Midnight Ch. 02

"Pfft! We'll see about that!"

Anyway, we stripped down to our panties and slipped under the duvet. She switched the light out and murmured, "You know, this my first ever girls night in."

I lay on my front and pushed my arms under the pillow as I snuggled my face into it, "Well, if they're all as much fun as this was, it won't be our last."

"Night night... My friend," I could hear the smile in her voice.

I grinned in the darkness, "Sweet dreams, Pal."

We drifted off to sleep, but a sound woke me a short while later. I was laying on my back with my legs in a figure four. I looked at the bedside clock and saw it was 3:32 AM. Next to me, Erica was laying on her side facing me. She was curled up slightly, rocking and moaning. Her face was screwed up and she looked like she was terrified.

Her moaning increased and I could just make out a word here and there, "No... Mmmfff... I'm sorry... Please don't... Mmmff phphp mmmm... You're hurting me..."

I slipped my arm underneath her tiny body and slowly drew her to me. Her legs straightened out and her arm snaked over my stomach. As her head rolled on to my breast, I held her to me with one arm and stroked her hair with my free hand. In gentle tones I murmured, "Shhh. It's okay. You're safe here. I got you. Shhh."

Eventually she calmed down and her face relaxed. I stopped stroking her hair and just held her against me as I stared straight up. A street lamp outside sent its light through the net curtain of the window and made a pattern on the ceiling. It was almost hypnotic. In normal circumstances it would probably have sent me straight back to sleep, but not this time. I glanced down at the tiny, fragile woman snuggled into me and gazed into her face, now that it was relaxed in deep, restful sleep, she looked like a little girl. She had ten years on me, but I felt a maternal instinct towards her. She was emotionally broken, but with a heart the size of Texas and all the love in the world to give to the right man.

And I knew who the right man was, even if he didn't... But tomorrow, he was going to be told. Oh yes! Tomorrow I was going to tear Alan Hardcastle a new arsehole and put that fucking idiot back on the right track.

It made me think about my own life so far. Yes, I'd faced tragedy and I was nowhere near where I'd hoped to be at this point in my life. But all things considered, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Not ideal... But not bad. And it wasn't too late to start making some changes of my own.

Decision made, I drifted back to sleep.

When I woke up again it was about half past nine. Erica was still cuddling into me, but her leg was thrown over mine with her foot between my knees and her hand that had been on my stomach was now cupping my left tit. As she lay there gently snoring with her face pressed into my right boob, I carefully moved her hand off my breast and back down to my waist. She looked so peaceful, I didn't want to move and wake her up, so I just waited for her to wake naturally.

I watched as her eyes drifted open and smiled to myself as they came into focus and she realised where she was. She looked up at me and I murmured, "Good morning," with a smile.

Erica blushed and slowly moved away from me. Then she stretched like a cat. Clearly embarrassed, she replied, "Morning... That was the best night's sleep I've ever had. I hope I didn't crowd you."

"Oh please! I've shared my bed with Barbie dolls that were bigger than you!"

Erica let me shower first. Then, while she was under the spray, I helped myself to her kitchen and prepared bacon and cream cheese bagels and a pot of coffee. When she bit into her bagel, her eyes opened wide and she destroyed it in record time, "I've never heard of bacon and cream cheese before," she looked longingly at my plate, "Do you... Erm... Need any help finishing yours?"

I picked up the butter knife to warn her off, "Back off Bitch! This bagel's got my name on it."

She grinned and then retrieved a carton from the fridge and filled a glass with a dark liquid. I watched her down it in one and then wipe her mouth with the back of her hand.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Prune juice. A warrior's drink!"

I shuddered, "If you say so."

Erica glared at me, "Romulan!"

I raised a hand in a stop motion, "What. Ever!"

She laughed, then drained the last of her coffee and reached out to pat my hand, "Thank you, Manni. For everything."

I smiled back at her, "No problem. After all, what are friends for?"

I got another one of her nuclear smiles before she asked, "Anyway, what's your plan for the day?"

"Well first, I'm gonna head to the University and check out some of their night school courses."

"Cool! Then what?"

I gave Erica an evil grin, "Then I'm gonna visit a mutual friend and read him the riot act."

