chance to do so, the bell rang. Charlotte went to open it, and she returned followed by a woman with a loud voice and, Matt thought, an overbearing manner. She had the unpleasant characteristic of pronouncing all important words in capitals.

"CHARLOTTE," she said. "You SHOULD have called me IMMEDIATELY! Imagine you having had a MAN to NURSE you! You could have been taken ADVANTAGE of EASILY! You were always FAR too TRUSTING!"

Matt thought he could notice a faint hint of irritation in Charlotte's manner, but she was much too well-behaved to let it show too clearly. It appeared the woman was Jessie, Charlotte's friend. She tried to take over at once, and she immediately got Matt's hackles up. He wasn't going to get told about.

One thing was clear, though. With Jessie about the place there was no way for them to communicate in any way he'd like to.

Lunch was nothing like they'd hoped it would be. Jessie had not said a word to Matt after she had been introduced. She monopolised the conversation, and Charlotte hardly spoke, nor was she expected to. She'd always liked Jessie, but they'd never been together with others. Now she felt very annoyed by her. She'd hoped to talk some more with Matt...

After lunch Matt went upstairs to pack his suitcase. He found a pencil in his suitcase, wrote a few words on the flyleaf of one of the books he'd brought and put it on Charlotte's pillow. Then he went downstairs and took his leave. Charlotte would have loved to kiss him, but Jessie, who wasn't quite the epitome of tact, stayed at her shoulder and so they just shook hands.

"Thank you very, very much, Matt," she said. "You were a great help!"

"Not at all," he said, and looked at her hard. "I more than loved being there. I'll call you soon, Charlotte!" He nodded curtly at Jessie who talked to Charlotte as if he weren't there. Then he waved to Charlotte, went to his car and drove off.

"Call you soon - pah! I've heard them say that TOO often. They NEVER do!" Jessie said. "You'd better FORGET about him."

"Jessie, you don't know Matt in the least. Couldn't you just be civil about him? He will call for sure."

"He won't, and that's a FACT. Let me get you sorted out. I'll see to your washing first."

"I can do that myself again, thank you, and besides, it has already been done."

"Nonsense. Don't be silly!"

"Oh, for heaven's sake, I'm not a child. I don't speak nonsense and I don't see why I should be treated like a certifiable idiot in my own home."

Jessie turned red. "You could be a little grateful, couldn't you?"

"Grateful? Why? You ruined our lunch and you ruined my chances to say goodbye the way I'd wanted to the man I want. You're very welcome here, but I don't want a nanny, thank you very much."

Jessie stood looking at Charlotte transfixed. She'd never known her to be anything but pliable and the angry woman she saw was nothing like the Charlotte she knew. "But..." she stammered.

"Yes," Charlotte said, "I'm really sorry, but I think we ought to be more on a par, don't you know? Matt has done my washing, and restored the lot to my wardrobe, and the few items I have in my wash basket now can wait. I'm dying for a drink, because I feel upset about it. Would you like one, too?"

"But...having a man wash your clothes, and drinking in the daytime - even if you feel upset..."

Charlotte cut her short. "I love Matt. Does that make it clear? He didn't ask if he could or should, he's nothing if not respectful towards people and he can be passionate -"

"You mean you had sex?"

"No I don't. But he treats me as if I were a beautiful woman, someone likeable and pleasant, and he was so angry when I told him about an anonymous letter I got. I think he's just the person I want and need."

Apparently Jessie got the message. She behaved in a much subdued manner the rest of the afternoon, and they actually had a pleasant time together. They cooked - there was a lot of food left from the shopping Matt had done - and had dinner together. Jessie left at eight, and the air between the women had cleared completely.

"I do hope your Matt will call, Charlie," she said when she put on her coat.

"I'll tell you when he does. Take care, Jessie!"

They embraced and Charlotte found herself finally alone again. She went about the kitchen to take stock of what Matt had done. She found he had done the shopping in such a way that there was quite enough food to suit any wishes she might have had. There was a bottle of whisky that had hardly been touched, and there were all sorts of nice things.

She suddenly understood that he must have paid everything, and blushed. She wasn't quite sure if she thought it was what she wanted. He hadn't mentioned having spent all that money on her for a moment, and she'd been too busy with other thoughts to realise. She sighed. Should or shouldn't she do something about it now? She scratched her head pensively.

