Getting It Out Of Our Systems Ch. 03

Sleety rain had begun to fall as Jill and I ran to the restaurant entrance and dashed through the doors. I folded my umbrella and knocked the water from it before slotting it into the rack.

Following Jill inside, the sudden noise of lighthearted chatter hit me along with the stuffy heat of the busy dining room. Most of the noise was coming from the crowded table in the far corner of the tinsel and holly draped room and I recognised the voices and laughter of our friends. There was an ironic cheer as they saw us and beckoned us over with cries of; 'What time do you call this?' and 'It's always the ones who live the closest that arrive last!'

I grinned ruefully back at our friends and said pointedly, "In my defence, I would have been on time, but someone, didn't want the rain to spoil her hairstyle, so we had to go back and fetch the car!'

Jill playfully punched my arm. 'But then someone couldn't find his car keys could he?'

I shrugged sheepishly and sat at the vacant chair at the end of the long table.

It was an annual tradition to have a meal out with our friends before Christmas. Both Debbie and Jonathan had birthdays on the 5th and 2nd of December respectively and for years now we had used it as an ill-disguised excuse for an early Christmas party.

About a dozen friends were seated along the either side of the table. Some were pulling Christmas crackers with their neighbour, others already wore their cheerful paper crowns.

One of the merrymakers who was seated further down the table was Sally. My eyes met hers fleetingly as I waved a general greeting at those sitting around her. I was aware that my heart was suddenly thudding.

The last time Sally and I had met, it was late summer at a pre-arranged "chance encounter" outside the sandwich shop one lunchtime. We had talked in a business-like manner about how the "thing" we'd had going on must come to an end. Earlier in the year, after years of flirting via text, we'd had sex together in order to get our frustration and curiosity out of our systems. A few months after, we had another frantic, lustful encounter on my desk at work, but we both knew that it had to stop.

I hadn't been in touch with her since, no texts or chance meetings, so, although I knew that she would be here, to see her again, beaming at me made my insides flip over.

Sally looked really good. Her make-up was discreet and classy with cherry red lipstick that seemed to offer a glossy invitation. Her fair hair was sleek and shiny. Her black tunic-style top with sequined detail that glittered alluringly, hugged her lithe body in all the right places. I noticed with relief that Max, her husband, was not with her and assumed that he'd picked the short straw for babysitting their young daughter.

With a panicky rush I broke eye contact. I felt unreasoned fear that if I looked at Sally for a moment longer, my friends would surely suspect something had happened between us.

My chair was at the opposite end of the long table to Sally and on the same side, which, I found to my relief, meant that, whilst seated, making further further accidental eye contact was unlikely.

I passed on the offer of wine and poured myself a glass of water instead. When Debbie commented on this, Jill laughed derisively. "Matt was out with his work colleagues for a Christmas party last night and today he doesn't want a drink! I wonder why that is?"

I grinned ruefully, it had been a boozy and late evening and it'd taken most of the day to recover from. What was more, I had another Christmas party with the regional office lined up next week, so I figured that a sober evening might be a good idea.

The evening passed with shouts of raucous laughter, gossiping about mutual acquaintances and the recollection of times past. The wine flowed lavishly for all but me. As the restaurant began to empty and fellow revellers paid their bills and left, I was suddenly aware of a hand on my shoulder as someone walked past the back of my chair. Glancing up I saw that Sally was talking on her mobile and walking over to the restaurant window that had steamed up. She wiped a peephole in the condensation and peered out, still talking to somebody on the other end of the line. After a moment peering out into the darkness, Sally said goodbye and hung up to her caller and turned back to the table.

She waited until the friends were paying attention before making an announcement

"Hey everybody, that was Max. He's been trying to call me for ages, but I didn't hear my phone, apparently all the roads around where we live are completely impassable."

There was a puzzled silence. "what do you mean impassable?" somebody asked.

Sally pointed towards the wet window. "It's been snowing hard for the last hour."

There was a rush to look outside. The air was thick with large, fluffy snowflakes that were spiralling down onto the already white pavement. In the road, the snow had been churned into brown ruts, but these were already turning a pristine white in the blizzard.

