Days of Chrissie Past

Surveying has changed a lot since my father became a surveyor many years ago. He told me tales of lugging a heavy great theodolite around while his chainman hacked a path through the scrub with a brush-hook to get to where he had to hold up the staff so that readings could be taken. When these were recorded, it was back to the office to convert the distances and angles to create an accurate map of the property.

Nowadays all that I had to do was to point the laser beam at the staff that my assistant held, push a button and a record was made of the distance, angle and elevation above the datum point. Once all of the information was recorded, it was sent back to the computer at the office, and by the time we got back, a 3D map of the property had been printed off to send to the architect so that he could draw his house plans, complete with location on the block to within a bee's appendage, along with foundation heights.

I was concentrating on collecting the data and didn't notice the woman and her dog until she spoke. "Geoff Warner, you're Geoff Warner, aren't you?" The sign on the side of the SUV was a dead giveaway. It read Warner Locations, Registered Surveyors.

"The face that stared at me from the mirror this morning was his, so I guess I must be him."

"Still the smart arse, eh?"

"Do I know you?"

"You probably don't remember me, but you knew my sister."

I took a closer look at her, vague recognition crept into my memory. "Don't tell me, it's coming back to me, Christ, you're Jenny Fraser. What's it been ten. Twelve years?"

"Try fifteen."

"Whatever happened to Chrissie, she dropped out of my life without a word."

"It's a long story and you're busy. I tell you what, you buy me dinner tonight and I'll fill you in on all of the sordid details, unless of course there's a Mrs. Warner waiting at home for you."

"No, there's not one of those waiting for me. Give me your address and I'll pick you up at six-thirty."

She took her mobile phone out and called the number on the side of my SUV, switching to messaging she sent me her address. "See ya tonight." With a quick wave, she and the dog were off.

Memories fought with my work as we finished the job. "Who was the woman you were talking to?" Angie, my assistant asked.

"Someone from my past, no that's not true, I was going with her older sister for close on a year when she suddenly dropped out of my life. I took it hard because there was no warning signs, she was just gone."

"So, you're going to try and find out why, is that it?"

"Yes."

"Nothing more than that, after all, it's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Have you been keeping tabs on my social life? Haven't you got better things to do, like Mark?"

"Mark and I are going along quite nicely thank you."

We completed our on-site work and headed back to the office. Angie uploaded the data into our computer, and we processed it. When the computer had completed doing its thing, the plans were shipped to the architects.

"You take care tonight," Angie said as she packed up, "I don't want you coming in to work tomorrow totally shagged because you fell for her charms."

"Fat chance of that happening."

Some women have this ability to make the simplest, most casual clothes, look positively sexy. Jenny Fraser was one of those, she made me feel under-dressed in my best casual clothes. I had to admit that, while there was a passing resemblance between her and Chrissie, she was much more attractive. I was going to have a hard time resisting her. "Wow."

"Thank you. You scrub up pretty well yourself." She kissed me. It wasn't a full on, toe curling kiss, just a simple kiss on the lips. "Where are you taking me?"

"I'm not telling you, this will be my surprise." I put my car into gear and headed off to my favourite restaurant. I hoped that she would like it.

"This is nice." Jenny said as she finished her meal. "I wouldn't have taken you to be such a gourmand."

"When you fail dismally at cooking, you have to compensate, I guess that I've over-compensated."

"You won't find me complaining."

"I don't want to put a dampener on this pleasant evening, but you were going to tell me what happened to Chrissie."

"Take me home first, it'll take a while."

We were seated at her kitchen table, a cup of coffee in front of us. "You remember that Chrissie had this job with a promotions company."

"Yeah, she loved it."

"Well, that's where the troubles began. The company had the job of promoting the Australian leg of this band's world tour. The front-man asked that Chrissie take on the role of their organiser for the duration, you know, making sure that the bands' demands were met, arranging the booze and chemical stimulants, that sort of stuff. By the end of the Australian leg, this role was extended for the rest of the tour, and she went back to England with them on the promise of a long term relationship with said front-man."

"Don't tell me that she ended up with him."

