Ms Jones

"Thank you, Mark," she whispered. She was a rather short and petite blonde with gorgeous brown eyes, an old friend of my mother she'd met in high school.

"I'm always available for hugs, Dani," I whispered back.

Kissing my cheek, I escorted her inside where she could greet everyone, making sure she had a glass of wine in her hand. Last to arrive was Lauren. Opening the door, our eyes met and her face lit up with a gorgeous smile.

"Evening, handsome."

I took three seconds to drink in what she was wearing. A gorgeous red dress, nothing over her shoulders. Didn't know her breast size, but there was cleavage galore, the necklace pendant positioned so you'd look right into the spectacular valley. The dress clung to her curves, stopping mid-thigh. Her legs were bare but glistened from what I assumed was moisturiser, with red heels on her feet. I knew she only stood around five-six, and as I was around six-one, her heels were probably three inches.

Her brunette hair was styled. Last time I'd seen her, it had been down to her shoulders. Her blue eyes sparkled, though I was surprised she was still wearing her glasses. Thin black framed which, frankly, made her face even prettier. She was smiling as I looked her over, slight dimples at her cheeks. Enough colour to suggest she'd applied some light make-up.

I'd always thought she was gorgeous. Like a fine wine, she'd got better with age.

"Evening, Lauren. Please come in."

She hugged me like she always did, kissing me on the cheek. I'm sure she left lipstick, which I didn't really mind. Escorting her through the kitchen, pouring her a glass of wine, I handed it to her and led her out to the backyard. Mum walked over and hugged her tightly, and as she was the last guest to arrive, the party was due to kick off.

Music played softly in the background as I made the rounds. All her friends had treated me differently since I'd turned eighteen, and now that I'd finished my studies and was looking at start full-time work, I received plenty of questions about where I'd be working, what I planned to do once I started working, ambitions I had regarding my personal life. I tread carefully regarding one or two topics in return, but conversation was flowing easily, as was the booze.

Lauren had kept an eye on me as I conversed with everyone. After a couple of hours, she eventually found her way to stand beside me. "Weird being back home?" she asked.

"Honestly? It is. I would have liked to find my own place, but renting is far too expensive, and I need to be working to get a mortgage. I have some savings but not enough to tide me over until I have a couple of paycheques." Sipping at my drink, I met her eyes. "How are things with you?"

"Busy as always."

"Dating much?" She snorted at the question, thankfully in humour. "I'd ask why not, but I'm sure you have your reasons."

"What about you, Mark?" she teased, "Got a young girlfriend stashed away somewhere?"

"Nah, I'll worry about settling down once I have a job and my own place. Bringing a girl home while still living with your mother would kill the mood. Not sure she'd appreciate certain noises."

"Or she'd lie back in bed thinking 'That's my boy!'" I gave her a look and burst into laughter as she smirked, sipping at her wine. "Did you enjoy university, at least?"

"Had a blast, but I'm glad to have finished. I'm looking forward to working and applying everything I've learned over the past three years. I know I'm also fortunate to have got the position I've got. Global company, great reputation, and as a near enough twenty-two-year-old, I'll be making a great salary."

"Sounding far more responsible than the young man I saw this time last year, Mark."

"I might have been partying away occasionally, but I studied my arse off. Saw than one fellow student required to leave because they basically focused too much on socialising and not enough time studying." Sipping at my beer, I looked at her again. "Anyway, enough about me, Lauren. How are you?"

She smiled at me, which immediately had me smiling at her. "Well, I'm putting in far too many hours like usual. I think the only rooms I see in my apartment are the bedroom and bathroom, maybe the kitchen when I actually have time to cook anything. Then again, I have nothing better to do anyway."

"So back to my original question then. No dating? And if no, then why because... I'll be honest, Lauren, I'm sure there are plenty of men who'd be interested in you."

"But would I be interested in them, Mark? I won't date anyone I work with. They're colleagues, but I'm sure your mother has always told you that most of them are sleazebags, hoping to get under my dress. And most of them are married as well." She sighed in disgust. "I sometimes hate where I work because I'm judged on how attractive I am and if I'm willing to give my body away to climb up the ladder."