The evening ended. Suddenly everyone was leaving, paying their portion of the bill, shrugging their coats on and offering to walk friends home who lived nearby.

Jill swayed over to me. It didn't take much wine to make Jill merry and she'd had enough to make her very giggly. She clung onto me as we headed for the door with the rest of the crowd.

We followed our friends as they spilled out onto the pavement and into the white, whirling flakes. A good-natured snowball whizzed overhead. Suddenly there was a squeal and a shout of laughter and I saw that someone had slipped and fallen.

Sally was lying prone in the fluffy snow laughing hysterically. Many hands helped raise her to her feet and tried to dust off the snow that was sticking to her jacket and trousers.

There was a collective wishing of "Merry Christmas" to each other and hugs and kisses all round.

As the group split to go their separate ways and Jill and I turned to go back to the car, I heard a shout behind us. Sally was trying to catch us up, tottering on her heels in the slippery, powdery snow, giggling as she came.

She squealed as she nearly slipped over again as she reached us and grabbed my arm to steady herself. "Can I get a lift with you guys?" she asked breathlessly. "I don't mean my house, I'm going to have to stay at my mum and dad's tonight, the taxi I booked has called to say he's stuck and no-one wants to take the job of driving me up the hill to where I live."

We readily agreed, after all, Sally's parents lived not far from our house so it wouldn't mean a diversion.

The short walk to the car was memorable as Jill hugged my arm on my left and Sally had looped her arm through mine on my right, both pressing themselves against me to gain the shelter from my umbrella. The feeling of their bodies so close to me and the small of their combined perfumes was intoxicating.

We reached the car and, after I'd knocked the snow from the top of the doors and started it up, we drove slowly out of the car park through the deserted, snowy streets.

"That's funny, there's no answer." Sally said from the back seat. She had been trying to call her parents to warn them that she would be their guest for the night but no-one was picking up. "I'll try her mobile."

Her call connected as we pulled slowly into the drive. We dashed inside, out of the whirling flakes. Sally followed us inside, still chattering to her mother about the snowstorm. All was quiet and dark upstairs, it appeared that our sons had managed to put themselves to bed in decent time without incident.

As Jill removed her coat, shaking the snowflakes from the hood, Sally looked up, still with the phone to her ear.. "Mum and dad are stuck at my sister's so the house is empty. The good news is that I've got a key, the bad news is that the central heating boiler is a bit ropey and I'm waiting to speak to dad who is going to give me instructions on starting it. Apparently they've been waiting for a repairman to fix it, it keeps shutting down and needs booting up again."

Jill slid her shoes off with visible relief. "Matt will walk you round and get it working for you. and if he can't and it's freezing, you can crash out here." She sagged against me sleepily "I'm falling asleep on my feet, I've got to go up to bed." Jill hugged Sally, planted an unsteady kiss on my cheek and wearily ascended the stairs.

I waited in the hall for an awkward moment as Sally waited for her father to come on the line. She glanced upstairs and gave me a curious smile which seemed to carry some sort of meaning, however my mind was spinning so fast at the possibilities of our situation had offered that I couldn't interpret it.

As Sally started talking to her dad, I took the opportunity to check on the boys. They were both sleeping peacefully their rooms, warm and silent. I tucked them in, crossed the landing and popped my head round the corner of our bedroom to tell Jill that I was about to head out with Sally. The room was in darkness and Jill was already in bed, her regular deep breathing telling me that she had crashed out almost as soon as her head had hit the pillow.

I felt a thrill run through me. I was about to be alone with Sally. Would our good intentions hold out against temptation? I wondered how far I could push things without going over the edge. I wanted to feel what it was like to kiss her again, maybe we could just have a Christmas kiss and leave it at that? "Maybe", a wicked voice whispered in my head, "maybe we could do a lot of other things as well!" The thought made me grin widely and I retreated silently from our bedroom with a quickening pulse.

I could hear Sally's conversation coming to a close as I made my way downstairs.

"Yes Dad, you said that already...yep...ignite the pilot light and gently release the priming button...got it..." She rolled her eyes at me and smiled. Sally's dad was a fastidious, fussy man and I could imagine the other end of the conversation as he talked her through the technicalities of the boiler in great detail.