Her face lost its smile,"You don't need to do that."

My expression hardened and I looked at her with flinty eyes, "Yes I do."

Later that morning I was at the administration office for night school and checked out the curriculum. My dream of being an archaeologist was out the window, but there was nothing stopping me from doing something else to improve my life. After all, I didn't want to be a cafe assistant and a barmaid for the rest of my life. So I signed up for touch typing, and a shorthand course. I also looked over one or two others that could give me qualifications that could begin a career instead of just having a job. Something that could earn me enough to escape from my shitty flat.

Then I hopped on the bus and headed back to Orchard Park to give Alan a piece of my mind.

I waited after tapping on his front door, until it opened and Alan stood there looking forlorn. He was unshaven and was clearly very unhappy, "Hiya Manni, what are you after?"

I bristled, "I'm here to slap some sense into the world's stupidest cunt!"

His eyes widened in surprise, 'cunt' was a word I never used. I hated it, so for me to have called him a cunt, he knew that this time, he was in deep shit.

I followed him to his lounge and watched as he stood looking at himself in the mirror over his fireplace. He looked miles away.

I flopped down into an armchair and said, "So, you don't even offer me a drink any more?"

"Sorry."

Alan disappeared into his kitchen and returned a few minutes later with two steaming mugs of coffee and handed me one. After I'd taken a sip, I looked at him and said, "So?"

"So what?"

"You and Erica. What's going on?"

Alan squirmed uncomfortably, "I'm just a bit upset, I'll get over it."

"Do you love her?"

He refused to meet my gaze, "No. Don't wanna see it again."

My mouth dropped open, "Alan Hardcastle, I'm surprised at you!"

Alan snarled, "Why? Because I was taken in by some ladyboy."

I snapped back, "No! Because you're a fucking liar! And another thing, Erica isn't a ladyboy, she's a hermaphrodite."

"A what?"

I placed my drink on the floor at my feet and replied, "If you'd bothered to let her finish explaining, you'd bloody well know!"

I made a point of stressing 'she' and 'her' on purpose.

Alan didn't say anything, he just sat on the sofa looking miserable so I continued, "Look Al, I saw the way you two were when you were together. I've never seen you look at any of your birds the way you looked at Erica. And she's the only one you ever brought to the Green Ginger Man."

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "Yeah, well..."

"There's no 'yeah well' about it. She's the best thing that's ever happened to you and you'd be a fucking idiot to throw her away."

"She should have told me­"

"SHE FUCKING TRIED!" I took a deep breath and softened my tone, "But you wouldn't let her. You just ran away before she could tell you the whole story."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I spent last night with her and­"

He interrupted with a snarl, "Any good was she?"

I stared at him and the temperature in the room dropped below freezing, "Alan Hardcastle, I'm ashamed of you right now. I know you're a hard man and all that. I know you can be vicious when you need to be... But I have never known you be intentionally cruel, especially to someone you care about. You do care about Erica, and you can't deny it."

He didn't speak, so I continued, "She explained it all to me. It's all about X's and Y's and chromosomes and whatnot. It's not black and white, it's shades of grey. Trust me on this, Erica is a woman. Fuck sake, she's more feminine than I am!"

Alan placed his head in his hands, "It's difficult for me."

"You fucking coward! Do you think she's having a party? Look, she's had it hard. She's spent her life being frightened and lonely, but you know what? Broken as she is, she still has all the love in the world to give to the right person. She gave her heart to you, Alan... And you shat all over it."

He almost shouted, "I just don't know what to do!"

"I'll tell you what to do. Go and see her. Now. Talk to her and more importantly let her talk to you."

"I don't know..."

Time for the big guns, I thought to myself, then I said, "Alan, if you don't at least listen to what she has to say then you're not the man I thought you were," he looked at me in shock as I continued, "And if you don't, then it's the end. Our friendship will be over. I mean it!"

He was angry, "So you're gonna blackmail me into going out with her?"

"That's not what I said. Don't you dare put words in my mouth! Look, if you go and see her, listen to what she tells you and still can't get past it then fine. Well not fine, but you know what mean. But you must at least talk to her. That's all I ask."

I could see he was weakening so I pressed my attack, "And you never know. You might get past it... You might have something fucking special."