Her tone carried quite a bit of vitriol which surprised me and left me thinking she wasn't entirely happy. Wrapping my arm around her waist, it definitely surprised her but when I pulled her a little closer, she smiled at me again. "I'm sorry, Lauren. I didn't realise," I said softly.

"Your mother has mentioned the Christmas party?"

"She has. Would you like me to accompany you?"

Kissing my cheek, I got another whiff of her perfume. It was delightful. "I'd love you to join me, Mark. Strapping young man on my arm will hopefully keep them off my arse for the night." Leaning in closer to my ear, she made sure she breathed against my ear, "And I know I'd be fulfilling a certain fantasy or two."

"Guess I wasn't as subtle as I thought," I chuckled.

"No, but I was flattered, Mark. A woman in her mid to late thirties being the fantasy of a young man such as yourself made me feel rather good about myself."

I could see Mum watching me with Lauren, smiling and approving. The rest of her friends noticed our body language as well. John gave me that nod a man gives when he's liking what he sees. There were plenty of whispers between the other guests. Lauren ignored it all as her attention was only on me. Heading inside to top up our drinks, she took my hand in hers and squeezed. Standing by the counter, she wasn't subtle when pushing out her chest, leaning back against the counter as I stood in front of her.

"Want to hit a club tonight?" she asked.

I'll admit, I almost spat my drink out. "You're serious?"

"Well, if it looks like you're only my date for the night at the Christmas party, the pussyhounds won't back off. We'll have to look convincing. I don't talk about my private life at work, but most of them know I've been single since Graham and I divorced. We know each other a bit, Mark, but trust me on this, you'll be interrogated to hell by them. Physically, you'll intimidate most of them, so they'll try and cut you down via other means."

"So, you work with arseholes?"

"Comes with the job, Mark. I'm a lawyer. I'm fairly sure I still have a soul, though I'm sure you won't like me much if you saw me at work sometimes."

"I'm sure I'd like you all the time, Lauren." She smiled again before sipping at her wine. "When do you want to go?"

Her phone was out immediately to book a taxi. Taking my hand, she led me outside and announced we'd be heading out. There were a few comments, while Mum simply told me to look after Lauren for the evening. The taxi arrived within a few minutes. Though it was warm, I still grabbed a jacket, not for myself but for Lauren if it was cooler once we left the club.

Lauren had chosen where we were going, pulling up outside a popular venue which was a joint pub and club. Taking her hand, I led her inside and towards the bar, ordering us a round of drinks. The dancefloor was downstairs, but we enjoyed a couple of drinks over the course of an hour, finding a small table where we could rest our drinks, noticing she spent most of the time with her body pressed into mine.

"Awkward, Mark?" she asked while sipping at her wine.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because I'm an older woman, one of your mother's best friends, and I know I was one of your main crushes growing up."

"I'm not a little kid anymore, Lauren."

She kissed my cheek. "You're definitely not, Mark. I'm going to enjoy the next few weeks."

"You have plans for me?"

"As I said, we have to be convincing as a couple, so we'll be dating between now and then."

"I like the sound of that, though it wasn't mentioned by a certain someone."

She met my eyes and asked, "You do? Like the sound of that, I mean?"

I leaned in and kissed her. It was a relatively chaste kiss, but her lips were moist, and I could taste the wine. She kissed me back for a few seconds before I pulled back slightly, caressing her cheek with the back of my fingers. "Lauren, I'd have done this without being asked by anyone except you."

"Let's go downstairs to dance."

I barely had to dance. Lauren draped herself on my body while I just simply had to move to the beat. She had me rock hard within a couple of minutes, and the look on her face and in her eyes told me she felt it. Rubbing her arse against me, I didn't hesitate in running my hands up her body. She had curves but there was also a firmness that suggested she still found time to visit a gym. Resting her head against my shoulder, she turned it so I could lean down and kiss her again.

"Not too fast?" I whispered into her ear.

"We're just dancing and having fun, Mark. I'll be going to bed alone tonight."

"Shot down!" I joked.

She turned around in my arms, hooking her arms around the back of my neck. "There's eighteen years between us, Mark. The next few weeks will be fun and I won't lie, the idea of having a handsome young man to date will be a lot of fun, and I hope you see the positives in dating me in return. But anything after that? I think you need to be realistic."