"No. By the time they got back to England she was having sex with all of the band."

"Shit."

"It gets worse. She was set up in a flat somewhere, Willsden I think, because it turned out that he was married, and he didn't want his wife to find out."

"Don't tell me, she did."

"Yes, she did. When the dust had settled, she was without her flat, her visa had run out, he had promised that when they got married she wouldn't need one, and she had no money. It was about then that she found that she was pregnant."

"Does it get any worse than this?"

"Yes, a girl that she knew from band gigs was working for an escort agency and making good money, at least that's what she said, she conveniently forgot to mention the fact that most of it went on drugs. Anyway, Chrissie began to work for the agency, and was doing quite well until her pregnancy became apparent. Oh, there were some kinky blokes that got off on fucking pregnant girls, but not enough for her to pay her bills. She was living, if you could call it that, in a squat when she went into premature labour. She never made it to hospital."

"What happened to the baby?"

"It died. If those she was living with had thought to contact the hospital or an ambulance, the outcome might have been different. They didn't know what to do and didn't want to face the police, so she was left there."

"Did your parents do anything?"

"They didn't find out until much later. They tried to trace her when they hadn't heard from her for a couple of months, but no-one knew where she was, not even the band that she went to England to be with. That turned out to be untrue, some months after this happened, the front-man's marriage ended, and his wife spread the word that her wonderful husband had cheated and abandoned his lover when he found out that she was pregnant. She told the police that she had heard that Chrissie had died, The police investigated and learned the truth. They contacted Mum and Dad."

"I'm so sorry, not only for Chrissie, but for your parents. Neither deserved that. How did your parents take it?"

"Very hard. They felt that they should have done more although I don't know what they could have done. They did insist that I should go to Uni and get a proper job."

"When you say proper job, what did you study?"

"I have a degree in Civil Engineering and work for an infrastructure company that builds roads and bridges."

"A good enough job, a bit up and down, but for the right companies there's money to be made."

"Sort of like yours, when the home building is buoyant you will have work, but if no-one's building things could get quiet."

"We survive. We've embraced the latest technology to make life easier and cheaper. By minimising our costs, we can charge less and still be competitive."

"Enough of this boring conversation, how's your love life?"

"As near as dammit to non-existent, and yourself?"

"I don't seem to have much luck. The few men that I have allowed in have not been as great as they had led me to believe. I wish I could find a man who performs better than his ego tells him. What are you like in the sack?"

"I've had no complaints. Any relationship that I've had has lasted for several months, but then something happens, either of both of us begins to lose interest and it peters out."

"Not like with Chrissie. I was really pissed off with her the way that she just dumped you. I would never do that."

"Is that a hint?"

"We shall see, that's all I'll say at this time."

The coffee had gone cold, but I declined a fresh cup, choosing instead to go home. Jenny walked to the door with me. "Geoff, I was in love with you when you were going with Chrissie."

"I thought that you were cute, but too young for me. Then, after I got dumped, I wasn't going to get involved, ever again."

"But you have had several relationships, are you still scared?"

"In the back of my mind there is a hesitation, yes."

"Maybe I can do something about that." She took my head in her hands and kissed me, a long, lingering, emotion filled kiss, that left me wanting, no, hoping for more. "Hold that thought." Her lips whispered to mine.

"How did you know what I was thinking?"

"If you want to hide your feelings you had better tell him." She said, squeezing him.

"Well, how did it go?" Angie asked as we unloaded the SUV for our next job.

"How did what go?"

"Your date with Jenny?"

"Interesting, that's all I'll say."

"Did you learn anything more about what happened to her sister?"

"Yeah, it wasn't pretty. If only she had come to me when it all came crashing down, I might have been able to help."

"So, you think that you could have done something?"

"No, she was caught up in a world of sex, drugs and rock and roll on the other side of the world. There was no escape for her."

"So, what happened to her?"

"She thought that she was in love with the lead singer of this band that was touring. He invited her to join and help them. They used her and when they got back to England he went back to his wife, and she was left on her own. She was pregnant, it may not have been to him, they were all screwing her by then. Her life was in a downward spiral from which there was no way out. She died giving birth, she was alone in a squat, abandoned by everyone."