"I'll think about it."

I stood up, "Don't think too long. This is a limited time offer. I'll see you later, Alan... Maybe."

A short time later I was stood on my balcony looking out over the carpark. I saw Alan walk towards his car and climb in. As he pulled away and drove towards the exit, I was silently willing him to turn left, not right. Right led towards the city centre, left towards the Parade.

I punched the air, "YES!"

Alan had turned left.

I didn't see either of them for the next few days, but whilst I was at work later in the week, I was busy putting the sausage rolls in the hot rack when a man walked into the cafe. He placed a huge bouquet of roses arranged in a basket on the counter. I looked at the card, it said simply, 'Manni, Thanks for pulling my head out of my arse, Your bestie Alan.'

"How lovely," I thought.

Well, my first thought was, "How the fuck will I get this home on the bus?"

My second thought was, "How lovely."

A short time later, Erica popped in carrying a box wrapped with a red ribbon. She dropped it on the counter and said, "Just a little thank you from me."

I smiled, "So things are good then?"

"Oh yeah!"

I was about to open the gift when Erica stopped me and grinned, "I think you'd better wait until you get home."

We chatted for a short while longer and she was effusive in her thanks, to the point where she was embarrassing me.

After she left, I started making preparations to go home and discovered that I was right, the bus ride was a nightmare, I even had to buy a ticket for the flowers because they took up a seat.

Once I was firmly ensconced in my flat, I placed the bouquet on the floor by the fire place and then sat down on the sofa to open Erica's present. I lifted the lid and saw a note resting on top of the layer of dark blue tissue paper covering my gift. The note said, "Manni, I told you that you don't need to wear scaffolding, All my love Erica'.

Puzzled, I slid the tissue paper back and removed a delicate looking yellow bra and panty set. A small label on the bra said 'Rigby & Pellor'... Whoever the fuck they were.

I must admit, the undies looked beautiful. Much nicer than anything I owned. I rushed through to the bedroom and stripped off, then I put my new things on and had a look at myself in the mirror.

To say I was amazed was an understatement. The bra that had seemed too flimsy to be able to hold my boobs in place, or offer any support at all, looked lovely and it held everything in place. It really did. My breasts were high and pushed together forming a vast expanse of cleavage and I could see my plum coloured nipples through the delicate lace of the cups. Then I examined the panties. They were cut high on the side and the narrow gusset barely covered my pussy. The view of my thick thatch of pubic hair was the only downside and I determined there and then that I had to start shaving.

So, I took my undies off and ran a bath. Then, after a nice long soak with some of my fragrant oils, I set to work with my razor. I was very careful and took my time. Initially I thought I'd leave a landing strip or a Laurel Canyon Sweep, but then I just thought fuck it! And shaved the lot off.

After I was finished, I rubbed my pussy area with my fingers and couldn't believe just how soft and smooth it was. I sighed, this was going to cost me a fortune in disposable razors.

I must admit, when I went to bed that night, I couldn't keep my hands off my pussy and had many wanks before I eventually nodded off to sleep.

Anyway, life went on.

I continued with my night classes and once the touch typing course was finished, I made a point of setting time aside at the library so that I could keep my hand in. I'd normally type out a few pages from whatever I was currently reading. Got my speed up to 35 words a minute if you're interested. Not top of the range, I know, but better than a kick in the tits.

I did the same with my short hand, normally listening to a talking book and transcribing it in real time. Then I would type out what I'd written to make sure I was doing it properly.

Of course, once those courses were done, I needed something else, so I booked myself on to the Microsoft Office courses and a basic bookkeeping course.

What with all that, work and my regular evenings with Alan and Erica, life was pretty full. Once or twice, Steve had reappeared and I had been forced to forego a fuck. He wasn't happy. His words, "You don't ditch me. I say when it's over!"

I didn't take him seriously, I knew that if he was up for it and was unattached and I was able to accommodate then he'd be filling me up before you could say 'fuck me sideways'.

Anyway, like I said. Life went on.

And one day, out of the blue... My world changed again. I didn't know it at the time, but it did.

