Stand and Deliver Ch. 01

Sorry if this story like "Cinders" and "My Ideas of Heaven seem very long but, I never have any idea of what is going to happen after the first paragraph. I also have to admit I find it harder to switch from writing novels and trying to condense it into a short story.

Chapter 1

I was in a bit of a dilemma I had to concede to myself as I lay there in bed waiting for sleep. I had been seeing Jason Young for two months now and he told me tonight he wants us to go to bed. I'm not sure if I am in that much of a hurry to lose my virginity. I am not sure either if I want to continue with the relationship. I did like Jason but I had this feeling something was missing from my life. For the life of me I had no idea what it was. The strange thing was it was not a new feeling as I had felt it with my previous boyfriend who I finished with over seven months ago. I did wonder if it was because I was still young as almost 19 to be thinking of settling down with a guy when I could probably be doing lots of other things. What they could be I had no idea either. Mum was married at 18 my age now but I'm not sure I want to be although I am so like her in many ways.

I finally decided what to do and phoned Jason on Friday when he got in from work and told him I wanted to finish with him. We were meant to be going out that night so I thought it better I let him know before then. He got a bit stroppy and even came round that evening. Jason was getting a bit argumentative while we stood on the doorstep. Dad wasn't home but Michael was my 24 year-old brother and he came out to see what was going on. I told Michael I didn't want to see Jason any more. Jason went to tell him it was none of his business which was a big mistake. Jason was 20 but he was puny compared to my brother who was over 6 feet and a rugby player. My brother told him I was his business as I was his little sister. He then told Jason to get over it or he would be only to happy to bounce him down the street. Michael took a step forward and suddenly Jason was no longer there.

I gave my brother a kiss on the cheek after putting my arms around his neck. It was a bit of a stretch as I was only 5 feet 4. Michael did ask if I was alright now so I nodded and told him I was and thanked him.

Michael and I had always been close ever since I was born. Not, that David my 21 year-old brother and I weren't close but he was married now.

They had both protected me throughout school so boys were wary of asking me out or upsetting me. I think I was more impressed when a boy did want to date but they were few and far between. I did have lots of female friends especially when I started at the grammar school. Michael was still there as he was sitting his A levels. Because I walked to school with my two brothers even some of the older girls would talk to me at the school gates on any pretence hoping to be introduced to my brothers. The girls in my class weren't immune either and were just as bad and would go all swoony over them. I did find that a bit strange in my first year as to me they were just my brothers.

Of course I knew why as I grew older as they were handsome. They had black hair that tended to curl when it a bit long and they had blue eyes. They took after dad as they look just like him. Mum told me her friends were jealous when they found out who mum was dating.

I am just like her with blond hair and with eyes the same shade of blue. The men do make us feel small but like mum thinks it is a nice feeling to be well loved and protected. The worst part is going shopping as a family although mum and I just stand to one side and smirk as women shop workers flock around wanting to serve them. Young or old it makes no difference.

Mum wanted to know what was going on when Michael and I joined her in the front-room. So we had to tell her before I joined Michael on the sofa and snuggled up to him. I was feeling a bit sad for him as he and Ellen had not that long broken up. She was offered a better job up north so took it. I thought she was a fool that it seemed her career was more important.

It was a good thing dad was not home as he was a bit less diplomatic than my brothers. He was away for the weekend and possible a few days more. He was a computer engineer and if the work was more involved then it could take longer. My brothers were computer engineers but worked for small firms that repaired peripherals as well. Dad specialised in the computers his company built from super down to mini sized and helped build them. He did travel around the world but preferred not to be away from mum for long. His co-workers don't mind if they can do the repairs and get the chance to go instead.

Saturday morning after breakfast Michael was opening his mail. Mum asked what it was as Michael read a card. He said it was an invitation to a fancy dress ball in aid of a sports charity and was for him plus one other. Mum asked who he was taking and he didn't think he would be going now. I knew he was feeling a bit sad and I could see mum thought so too. Mum suggested he take me as it would do us both good to get out. Michael thought that was a good idea. I didn't really fancy it. Mum thought I owed Michael for Jason seeing I was reluctant. "I have nothing to wear," I told them looking for an out. Mum was sure we could sex-up my school uniform to look like a girl from St. Trinians if we found nothing suitable. I thought possibly others would dress up similar but I did owe Michael so reluctantly I agreed.