"OK Dad we'll give it a go, thanks. Goodnight, love you." she rang off and smiled that curious smile again. "Nothing's ever straightforward with my dad." she chuckled and then paused, her smile fading. "You don't have to come along you know, I'm sure I'll manage."

For a moment I was dumbstruck. Was she brushing me off? Had I misjudged the situation? There was a long pause between us as I struggled for the right thing to say before Sally burst into laughter.

"Your face! She chuckled. I'm just kidding!" and she chuckled at my discomfort. Then her face changed and she raised a wicked eyebrow. "I've got a feeling that I'm going to need you before the night is through."

Despite my efforts to remain cool, a wide, irrepressible grin curled across my face. I grabbed my coat and umbrella and opened the door. Cold air and a few flakes of fluffy snow whipped into hall.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Always." Sally replied with another knowing smile.

The street was eerily quiet, all sound muffled with the soft blanket of white that lay in thick swathes everywhere. Snowflakes whipped around us, even under the protection of my umbrella, making us blink them away when they flew into our faces.

Sally had immediately hugged my arm for support as we tiptoed across the white road and, once again I became very conscious of her body pressing against mine and although I was sober, her heady perfume made my head spin.

Steadily, slowly and without further conversation, we made our way down the road concentrating on keeping our feet.

Very soon we arrived at Sally's parents' house which lay in cold darkness. Sally relinquished hold of me and fumbled for her keys, her hands shaking with cold. Inside, the house was chilly and silent. Clearly the central heating was not working. As Sally clicked the lights on I knocked the snow off my boots, before closing the door.

The deep quiet of the empty house surrounded us. My hands trembled as I unlaced and removed my boots and it wasn't because of the cold. I took off my coat and looked around the neat and tidy kitchen.

Sally had kicked off her shoes and opened the cupboard where the boiler lived. Without looking round she said, "My Dad says that there's a fire laid in the grate ready to go. Could you light it for me please? the matches are on the mantelpiece. That way, even if I can't get this working, at least I'll have one warm room."

"No problem." I replied.

Tearing my gaze from her shapely ass as she leaned forward into the cupboard I walked into the darkened lounge beyond the kitchen door.

I groped for a lightswitch but there didn't seem to be any located inside the door where I'd expect one, however, light was spilling into the room from the kitchen, so I walked over to the fireplace and found the matches. Kneeling in front of the fire I struck a match and set the flame to the spills of newspaper jammed beneath the neatly piled logs. The flames took hold, and soon the logs were making popping noises as the heat built.

As I was about to toss the still-lit match into the fireplace, I noticed on the hearth, a large, red scented candle with a Christmassy design on it. On a whim, I used the last flicker of the match to light the candle and soon the heady scent of cinnamon, cloves and cranberries started to fill the room.

In the kitchen, Sally was repeatedly clicking the ignitor button on the boiler. Judging by her soft, muttered curses it seemed that she was not having any success. Eventually, with an exclamation of "Godammit!" she paused and then I heard her call me through.

"What's up?" I enquired, "is it not cooperating"

Sally grinned sourly. "Can you have a go?" there was a tremor to her voice and her hands shook. "My fingers are so cold I can't feel them anymore and my clothes are soaking from when I fell over, so I need to find something dry to change into." She smiled a weak smile and left me alone in the freezing kitchen.

Trying to get the boiler to work was infuriating. The blue flame of the pilot light would spring up readily, before flickering and dying. The repeated tinny ping of the button was starting to make my ears ring and my curses became louder as the fickle flame died again and again.

Finally, the flame ignited, remained steady and with a blessed whomph and a clattering noise, the boiler lurched into action.

With unnecessary stealth backed away from the boiler as if it I might startle it into shutting down again. The radiator in the kitchen began to tick rhythmically as the heat began to spread through the system.

I wondered what to do now. I felt Sally's presence in the house as an almost tangible thing. Was she lying across a bed upstairs waiting for me? Was I misjudging the whole situation? Hadn't we agreed that we'd got this thing between us "out of our systems"? Would I be rejected by Sally if I came on to her now? I softly cursed the effect she had upon me.

