The Senator and the Student

"Didn't you ever think we were icky, too?" Rebecca quipped, hoping to set him at ease as she poured two glasses of schnapps for dessert.

"Only the ones who said such things about us!" Chester insisted. Then he grinned. "After all, you were a girl and you were always my friend."

"And that wonderful attitude is just why we always were such good friends," Rebecca said, handing him one of the glasses. "A toast?"

"To us!" He clinked her glass and they both drank up. Chester felt a bit more relaxed as it went down, but he still wasn't sure just what to do next.

"Are you uncomfortable, my darling?" Rebecca asked, and she set her glass down and took his hand in both of hers.

"A bit," he said. "What we're about to do here, in a few days it's gone from unthinkable to unattainable to right here at my fingertips, and...oh, gosh, Rebecca, you've known me since I was a child! And how utterly curious I was about you even then!"

"You're no child anymore now, Chester," Rebecca reminded him. "But I think I understand. Of course we don't have to make love tonight if you'd rather not." Then she smiled. "I've got an idea. How about a bath?"

"Together?"

Rebecca couldn't help laughing. "Of course together! It could be just what you need to get used to my body and see me as the woman I am, who loves you ever so much. And I'm sure you could use a good soak after that long train ride anyway."

Chester's tense face melted into a wonderful look of desire and pleasure. "I'd love that, Rebecca."

Rebecca's house wasn't equipped with every modern marvel, but she had insisted on a hot water tap so she could take care of her own bathing needs. Never had she been more grateful for that foresight than on this evening, as she put the plug in the tub and turned on the water. While she trusted Esther completely, no one needed to know just what she and Chester were up to, thank you very much! "There, you can just get in as soon as you've got your clothes off," she told Chester as she stood back up. "Just put them on the hamper by the window, and they'll be clean and ready for you to wear them back on Sunday."

"Thanks, Rebecca."

Chester tentatively undid the top button on his shirt. Rebecca longed to watch him undress, but the poor dear was clearly much too shy for that just yet. "Just let me know when you're in the water," she said, and she returned to her bedroom to disrobe.

To her surprise, Guy was standing just inside the door. "Yes?" She did her best to sound calm as she said it, but she could hear the failure echoed in her own voice.

"Pardon me, Senator, but Sarah alerted me that you or Master Croft might need something."

"I'll be the judge of that, Guy, and it's Mister Croft. He is a full-fledged adult, you know."

"Sorry, Senator. Force of habit." Guy bowed and left, and Rebecca made a mental note to have a word with Sarah about making assumptions. She also took the unusual step of ensuring the bedroom door was locked. There had, of course, been no need for that since Melvin had come home in a pine box. Little wonder all the house seemed a bit curious about what would be happening in her room tonight, Rebecca admitted to herself, but she wouldn't leave anything to chance on satisfying that curiosity.

Rebecca had reservations of her own about what she and Chester were about to do, and she couldn't shed those reservations half as easily as she shed her dress, camisole, tights and jewellery. But she had been far too long alone through no fault of her own, and there was no question that her love for Chester was utterly real. She knew not whether Melvin would approve, but then she hadn't approved of him marching off to the slaughter in the first place.

It was only as she removed her brassiere that Rebecca was able to put her doubts to rest. While pulling the fabric tight against her nipples as she unfastened the clasp, she realized they were hard as a pair of precious stones. If her head had any reservations about Chester, her body clearly did not. On pushing her drawers down, she wasn't surprised to find them damp to the touch. She couldn't resist a quick rub of her vulva to confirm what she already knew: her body was utterly crying out with a hunger that had, for nearly five years now, been sated only by her own hand.

Instinctively Rebecca reached for her wrapper before she went to the bathroom door, but she decided that would only prolong the shock for poor Chester. She rapped at the door. "Chester, are you in the bath?"

"Yes! Come in!"

Though she was as nervous as she was titillated, Rebecca was wearing a broad smile as she stepped into the bath chamber.

Chester was looking radiant in the pale light, his body only just visible in the steamy water but his arousal unmistakeable. "Rebecca!" He could barely get her name out, and promptly averted his eyes.

"Chester, don't be shy!" Rebecca closed the bathroom door behind her and stood proudly at the foot of the bathtub. "I love you, and it's been far too long since I've had anyone to admire my body."