I had just turned up at the cafe for the afternoon shift, planted myself behind the counter and glanced around the place. It was a Wednesday, which was a quiet day normally, so I was there on my own. There was an old couple sat in the far corner sharing a pot of tea. They had plates that needed removing, but I'd wait until they were done. The side table under the chalk board had four workmen having a mid afternoon sandwich and the table by the window had a single occupant.

From where was I could see he was well if casually dressed. About thirtyish I suppose. Slim and quite tall, just shy of six foot if I was any judge. He had dirty blond hair that was worn short and neat and I could see that his face was attractive rather than handsome. The table was covered in papers and one or two text books. He was busily writing in a spiral­bound note book. Every so often, he would knock a book off the table and hastily grab it and search for his place again. At his feet, he had a battered briefcase that had clearly seen better days. There was a dirty plate and a mug on the table as well, so I decided to get rid of them and give him a bit more space to work.

I wandered over and said, "I'll get rid of your empties, shall I?

He looked up at me...

Those eyes. Those fucking eyes!

I couldn't believe just how gorgeous they were. The irises were an icy, almost translucent blue, the colour of arctic ice when the sun hits it just right. The pupils were pure black and each iris was rimmed with a tiny black line that delineated the edge of the iris against the whites, which looked like they had been painted on with brilliant white gloss paint. They were set off by narrow golden eyebrows arched perfectly over gorgeous orb.

A long moment passed and then he said, "Excuse me? I didn't catch that."

I felt like I was pinned in place by his intense stare. And that's what it was, he didn't seem to blink enough and I found myself unconsciously blinking for him. I know his eyes sound cold the way I described them, but... It's strange... They didn't feel cold. Not to me. There was a warmth there, they twinkled, they sparkled. And they had an intensity that was beyond belief. It felt like he was reaching deep inside me, right to the back of my mind, scooping out my thoughts and examining them in detail.

I stammered, "S... Sorry. I... I said, shall I get, get, get rid of your... Erm... Empties?"

He glanced down at the plate and the mug and then returned his gaze to me. He gave me a little half smile that slightly raised one corner of his lips, "Please. That would be a help."

I collected the dirty crockery and turned to leave, when he said, "Actually..."

"Yes?"

"Do you think I could have another coffee?"

"Of course."

I couldn't place his accent. It sounded quite cultured, but not plummy, if you know what I mean. All I did know was, he certainly wasn't from Hull or even Yorkshire.

I supplied him with a fresh mug and then made myself useful around the place. Making sure the cakes were straight in the display case, counting the sausage rolls, clearing empties where required and dropping the dirty pots into the sink out the back and wiping tables.

Every so often, I felt an itch between my shoulder blades. He was watching me, I just knew it!

Even when I wasn't facing him, I could feel those fucking eyes staring at me. When I looked back at him, he would simply display that almost embarrassed smile of his, pin me into place with that diamond drill stare, then he would direct his attention back to his work.

Every so often I would throw a glance his way as he wrote in his notebook. He would stop and look into space for a moment and then turn his weapon grade peepers back at me, throw me the smile and then return to his notes.

I nipped back into the kitchen and quickly washed the plates, leaving them to dry on the draining board and found myself having to control my breathing and trying to keep my hands from shaking, as I thought about the enigmatic man by the window.

What the fucking fuck was he doing to me?

I picked up a cloth and made my back out to the tables. I started wiping the table next to his, more for something to do rather than any need for hygiene. I stared doggedly at my hand as it made circular motions all over the plastic surface when I heard a voice say, "Do you have OCD?"

I glanced up at him and was once again frozen in place, bent over the table facing him. I knew that my blouse had fallen and my tits would be completely open to his gaze, but still I couldn't move.

"Sorry?" I asked.

The corner of his lip raised again, "I asked if you had OCD. It was a joke, but it's just that you've wiped that table four times now in the last," he glanced at the clock on the wall, "half an hour and nobody has sat there."

If I was able to blush I'd have been redder than a stop light. I stammered, "I... I just... I just like to keep busy."

"Ah. I see."

He continued to stare at me. I felt a spasm in my triceps and a shiver ran down my spine. He glanced again at the clock, "Look at the time. I need to get back to my office."

He gathered everything up and stuffed it into his briefcase, then stood up and headed for the door. He paused and said, "Pleasure meeting you."