I glanced away as I didn't want to read my eyes. "Okay," I stated, keeping my tone even.

"Mark?" I met her eyes, feeling her soft fingers caress my cheek. "You're going to find a beautiful young woman who you can build a future with. Buy a house. Start a family. That sort of thing. Think of these next few weeks as another building block to your future. Treat it for the good time I hope it will be for us." She kissed me softly, pressing her body into mine, no doubt feeling my erection again. "Can I ask a very blunt question?"

"The answer is yes, Lauren. Of course, it's yes. I'd love nothing more, but I also don't want either of us to be left confused if we were to do that."

"A mature attitude to such a thing. Could you separate sex and feelings when it comes to me?"

"When it comes to you, Lauren, I think it could prove rather difficult."

"Okay, so now we know where we stand, and how we feel..."

"How do you feel, Lauren? Cards on the table."

Kissing me again, it was no chaste kiss this time, and when I slid my tongue into her mouth, tasting the wine and spirit she'd been drinking, running my hands down to feel her arse, she whimpered for a moment. When we broke apart, she needed to take a deep breath. "I've seen you develop into a handsome, responsible and mature young man, Mark. Your mother talks about you all the time at work. Plenty of young women in our office are dying to meet you."

"Guess you'll be keeping me close at this Christmas party then?"

"Definitely."

We stayed for another hour or so, enjoying a couple of drinks, and in addition to more dancing, we enjoyed a couple more kisses. No matter what either of us said, the attraction was real. I knew how long I'd crushed on her for, I wonder when she might have started to look at me differently. I usually saw her every three months or so when Mum hosted a girl's night at our place, but it had been quite a while since I'd last seen her.

Agreeing to leave, we needed to organise another taxi. It took her home first, doing the gentlemanly thing of escorting her to the security door of her apartment block. She lived in a different area of the city to where I did, which didn't bother me. Standing by the door, this is when I felt awkward. Despite what we'd been doing in the club, she was still my mother's friend and colleague first.

I went with a safe hug to start with before she started to giggle. "You can kiss me, Mark. I'd like you to kiss me again."

Kissing her was definitely the better option. And if I doubted if she felt anything for me before, when we broke apart, many of my doubts had departed. She felt something for me, it was just a case of how strong those feelings might possibly be. Wishing her goodnight, I waited until the security door was shut before I walked back to the taxi.

No-one was awake by the time I made it home, slipping into a quiet, dark house. Making it to my room undisturbed, I'd opened the door when I heard a giggle, turning to see Rebecca poking her head out of her bedroom. She snuck over to me, pushing me into my room before following me.

"What is it?" I whispered.

"How did it go?"

Turning on the lamp next to my bed, she was wearing a crop top and shorts. My little sister was crossing that boundary between cute and sexy. "Rather well. She suggested more dating between now and the party, so we pull off a convincing act. Hope she's not expecting me to do this every year."

"Kiss her?"

"Why are you so interested?"

"Mark, your crush on Lauren Jones wasn't a secret to anyone. Mum knew. Stacy knew. Her friends knew. Lauren knew. Even I knew. Yes, you were doing your best to be subtle, but you were like a puppy dog around her when you were younger. You've been better the past few years, at least."

"Well, we had a lovely night together, Becky."

She hugged me for a second. "I'm glad, Mark. You need a good woman in your life." Kissing my cheek, she wished me goodnight and disappeared back to her bedroom. Shaking my head, I realised I needed a pee and brush my teeth. Heading back to my bedroom, I checked all was silent before finally getting into bed and drifting off to sleep.

Mum was all smiles the next morning when I wandered into the kitchen. She'd kept some bacon for me so I could at least have a couple of sandwiches, washing those down with a coffee. She joined me at the table and couldn't contain herself for too long.

"So how was last night?"

I made sure I finished my sandwich, nice and slow, Mum almost squirming on her chair in anticipation. I think she was more excited than anyone else. "She's suggested we go out on a few dates between now and the party so we're more convincing. Is it really that bad?"