"Can't imagine why," Chester said, once again drinking in the beautiful sight before him. "I always was curious, you know, ever since I started noticing women like...like, you know."

"Yes, Chester, I understand!" Rebecca climbed into the tub and settled herself at the other end, opening her legs to nestle one foot on each of his hips and giving him a perfect view of her hungry womanhood. "I understand ever so well. I've wondered about you as well, you know, and my imagination isn't disappointed!"

Chester chuckled and looked down at his hard penis, which stood straight up as if reaching for the surface of the water. "All too easy to see when we're excited, isn't it? All my life I've heard, you know, this is why we can't be trusted with the vote or with an education, how can we think rationally when we can't even hide our most private desires the way you can?"

"Oh, Chester, I hope you never believed any of that!" Rebecca reached out her hands and rubbed his legs affectionately. We are equal, and it's only a matter of time before the law recognizes that!"

"Thanks to you, Rebecca, I never did!" Now he smiled back at her. "I can never thank you enough for that!"

"Oh yes you can!" Rebecca scooted forward and took his erection in both of her hands. "And I'll be more than happy to show you just how you can, my darling!"

"Ohooo! Oh my! Rebecca!" Chester's joyful yelps and grunts rang out loudly, and Rebecca could only hope Sarah was asleep already and wouldn't hear anything. But then again, if Rebecca had her way, there would be plenty of his beautiful music to be worried about from now on. Sarah was just about the age to start learning about all that, too.

But she would worry about that later. She slowed her stroking to a stop but kept Chester's hard cock in her gentle grip. "Thank you, Chester. It's good to know I'm still capable of a reaction like that."

"Pleasure's all mine!" he answered in a husky whisper.

"Well, it shouldn't be yours alone, now should it?" Rebecca took his hand in her free one and placed it on her left breast. "Care to play with these?"

"And how!" He helped himself to her right one, and presently Rebecca was feeling just as deliciously pent up as he was. Once again stroking him in a slow tease, she smiled down at his hands as they worked their gentle magic. Clearly hers were not the first breasts he'd fondled, but so much the better for the skill he'd gained.

"You do have a fine touch, Chester!"

"Thanks. I hope it's not, you know, objectifying you or anything."

"Chester!" Rebecca let go of his penis and took both his hands in hers. "How can you think a thing like that in such a beautiful moment?"

"Oh, it's something my mother always said, about how men can't be trusted with anything but brute strength because they're so animalistic, and if we let them in women's spaces they'll only objectify you rather than respect you."

Rebecca hated herself for it, but she couldn't help laughing. "Chester, I could tell you some stories about your mother's own penchant for objectifying men."

"Please don't! Not now!"

"I won't, of course." Rebecca pushed herself forward and wrapped her arms and legs around him. "But you mustn't think of all her negativity either. You're here because I love you and respect you, and I know well you respect me!"

"And love you, too."

"Yes, and caressing my breasts like that shows your love. Nothing more, nothing less, understood?"

"I think so, Rebecca. It's just that I've had a lifetime of being told all this was wrong, and I was second-class for having these feelings...I'm not going to overcome that overnight!"

"Then I'll just have to work on you for a nice long time, now won't I?" Rebecca risked a smile, and to her relief he responded in kind.

Then he kissed her. Rebecca's heart nearly burst as their mouths met and opened, and there were no more words as her nipples grazed delightfully up against his chest and his cock rubbed all about her thighs and buttocks. The longing to take him inside her was so palpable she could taste it on the sweetness of his tongue flicking about against hers. They didn't come up for air for several minutes, during which she rubbed his back and sides passionately and delighted in his first tentative exploration of her vagina with his fingers. This brought on passionate rumblings from her throat that he could feel on her tongue as her body tensed up every time his fingers found a sweet spot.

From the look in his eyes when they finally pulled back from one another, Rebecca had no doubt she'd taught him a thing or two that those young ladies at the university hadn't been able to do!

"Ready to take this to bed?" she asked, again gripping his hardness in an affectionate squeeze.

"And how!"