The sensible, honourable thing to do would be to call out my farewells to Sally and go back home to my slumbering wife and family, but a powerful sense of anticipation kept me from doing so, the moment for doing the right thing passed and, subconscious decision made, I walked into the darkened lounge.

Sally was sitting on the hearthrug in front of the fire. She had changed her clothes and was now almost buried in a large, thick, warm-looking dressing gown that I guessed was her dad's.

The room was Illuminated by the flickering light from the fire and the candle and, in the corner, Sally had switched on the lights of the Christmas tree that cast multi-coloured shadows across the ceiling.

The spicy aroma of the candle hit me again as I crossed the room. I knelt down close behind Sally and wrapped my arms around her middle, my heart racing at the feeling of my hands on her body. She leant back into me, her head resting against my chin, her hair smelled of coconut and exotic fruit.

We sat there in silence for what seemed like a long time, enjoying the feeling of warmth from the fire washing over us and the feeling of being so close to each other.

"So what's Santa going to bring you for Christmas? Are you on the naughty list or the nice list?" Sally asked without looking around.

"I'm not sure," I replied, grinning. "I think I've been nice most of the time."

"Only most of the time?" She asked.

"Well, there were one or two occasions..." I paused.

"Yes?"

"Yeah, one or two occasions when I was a little bit naughty..." I slid my hand up to her breast and gently squeezed it through the thick fluffy material. Sally reacted by inhaling sharply and arching her back, pushing backwards into me.

"...So I might just get a piece of coal in my stocking this year."

Sally shifted around slightly to look at me. "I think you're nice!" she said, a wicked gleam appearing in eye. She turned back to face the fire, "Mind you, I think you're especially nice when you're being naughty!"

As she turned back, the dressing gown gaped at her neck, exposing a naked shoulder. I leant forward and planted a series of kisses along her collarbone whilst squeezing her breast again.

Sally moaned and turned her head trying to kiss me and we laughed at the awkwardness of trying to kiss around a corner.

Sally rose onto her knees and turned to face me. We embraced in a long, lingering kiss, my hands stroking the curves of her back through the fluffy fabric of her gown.

The kiss grew in intensity

"Stand up." Sally instructed gazing at me levelly.

I rose to my feet and Sally did likewise. She plucked at my pullover and polo shirt and I assisted, drawing them over my head together. The cool air in the room made my skin feel ultra sensitive, the sensation making my cock swell to full hardness against the taut fabric of my trousers..

I reached to remove Sally's dressing gown, but she retreated laughing. "No chance! I'm still bloody freezing!"

I raised a disbelieving eyebrow, "so I get to freeze and you stay all toasty? How is that fair?"

Sally moved close to me, mischief still dancing in her eyes. "But life's not fair hun," she fumbled with my belt, my cock almost ached with the anticipation of her touch, "but sometimes..." my belt released and she popped the button of my trousers and worked the zipper down, "...sometimes, life has its compensations." My trousers slid to the floor.

Sally's eyes slid to my underwear that bulged comically in front of her. I was desperate to feel her touch on my throbbing shaft, but Sally had other ideas.

"Take them off and lie down on the hearth rug." she ordered.

Wondering what she had in mind, I quickly stripped off my pants and hopped out of my socks. Now completely naked, I lay down on the thick hearthrug whilst Sally grinned down at me. The warmth of the fire washed over my right side yet on my left, the chill in the room still tingled on my skin.

Looking up, I saw Sally grinning down at me. Her eyes wandered down my prone body, pausing at my twitching manhood. She walked unhurriedly around me, pausing when she was standing at my head. I reached up and stroked her legs, being rewarded with a fleeting view of her pussy between the loose, fluffy folds of her dressing gown.

She paused as if unsure what to do next and then she slowly knelt down either side of my head, her pussy only inches above my salivating mouth. Gradually she sank over my face until the warm, wet lips of her pussy parted and her sweet musk surrounded me.

As she lay down on my body I pushed the suffocating folds of the dressing gown over her ass and, with deliberate slowness, slid the tip of my tongue along her moist pussy lips until I found the nub of her clitoris where I gently circled my tongue around it.

I was rewarded with a long, deep moan from Sally and she squirmed deliciously. I could feel her hot breath on my groin and my cock surged to full stiffness, aching to feel her touch.