"Fuck." This was the first time that I'd heard Angie swear. "So where do you go from here?"

"I don't know."

"Will you be seeing Jenny again?"

"Yes, quite likely."

"Be careful."

"Why would you say that?"

"I saw the way that she was looking at you yesterday, she's got the hots for you, and it goes back a long way. If she's anything like her sister, well, take this as a warning."

"I'm sure that she's not like Chrissie, she seems to have her future mapped out."

If I didn't know better I'd think that Angie was a tad jealous, but she had Mark, so why should she be jealous of me if this thing with Jennie goes any further?

My phone rang just after I got home, it was Jenny. "I've been waiting for you to call, but then I wasn't sure that you know how to extract my number from your call record, so I thought I should call you. Do you like pizza?"

Where did this come from. "Yes, I don't often buy one because I can't eat a whole pizza on my own and I can't come at left overs."

"Great, give me your address and I'll be right over, pizza in hand."

She must have already ordered the pizza because she was at my front door within fifteen minutes. She kissed me as she strode past on her way to the kitchen. I broke out a bottle of red and a couple of glasses and we settled down to our meal.

"I've been thinking..." We both said at once.

"You first." I said.

"Mum and Dad haven't really got over what happened to Chrissie, and it continues to drag at their happiness. I would like to try to find out more about what happened to her."

"But that would mean going to England, wouldn't it?"

"Not at first. The promotions company that she was working for, the one that allowed, probably encouraged her to go to England with the band, may know more about what happened."

"Do you think that they'd tell you anything?"

"Probably not, but a threat of using social media may get them to change their thinking."

"It's worth a try I suppose."

"What were you about to say?"

"I know that it's early days but, do you see this, us, going anywhere?"

"Yes, I do, but there will be a minor problem."

"I can't think of any, what did you have in mind?"

"Angie."

"What about her?"

"I've seen the way that she looks at you, and when we were talking yesterday, I picked up a feeling of animosity towards me. I think that she's in love with you."

"You're kidding me."

"Typical male, no thought of the feelings of others."

"But, she's got a boyfriend, Mark."

"Have you actually met him?"

"No, I try to keep our relationship professional, separate from personal."

"Good luck with that. I'm taking a chance here, I'm going to jump off the end of the jetty with holes in my water-wings, so here goes."

I might be slow on the uptake when it comes to women, but even I could not mistake the sense of purpose in her expression. Her kiss left nothing to my imagination.

"I've just placed a patch over the hole."

"What hole?"

"The one in your water-wings."

"Good." Her top was followed by her bra, then her jeans. Normally these would have been followed by her panties but, she obviously came prepared, because she wasn't wearing any. "Get a wriggle on, we haven't got all night."

"Yes, we have, what's your rush?"

"I've waited years for this."

"Then what difference will a few more minutes make. Why don't we take our time and enjoy a slow build up to this."

When I got to my jocks she couldn't wait any longer. "Where's your bed?" She was ripping them off.

I stepped out of them and led her to my bedroom and my bed.

I pulled the sheets down to the foot of the bed, my mind going back to my time with Chrissie. This was not the same, no sooner had I dropped my dacks than she would have me in her mouth.

"My, he is impressive, isn't he?" Jenny said, his lordship resting in her open hand.

"You ain't seen nothing yet." My hands had reached her breasts, cupping them and caressing her nipples.

"I can't wait." She whispered, her hand had closed on him. She sank to the bed, drawing him with her. I thought that she would lead him into her, but no. He was between her legs, and she was caressing him with her now moist pussy lips. I moved to place his head at her entrance but she would have none of that, resuming her caresses. "Roll over."

I was curious as to what she had planned. I didn't have long to wait, she resumed sliding along my cock for several minutes before allowing him access to the promised land. She had complete control of the process, not that I was complaining mind you, until we both came.

"What would you like for breakfast?"

"What?" Why would she ask that?

"You do want me to cook you breakfast, don't you?"