Then she went upstairs and inspected her wardrobe. He'd obviously folded things differently than she would have done; but he'd carefully arranged everything - almost lovingly, she thought. Even her underwear had been given the same treatment. Mmmm... She started a train of thought she didn't dare finish. You never knew; she'd been so positive he would call, but would that lead to anything? And what if she misread the things she thought she'd noticed? She felt suddenly very tired. She locked up, made herself a cup of tea to drink in her bedroom and went upstairs. She sat down in the chair Matt had put her in, and drank her tea - and then she suddenly noticed something on her pillow. She went and picked it up. It was A Child's Christmas in Wales. She opened it. On the flyleaf she found a text in pencil, that read,

Dear Charlotte,

Thank you very much for the nicest,

best Christmas I've ever had!

Love,

Matt.

It made her cheeks go hot. Oh, just suppose he really means it, she thought. Just suppose!

She drank her tea and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth; then she went to bed with her book, and read it, enjoying Ardizzone's illustrations and the text, and remembering Matt reading it. When she had finished, she carefully put the book away and she fell asleep with a big smile on her face.

Matt went home feeling rather sad and not a little annoyed that that woman should have come to spoil things. But he was damned if he'd let her come between them. He opened his laptop at once and found the restaurant he wanted to go to. To his delight there was still a table for him for New Year's Eve, and he booked it at once, for six thirty.

Time to go and get his house in order. The Christmas box still sat on the kitchen table, and he unpacked it and stored the contents in various places in the kitchen and the pantry. Then he went and loaded the washing machine, took the vacuum cleaner around the ground floor, and eventually he sat down and opened his mailbox.

There was one new email only. It was from March, who told him he had fired Dillon. He wrote he had been inclined to put the fear of God into the young man but when he'd been verbally abused himself he'd seen no other way to solve the problem than a dismissal. Mat replied briefly and told March that Charlotte was better, and that he had had a very good time celebrating Christmas with her.

He loved his house, but it seemed strangely silent and lonely after the two days or so they'd spent together. He found it actually hard to believe it had really been two days only. He realised he was quite tired, and he decided to have dinner at his local and go to bed straight after it.

He was in bed by nine, but he found it hard to get to sleep, no matter how tired he was. Charlotte's face seemed to come between his intentions and their execution. He just gave in to it and thought about her - and he suddenly realised it actually was her face he kept seeing, not her body. The realisation took away the one qualm he'd harboured about his feelings for Charlotte; it was obviously alright. He turned on his side, smiling broadly, and was asleep within seconds.

Charlotte got a phone call the next afternoon at two. "Hello?" she said.

"Hello, Charlotte," Matt said. "Remember we talked about eating out? You promised you'd come with me, and I booked a table for two for the thirty-first. Is that still okay with you?"

"You bet," she said. "I'll be there, have no fear!"

"That's good. Are you still feeling okay?"

"Yes I am. Oh, thank you very much for the book! I read it before I went to sleep."

"It's a lovely story," Matt said. "I'm glad you like it. Okay. I'm so happy you'll come. I can't wait to see you again."

Charlotte slowly broke into a broad smile. "Well," she said , "if you really mean that, you know where I live...and I'm not going anywhere this afternoon."

It remained silent for a moment at the other end of the line. "I'll be over straight away," Matt said.

He put down the phone and almost jumped into his car. He drove just a little fast, and was at Charlotte's within a quarter of an hour.

When he ran up the steps to the front door Charlotte, who'd been waiting for him, opened it. "I just happened to see you coming," she admitted.

They went inside, and Matt hung his coat in the hall. Then he took both her hands in his. "Charlotte," he said, "I don't just want to see you. I've got something I must tell you. I realised that being with you, even when you were ill, was all I could want from life, and that I don't want to go back to the way I used to live. I think you're sweet and beautiful and lovely and I want you. I need you, Charlotte, I..."

It was all Charlotte had hoped to hear. She beamed at him and pulled him into her and she pressed her lips on his. She looked into his eyes with a wide smile and opened her mouth to taste his tongue, and she wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. Then she closed her eyes, and gave in to the feelings of happiness that washed over her. She rubbed her belly against his body, and she felt the sure sign of his need for her press into her.

She waited for a short moment and then she freed her mouth.

"Matt," she said, "I need you, too! Please, come and be good to me, again!"

Matt kissed her again and stroked her back, her bottom, and her hair. Then he took her hands again, and nodded. "I will, sweetheart," he said. "Come!"

Charlotte had put on a pink set of underwear that morning, with cream edges and bows, and a cut that made it sit just a bit loosish, which, she thought, was really becoming. She hoped Matt would agree, but she didn't worry overmuch. She could still remember his physical reaction to the sight of her when he washed her, and when she'd touched his arm with her breast. It would be all right.