Michael wasn't telling anyone what he was going as yet. I looked on-line but could find nothing I fancied wearing. So it was back to the sexy uniform. Mum and I went out and bought a garter belt in black like the half-cup bra and thong which meant I would need to make sure I had a shave before the night.

Once I had the garter belt, bra, thong and stockings on I paraded for mum in my bedroom. She went through the skirts and chose what she thought would look really good so I tried it on. Mum turned up the hem until she thought just right and stuck a pin in it. It only just covered my thong I saw. I would sew the skirt up later. Mum was a brilliant cook and better than me but she was terrible at sewing. As soon as she knew I was good at sewing my own things she had me repairing anything that needed doing.

Mum also chose my white blouse with short sleeves. It was a little tight so I could not do up the top buttons so showed quite a bit of cleavage especially more when mum undid another one and thought that looked really sexy. Mum thought pigtails and she would do my make-up. I did tease mum did she not want me to get out of the place in one piece when I stood in front of the mirror. She laughed and teased back I could always use the hockey stick I was taking to beat them back with. I told her I may well have to use it dressed like this.

I told her it was a pity she could not come with me dressed the same. Mum said she was too old for things like that. I told her she was still young at 32. Mum gave me a kiss for that as I thought she still looked more that age than the 43 she was.

Both mum and I did wonder why Michael was growing a Van Dyke as he was always clean shaven before. We had to admit it did suit him although neither mum nor I liked facial hair. Both dad and David always shaved which was good as I hated kissing more than a day's stubble.

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We found out why my brother grew his Van Dyke. With a long dark curly wig he was going as a cavalier. Even dad thought he looked the part. I even got wolf-whistled by the men when I joined them in the front room before we left. Mum had heavily made up my eyes and I wore a bright red lipstick to emphasise my lips. I would have toned it down lots as mum even used a black eyebrow pencil she bought to show up the small mole on the side of temple more.

On the drive over to the manor house now converted for use by the business world I moved my gold ring from my right hand to my ring finger. I hoped it put men off as I just wanted a relaxing evening. That would probably be hard with the way I was dressed I was sure.

I asked Michael if they knew who he was taking. He told me they didn't although a few of his rugby mates will probably remember me. I asked him if I could use him and tell men we were an item if I have problems. He told me to and any problems to let him know. I told him I would and I had my phone too in case he needed to contact me if we got split up. He told me the same if I need to contact him.

I walked in on Michaels arm. I did see lots of women look. When my brother looked at me and raised his eyebrow I smirked as he had seen them look too. In ways I hoped if he was getting over Ellen he would find someone nice soon. There were a couple of his mates who I knew who were with their girlfriends. They called us over so we went and joined them at their table. I liked Cheryl and Angie so we all got on well.

For drinks I stuck to rum and plenty of coke so they lasted a bit longer. My brother and I did spend a bit of money on the raffle and that but as it was a Sports Charity do we thought it well worth it even if we would probably not stay to the end for the draw.

Michael and I danced as often as we could. A bit later it got a bit hot for me so with my drink I went outside. I lit up a fag while I squatted down with my back to the wall. I only smoked when I went out drinking and usually two at the most.

I did keep to the shadows of the corner so the light that spilled out from the windows did not hit me as I wanted to be on my own. I would often watch people as they walked by and some did turn to look seeing the glowing cigarette. After putting it out I took a swig from my glass.

After draining it I placed it on the ground. I was still looking down when a pair of boots similar to my brothers in style appeared in front of me. For a moment I thought it was my brother until I looked up. There was enough light to see it was someone dressed as a highwayman. They had a pistol in their left hand. "Stand and deliver," said a husky female voice trying to sound like a man.