They patted one another dry as the bathtub drained. Rebecca appreciated the soft touch he gave her with the towel, but she'd have been more than happy right then with a rough fast scrub if it meant getting him in bed a little faster. It was, in any event, well worth the wait when they stepped into the warm, firelit bedroom. With no other light, the flames danced merrily on their bare skin, giving playful brief glances at Chester's lovely body as she took him in her arms at the foot of the bed.

"Relax," she whispered, running one hand down his chest while holding him fast with her other arm. "And for heaven's sake, don't be shy." She welcomed his hands on her breasts once again, and kissed him gently in the joyful firelight. When their lips parted again, she whispered, "Come here," wrapped her fingers around his hardness and led him around to the bed.

The loss of Melvin had hardened Rebecca in many ways; all her friends had told her as much. But if she had found her calling as a leader of the land and raised Sarah and learned to navigate the world on her own, she had never stopped missing the incomparable joy of taking a man inside her. While time enough had passed for Rebecca to believe there would be someone new one day, never in her wildest dreams had she dared imagine that someone would be Chester. As he gazed up in amazement at her and she guided him inside, the delightful sensation and the look on his face had her on the brink of tears of joy.

But there would be plenty of time for that later! Rebecca took a deep breath and savoured the moment, and drew a pleasant squeal from him when she squeezed her feminine muscles around him. "I didn't know a woman could do that!" he gasped.

"This woman can, anyway." Chester did not need to know his mother had once told her she couldn't do it. Rebecca didn't care to think of Winnifred either just then. She preferred to rub and tickle Chester's torso as she began rocking back and forth atop him. Five chaste years hadn't cooled her appetite a bit, and from Chester's magical squirms and groans she soon realized they hadn't dulled her skills either. With Melvin she had often closed her eyes the better to savour the sensation; now she kept them open wide and gazed down at him, utterly enveloped in the beautiful moment.

Any concerns that Chester would hold back to avoid "objectifying" her were allayed when she felt his fingers in her bush. "Oh, that's wonderful!" she managed to grunt between her intense moans.

"A man could get lost in there!" he teased.

"Please do!"

Then she couldn't hope to form any more words for the moment, as she came in a joyous flash of warm light. Her eyes opened wide as saucers and she looked into his eyes to share the moment with him. She didn't slow her rocking, and finally managed a "Thank you" once she'd caught her breath.

"So beautiful!" Chester mumbled.

"Thanks to you!" she touched his hand, which was still caressing her vulva.

"Again?"

"Together this time!" She ground harder into him, and picked up the pace. Another one was well on the way, and she could only hope she could bring him along this time. "Come for me, Chester! Come with me!" And she flailed at him as fast as she could.

Just when Rebecca was sure he wouldn't come in time, he gave a wonderful lurch and a roar, and clutched at her buttocks to hold her still with him as deep inside as he could reach. His thumb found her clitoris and flicked her off the deep end as well. Rebecca bent over him, hands on her shoulders, and came with a cathartic yawp.

Chester sighed and let go of her bottom, but Rebecca kept him clenched deep within. "You're not set free just yet, dear," she whispered.

"Can't imagine why I'd want to be!" He reached up and gave her breast a triumphant caress, and she thrilled to her own dampness on his fingers as they teased her nipple. "I love you, Rebecca."

"I love you, too."

"Any chance the press will just accept that we're in love?"

"None, I'm afraid," Rebecca said, leaning over to kiss his lips. "But let me worry about that, okay?" She hovered over his face and enjoyed the thrill of his chest hair tickling her breasts.

Chester had the good sense to drop that subject as they cuddled and chatted until he fell asleep, and Rebecca resolved not to let it bother her for the moment either as she finally lay back and closed her eyes.

In the morning, she welcomed his offer to fasten her brassiere while they were dressing for the day. "I certainly have missed having help with that!" she admitted.

"I hope you never miss it again," Chester said, and he nuzzled her neck and rubbed her shoulders.

"I shouldn't think I will!" Rebecca wouldn't have guessed she could feel any happier than she had been during last night's encounter, but having Chester help her on with her clothes was at least nearly as delightful. "You'll understand if Sarah has a good laugh at us at breakfast," she warned. "I'll be terribly disappointed with her, but..."

"She is only human, Rebecca," Chester said. "Besides, I feel like laughing all the way back to school myself!"

"I think I know just what you mean," she allowed, and hand in hand they made their way downstairs.