It was all right. When they got to her bedroom, Matt lost no time in undressing her. When he'd removed all her upper clothes, he heaved a deep sigh of contentment. "Baby," he said hoarsely, "you are beautiful and delectable and just plain ravishing."

Charlotte blushed with happiness. Matt hooked his arms around her and made her breasts fall from the cups of her bra. He put his hands on them and she felt her knees go wobbly. Apparently he must have noticed it, for he clasped his strong arms around her and walked her to the bed, where she lay down looking at him. She loved the look in his eyes. It held everything she'd hoped to see in him, the whole gamut from love to need and back again.

Matt quickly undressed and knelt between her legs to pull her panties all the way down. She was beautiful, and he just couldn't stop from marvelling at her. He stroked the curve of her belly, and her thighs, and then he knelt on the floor and started to pay homage to her legs.

Charlotte lay back and closed her eyes. She was all smiles, and she realised that this, this now was what she'd hoped for from the moment Matt had helped her take off her nightgown that Christmas Eve. She loved his hands on her, and she loved the knowledge that she was beautiful and desirable, and that the man who actually desired her was the very one she'd been hoping for a very long time would notice her.

She felt his lips on her inner thighs and a shiver ran down her back. They gradually crept up in the direction of her pussy, and she was dying for him to touch her there.

Oh! He'd stopped running his mouth and tongue along her thighs. Instead he peeled her pussy open with his thumbs...and then she let out a muffled moan as she felt his nose rub her clit for a second before he stuck his tongue into her.

Oh my, he's tasting me, she thought. I hope he'll like me...

Matt had her smell in his nostrils and her taste on his tongue. Life couldn't be any better, he thought. He took one of her labia between his lips and sucked it a little into his mouth. Then he let go of it again and started to lick, nibble and suck her pussy, trying to make her feel good, so good.

He didn't miss the tiniest part of her sex, and it wasn't long before he had Charlotte squirming on the bed. She'd extended a hand to feel for his head, and she pressed him into her. "Oh, baby," she moaned, "oh please...yes...please!"

Matt loved what he was doing, and he felt extremely happy. When he heard Charlotte's breathing go ragged, he directed his attention to her clit while he pushed two fingers into her.

Charlotte felt herself turn to jelly. It seemed as if her clit and her pussy had started on a life of their own, while still being part of her, too...and then she came. Involuntarily, she pressed his face firmly down onto her vulva, while her body seemed to explode in shudders. She lay back with her eyes closed for some time, while she heard the blood throb in her ears, and then, when it subsided, she opened her eyes and looked into Matt's smiling ones.

"Okay, baby?" he said.

Charlotte nodded. "Mmmm," she was all she could manage.

"Good." Matt said. He got up off the floor, and went to his knees on the bed between her splayed legs while he explored her breasts and belly. Her nipples stood taut, proud and beautiful, and he loved to touch them, to roll them and knead them, and to watch Charlotte react to his hands. He bent over her and used his mouth on her again.

Charlotte loved it. She looked at Matt and flashed him a smile, and then Matt couldn't contain himself any longer. He took his cock in his left hand and found her pussy.

"Oh, yes, come, please!" It was what she'd wanted for so long! Finally, finally here they were together! She was so wet that Matt slid inside as sweetly as she'd hoped. She was covered in sweat, and there was a film of moisture on her breasts and belly, and the perspiration ran almost into her eyes. But she couldn't care a hoot - Matt's arms were holding her, and his cock was inside her. It left nothing to be desired.

Matt felt his stomach slide back and forth against her belly, and he loved every second of it. His 25-year-old wish for a soft pair of breasts was finally eradicated by the real thing. He touched Charlotte's lips with a finger for a moment. To his surprise she sucked it into her mouth. The feeling did wonders to his crotch somehow, and when she squeezed his cock with her pussy walls it was too much. He grabbed Charlotte's beautiful buns and slammed into her, rocking the bed as he did so.

Oohhh, Charlotte thought, this is wonderful. She bucked against his pelvis and fucked him back on every stroke, hard, sweetly and hungrily. She reached out for his head and pulled him close, and then she sought his tongue. She felt completely feminine, and wanted, and loved, a feeling that for a long time she'd not expected she would ever feel. She clasped her legs round the small of Matt's back and pulled him into her as tightly as she could, while she stroked his hair and moaned into his mouth.