So I slowly stood. She was much taller than I expected looking up and seeing she must be nearly 6 feet. I thought I would lighten the mood as I was a bit of a joker. When you have a dad and brothers who were jokers you soon learned to be able to joke back.

"What would you like delivered, a letter, a parcel, a baby?" I asked when I could think of nothing else.

"HA-HA," she said but I saw her smirk. Then she said "show us your valuables." Before I could think about what I was wearing she moved her right hand to my left hand and lifted it to the light. "Married?" she asked. I told her "no," "a boyfriend?" So I told her "no," again. Then she told me it was a nice ring. I told her it had belonged to my nan and was made up of Celtic knots. I could see her have a good look at it when she moved my hand to the light before she released it. In ways this did seem a bit surreal to me but I had to admit a nice diversion.

As she moved a bit closer I smelt her perfume. I told her she smelt very nice and asked what it was. She told me Kiku that her nan had found unopened in one of her cupboards. I asked where I could get some from. She told me her nan bought it in the 70s and was no longer available. I told her that was a pity and she agreed.

When she put her finger under my chin I lifted my head up. As I looked at her I wondered what she looked like under that mask. I realized too her long curly dark hair was a wig as it had that shine like my brothers had in the light. From what I could see she was very pretty although it was too dark to see her eyes. Her red lipstick emphasised her full lower lip. A sign of passion dad said it was which did make me feel better about my own lower lip which was so like mums.

The woman told me she would take something. I was just about to ask what, when her mouth swooped down on mine. When her lips softened their assault my brain refused to work apart from tell me it felt so very nice. When her tongue demanded entry my mouth opened before I even seemed to think about it. I could feel her right hand on my waist but nothing else apart from the kiss. Suddenly there was a lot of noise as people spilled out onto the garden and before I could gather my thoughts she was gone.

I needed another smoke while I stood there trying to think why she had kissed me. Not that I could say it was bad and if I was honest with myself it was the best kiss I had ever had. I even felt damp between the legs and something I never felt with boys. That did not seem to make sense but then nothing had I had to admit to myself.

When I felt ready I moved to follow where she had gone. I was sure I could smell her perfume as I moved to the nearest door. I did go past but, there was no trace of the scent so I backtracked. Entering the room I even stood on tiptoe but with too many people, there was no sign of her. I had to wonder why I would want to find her anyway. The only reason I could come up with was to ask why she had kissed me although it did sound a bit lame to my own ears I thought.

I did look around as I went to find Michael. There was still no sign of her and I wondered if she had left as I saw some leaving. Michael asked if I was alright when I found him. I told him I was. He asked then if I fancied calling it a night as it was getting late so I agreed.

Mum and dad were still up watching a movie when we rolled in. We told them we had a great evening although Michael told them it got a bit hot so I needed to go out for some fresh air. When they looked at me I blushed. Mum teased it seemed like I had got kissed. Sadly for me she could read me like a book so I had to admit I had. As she wanted to know I had to admit it was a bit dark and they were wearing a mask. There were raised eyebrows at that. It took a bit more to convince them there was nothing more. Mum did push so I had to admit whoever they were they were a good kisser so I did not have to beat them off with my hockey stick. Michael asked what happened to it so I had to confess I forgot to take it in with me and left it on the back seat of the car.

In bed that night and as soon as I closed my eyes I kept reliving that kiss. It was only when I really thought about it I wondered how she knew I was there. And, stranger still was how she managed to see the ring in the dark. The only thing that I could think of was that she must have seen me go outside. I wondered how long I could have been there before she stood in front of me but I wasn't sure. I tried racking my brain but could not remember seeing anyone dressed like that during the evening.

Mrs. Julia Stevens was all smiles when I arrived for work Monday morning. For one moment I did wonder if she could have been the mysterious highwayman. She was certainly tall enough at nearly 6 feet. She was also what I thought men would call sex on legs.