Sure enough, Sarah snickered at the sight of them together, but managed to get herself under control quickly enough. "Sorry, Mother," but she couldn't help another chuckle as she said it.

"You will understand everything soon enough, my darling," Rebecca said, giving Chester a knowing look as they both sat down.

Esther was not so amused. "Awful sorry to bother you about this before you've eaten, ma'am, but there's a clutch of reporters out in the street for you already."

"Oh, heavens," Rebecca twisted her napkin in frustration. "And here I'd dared let myself hope the wolves might at least stay at bay until midday. No surprise that they wouldn't show us that courtesy, though."

"Do you wish a word with them before you eat?" Esther asked.

"No," Rebecca said. "I assure you they'll be willing to wait all day. And so I shall let them. Would you summon Guy, please?"

There were only a couple of minutes of Sarah's prattle about the future and closetball to weather before Guy appeared in the doorway. "Senator?"

"Please have the carriage ready in an hour, to take Chester back to the university," Rebecca said.

"Oh, I can take the train!" Chester protested.

"No, you can't, I'm afraid." Rebecca said it more severely than she meant to sound. "Some very unethical people will want a word with you now that the wide world knows about us. At university I can be reasonably sure of your security, but not on public transport on the way there. I'm sorry, but I must insist."

Chester sighed. "I guess I could get used to a private ride back," he quipped with a grin. "I sure will miss you for the week."

"I'll send Guy back for you on Friday afternoon," she said, looking up at Guy, who remained stone-faced by the door. Turning back to Chester, she said, "I'll miss you, too, but we've both got our work to do, haven't we?"

Both mother and daughter bid Chester a fond goodbye an hour later, and Chester himself was too overcome with the sweet sorrow of the moment to take any mind of Guy's expression as he waited just inside the back door. "I'm sorry, Master Croft," he said when Chester finally broke away, "but we'll have to make our way out the back roads to avoid the newspaper ladies."

"Such a delightful adventure, isn't it all?" Chester said as he gave Rebecca a final goodbye kiss on the cheek.

"I certainly hope you can keep that attitude about you, darling," Rebecca said. "You're liable to need it!"

"We'll see." Chester buttoned up his coat. "Well, I'll be seeing you on Friday!"

Rebecca busied herself with checking Sarah's homework and helping her with some corrections for the better part of an hour after Chester left. When she was sure Guy had had the time to get them out of town, she bowed to the inevitable and stepped outside, braving the autumn chill in her house dress.

The vultures may have been at the gate for hours already, but they were still very much on the lookout. The questions were flying fast and thick from beyond the gate before Rebecca had even shut the front door behind her. "Senator, is it true?" Too many variations of that to count, but they were all asking essentially the same thing. Rebecca was neither surprised nor outwardly excited as she stepped up the walk.

Stopping just inside the gate, she raised her hands for silence. "Ladies, I have only one comment, and that is that even a senator's private life is private. I am certain you can all respect that."

"What do you say to those who question your morality?" called out Freda Kurie of the Laucester Times, who as usual had wormed her way to the front out of nowhere.

"I say I am very happy and it is no one else's concern," Rebecca said. "Thank you all for your concern; you may go now."

She turned to walk back to the house, ignoring the volley of new questions that echoed behind her. Only one word piqued her interest as she set off: "Telegram!"

Rebecca turned to see a young woman in a yellow and green postal uniform waving a folded sheet of paper. "Senator!" she called out. "Telegram!"

Rebecca turned and collected the telegram from the girl, who had managed to reach between the bars of the fence while the reporters clamoured shamelessly for a look. "Thank you," she told her, and she turned and walked back to the house without looking at the message yet. She had little doubt as to whom it was from and what it said, but there was no need for the press to capture her reaction to that.

Only when she was safe back inside and settled in the parlour did Rebecca unfold the telegram. Her suspicions were correct: it was from Martha, and the message was even more blunt than she had anticipated. Senator, what ARE you thinking?! What can I tell the press?

"Nothing, Martha," Rebecca said out loud, crumpling the telegram up. She tossed it into the fire and watched it burn away to ash. She knew Martha would be expecting a reply, but she also knew Martha would say nothing if that was what she heard from Rebecca.