"So, you're planning to stay the night, are you?"

"Only if you want me to, you do want me to, don't you?"

What could I say.

Angie beat me to the office and was transferring the data from the day before so the architects could produce the block layout. "Well, look what the cat's dragged in, had a hard night did you?"

"Hardish night, yes."

"With Jenny, I bet."

"If you must know, it was."

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Why, are you getting jealous? I'm not jealous of you and Mark."

"Who?"

"Mark, you know, your boyfriend."

"Oh, that Mark."

I was thinking of a comment when my phone rang. "Warner Locations, Geoff speaking."

"Good morning lover, will you be fully recovered for a repeat performance tonight?"

"Oh, hi Jenny."

"Let me guess, your jealous assistant, what's her name, Angie? She's all upset that you were with me last night. You don't have to answer that. My reason for calling is, I mentioned you to my boss, and suggested that you might be interested in working for us."

"I could be, I'll need to know more before I make a decision."

"Great! He wants to meet you this afternoon to discuss what he has in mind."

"Sorry, this afternoon is a no-go, I, we're busy all day."

"This is a great opportunity for you, I hope that you're not saying no."

"No. What I mean is, no, I'm not saying 'no' to the whole deal, just 'no' to this afternoon."

"Well, if you can't make it this afternoon, how about this evening over dinner, are you interested in that?"

"For a free meal, sure."

"Great, be at Valley Inn at six-thirty for seven. You do know where that is, don't you?"

"I know of it, it's a little out of my price bracket, I'm sure that I can find it."

"What was that all about?" Angie asked.

"Jenny has mentioned me to her boss and, it seems as if he has a project that he wants us to work on."

"Be careful, that's all I'm going to say on the subject."

We set the answering machine and left. It was going to be a long day, the client was opening a subdivision with five building blocks and wanted complete plans, including access roads, by tomorrow.

As I walked through the front door of the prestigious Valley Inn, I was hoping that this wasn't going to go on too long as I hadn't fully recovered from last night and the busy day.

Jenny stood as I approached the table. "Daddy, this is Geoff Warner, you remember him, don't you?"

"Sure, you were going with Chrissie before she left." He held out his hand. "Sit."

I sat. "When Jenny called this morning, she conveniently forgot to tell me that her boss was also her father."

"Would that have made a difference?"

"No, I guess not."

"Good, let's order, we can discuss this later, I'll not have a perfectly good meal spoiled by business,"

The meal was perfectly good, and replete, it was down to business. "I have acquired a parcel of land from a fire sale. The guy saw the potential for the land but his pockets weren't deep enough and the bank foreclosed. I also see the potential and want to develop it in three stages. The first will front the beach, the blocks well sell for a fortune, more than enough to develop the other two stages in the hinterland behind the first. These will appeal to those who want to live close to the beach but can't afford the price, and those looking for a bush retreat."

"Where do we fit in?"

"I want a plan for the whole of the first stage, roads and blocks laid out along with infrastructure such as storm water easements. Can you do that?"

"I'll have to look over the land first, get a feel for it."

"Jenny can take you out on the weekend, you can check it out and see what you think. I want to know how much it will cost to prepare the development for sale."

"Okay, I think that I can manage that."

"Good, Jenny will liaise with you on the details. You'll need the whole weekend, it's a hundred and fifty kilometres away."

I groaned internally, would my body survive? "I look forward to it."

I was given the royal treatment, limo ride to the site. When I had looked over the land in question the limo arrived back to take us to a nearby, tourist trap town and hotel. We dined at a flash restaurant with equally flash prices, then back to the hotel for a night of unbridled lust. My last thoughts, before drifting off to sleep, was of foreboding, not so much about the job, Angie and I could knock that over in a couple of days, but of the reciprocity that went with all this attention.

"Well?" Angie asked when I arrived at work.

"Jenny's father is a Civil Engineer, but this job isn't connected with his company, at least not directly. He has acquired some land that he wants to develop. We have been asked to submit plans for the first stage, you know the deal, set out the blocks and roads to maximise the potential."

"Are you sure that you want to do this?"