She wore mid-thigh tight skirts that matched her pin-striped jackets. Sometimes she wore a white blouse under her jacket if she was meeting people. Other times she wore a camisole. I wasn't sure she was that big on top but with her ash blonde hair mussed and her lovely tan she turned all the men's heads. With her long shapely legs you could follow the men's eyes as they moved up her body.

Although she told me the hairstyle was more 80s-90s it really suited her. I did wonder if she woke up like it or had to brush it to get that effect. And, even though she was married I wondered what she would look like to wake up to. Not that I fancied her but she did intrigue me and I liked the soft American accent she still had even though she had lived here years. She was 38 and like mum I still find it hard to believe she is that old.

I liked her very much as she was always praising me even though I had only been there 9 months. I worked in the accounts department and being trained to be a qualified accountant with day-release at college one day a week. To help out I sometimes ran the cash office up on the first floor of the other office block.

Friday was a strange day that week after the charity do. I was working in the cash office until 3. I was feeling a bit lazy too so instead of taking the stairs down one floor I opted for the lift. As soon as I stepped inside I smelt Kiku. I did wonder if it was in the mind so took a couple of deep sniffs. It was definitely the same perfume because no other smelt like that as well as I thought it smelled rather sexy.

I was glad no one saw me as I went up each floor and stepping out of the lift each time to take a sniff. There was no trace of it anywhere. When I got down to the bottom I got a faint trace and followed it to the outside door at the end of the corridor by the toilets. I stepped outside and looked around but could see no sign of anyone. As I was outside I decided to walk round to my building. I was a bit disappointed for some reason there was no more trace of it when I made my way to my office.

The next day as I was at a loose end my brother suggested going with him. He had rugby practice at the local sports field next to the park that afternoon so I thought why not. Mum and dad were out for the day visiting friends so the house was quiet.

I did have to wrap up warm as the day had turned cold for the start of April. It had been so mild the last month I was hoping to hang up my winter stuff for good.

There were a quite a few others watching and mostly girls. I even saw some girls often stop as they crossed the park to watch my brother and that. I guess I had to admit they all looked like hunks as most girls I knew called my brother one.

I was at the edge of the group and as I wasn't really into sports I looked around to see what other things were going on. There were a group of girls now on the pitch next to us and looked like they were practicing rugby too. That was a bit of an eye-opener as they all seemed very pretty. They seemed to range in height from a bit taller than me to at least 6 feet I thought. They had good physiques too I had to concede.

I had to give myself a good shake and wonder what was up with me as I found it fascinating to watch them in action especially as sports usually left me cold. Soon I was watching the girl with dark collar length hair as she grabbed the ball and ran down the field with the other girls in hot pursuit. It was mesmerising to watch as she twisted this way and that way as she moved to evade the girls who made a grab for her. Then I watched as she dived at the ground not far from the post. I did blush when while laying there she turned and gave me a smile. I blushed even more when I wondered if she knew I had been following her the whole while.

It was a bit of a relief no one had seen me blush when I turned to watch my brother and his friends. Still I often found myself turning back to watch the girls in action and especially her. She seemed to know too as she often lifted her head to look straight at me. One look seemed so blatant I forgot to breath. I had to turn back to the men so I could take in much needed air.

When my brother's practice was over I told him I would wait for him here while he went to shower and change. I had moved up closer to where the changing rooms were but still not far from the girls. While I waited for my brother I pretended to look at the ground while furtively I watched the girls. I knew she knew I was watching as she gave me a little wave with her hand while her arm hung at her side while she walked back up the field after scoring again. I blushed and I was sure she saw as she gave me a nice smile when I lifted my head.

I had to wonder what was happening to me as I even asked my brother who they were when he joined me. He told me a group of girls that worked for the local computer companies so he had heard. As we walked away I could not help looking back. She waved to me and I thought it was a bit churlish not to so I waved back. My brother asked who that was. Keeping my head down to hide the blush I had to admit I had no idea. I did take a peek at him and saw him looking at me. I just told him they seemed a friendly bunch. The way he said "yeah" I knew he did not mean he was agreeing with me. That meant I was going to have to try and bluff it out if he started asking questions.