"It can be. She's an attractive single woman and we work with some right bastards. Ring on their finger, doesn't matter. Some of the younger girls fall victim to them as they feel they can't say no. Lauren is just frustrated that she can't really win either way. At least when Graham was with her, she'd have someone there. Because she's single, well, you know what some men can be, particularly those with a little power and influence."

"Shit, I said to Becky that I hope I'm not asked to do this every year!"

"Well, let's hope not anyway." Mum sipped at her drink before she asked, "Kiss her?"

"Mum," I replied in that tone of warning I'd learned from her.

"I just want to make sure you treated her to a good time."

"We had a couple of drinks, enjoyed a dance, and then I escorted her home, making sure she was safely indoors."

I did have her number and we exchanged a few messages throughout the day. She thanked me for a lovely night and particularly for making sure she got home safe and sound, suggesting a few of her dates had pretty much thrown her in a cab and waved her off home. One or two others had escorted her home, thinking she was going to invite them upstairs, leaving her rather frightened when they got a little pushy when she told them straight that she wasn't interested.

As she worked long hours, I didn't expect to hear much during the week, so a phone call in the afternoon on Wednesday was a pleasant surprise. "How would you like to join me for dinner tonight?"

"Sure, where?"

"I'm going to order in some food to the office. I'm going to be stuck here until late. I'd love some company. I know it might be boring but..."

"Just send me the address and I'll find my way in, Lauren. I'd love to keep you company."

"Thank you, Mark. If you get here for around 6pm, we should be mostly alone in my area anyway."

I messaged my mother and sister, letting them know I wouldn't be home for dinner. Of course, Mum already knew why. Getting changed, I wanted to be comfortable, but still wanted to be presentable, so went with a nice shirt and a good pair of jeans. As I didn't have a car, another thing I needed to buy when I finally started working, I had to rely on public transport. Bus to the train station. Train into the CBD. Then walking to the address that she sent me.

By the time I arrived, I'd seen the crowds heading in the opposite direction, and entering her building, I had to sign in, the security guard making the call. Heading up in the elevator, I watched the floor number quickly turn into double digits. The reception area was empty, most of the lights already dimmed. She'd given me instructions, finding her name on the door. Knocking lightly, I poked my head through the gap, her face lighting up when she noticed it was me.

"Mark!" she exclaimed, getting to her feet, walking around her desk and hugging me tightly. "Thank you for coming," she said softly, kissing my cheek, "I hate working here alone all the time. I was hoping..."

"As I said, I'd love to keep you company, Lauren."

Smiling as always, she took my hand and led me towards the window, which provided a fantastic view of the city with the harbour and bridge in the distance. Wrapping my arm around her waist, she leaned into me again, her hand resting on my chest. "I'll be a few more hours. Even at this time of year, the work never ends," she muttered, "Ordered the food around ten minutes ago. Hopefully it'll be here soon."

Returning to her chair, she sat down and was immediately back at work. Despite being busy, I think just my presence stopped her from feeling lonely, as she glanced in my direction every few minutes, that gorgeous smile appearing every time. When her phone beeped, I headed back to the reception area to grab our food.

There was a kitchen area where I could collect some plates and cutlery, Lauren suggesting she was starving as I placed the bag on her desk, taking out the plastic tubs and the bottles of drinks she'd ordered in. Sitting opposite her, we dug in, both of us eventually chucking at the fact the conversation completely died.

Appetites sated, she stood up and walked back to the window. Taking my chance, I stood behind her, running my hands up her arms towards her shoulders, before running them down over her body and gently pulling her back against me. "You're already making this very difficult for me," she whispered.

"You know how I feel, Lauren. I do wonder how you feel about me though."

I noticed her smiling in the reflection. "Saturday was the best date I'd had in years. Most men I go out with spend most of the time talking about themselves. You never stopped showing an interest in me, even though you've known me for years." She turned around to meet my eyes. "Then again, I guess though we've known each other, we don't really know each other that well."

"I aim to change that, Lauren."

She kissed my cheek, thanked me again for joining her, before she sat down and resumed working. I was happy just to keep her company, chatting occasionally when she wasn't busy concentrating. I'd brought a book along to read. It was around 10pm that she sighed and leaned back in her chair. I was up immediately behind her, making her sigh with pleasure as I started to massage her.