Why’d You Ever Have to Say Goodbye

"Seems to be. I mean, I could be really thorough..." Lisa gave me a gentle slap on the arm.

"Not now, but I appreciate your concern." she laughed. "Ok, now I need to get dressed, so no peeking through that glass thing to see my blurry body as I get naked." she said and I wasn't sure if she was serious. "I mean, I will look terrible through that, it will just be a white blob." she chuckled. "Should you look through," her eyes went to mine and glowed.

She was right, she was just a pale blob as she removed the towel and stood there naked for several seconds. She held her arms out, that much I could tell and then waved at me before she started to put her clothes back on. Her face pressed to it again when she was ready and then she stepped out and into my arms.

"Glad you didn't look, it would have been terrible." she laughed.

"Not at all." I sighed.

We sat on the balcony for a while, the sky was dark now, the day just clinging on to the west.

"I need to go, sorry." she whispered and squeezed my hand. "Thank you so much, really. I wish I could have done more... but... my mind is elsewhere." My head span at that and looked forward to when her review would be over and we could concentrate on each other again. "Will you walk me home, please?"

We prepared to go and Lisa realised she had forgotten her towel, so scampered to the bathroom to retrieve it, closing the door behind her and I thought I heard the lock 'snick', but dismissed it as I went to lock up the balcony door and put the mug and plate in the sink to wash later. She bounced out of the bathroom clutching the little bag with her towel to her chest and laughed. "Sorry!" she mumbled and then followed me to the door.

The streets were empty, too late for people on a Sunday and too early for foxes, even the cats weren't bothered yet. We walked hand in hand, swinging them as we went. It was too soon that we reached her place and she turned, the bag now on her shoulder, swinging in front of her slightly. Something was different, but I put it down to her being more relaxed now, My arms went around her waist and she stepped into my body, her head tilted back as I moved my mouth onto hers. I slid a hand down to stroke her bottom and she giggled with the kiss and she pulled me closer. She felt warm and soft and I really wanted this to never end, but knew she needed to go and prepare.

"I'll message you tomorrow. Probably won't be until near finish time, but I might need helping." she said quietly as I kissed her forehead "I mean, whatever happens, I'll be wrecked tomorrow, so may need picking up from the pavement."

"I'll do that happily. Maybe even put you in bed." I regretted the last it, but Lisa smiled.

"Yeah, but don't expect me to move. Best wait until the weekend when I feel up for it." She said, then laughed. "Oh my, that sounded really rude... which it kinda was." she laughed more. My head swam at the thought of next weekend. I could wait that long, I figured. I mean, I would happily wait longer.

We kissed again as I held her bottom and she gently wiggled it.

"Goodnight sweetheart." I whispered.

"Goodnight baby. text me when you get home." she said and kissed my lips softly again before stepping back and turning to walk to the door. Lisa stopped and smiled and waved furiously. I smiled and tried not to look at her shirt as it shimmied with her movements. She laughed and then did a little hop and turned to go. There was another wave as she closed the door and then I turned and walked home.

The flat felt empty, even though I was usually alone in it. I unlocked my room and sat on the bed for a while and sent Lisa a text to say I was home. "GOOG!" was the reply, followed by laughing emojis. I smiled and walked to the bathroom, wanting to stare at the tub and try and see any trace of her, a hair or something left behind, but there was nothing and then I turned and stopped. On the hook behind the door was a trace. It was white and I picked it up and held it in my hands, then lifted to press my lips inside each warm cup and hold it to my face, inhaling the scent of her.

I sat on the bed again, still caressing the left item and sent another text. "Armour."

"Oh yeah, how silly of me, it slipped off and wanted to stay there." came the reply. I thought back to her waving and hopping about, the movement of her shirt. I smiled and kissed inside the cups again and left it on my pillow for later, to sleep next to, her faint smell drifting into me all night.

There were a few more messages sent, but I knew she would want peace to explore her mind and prepare for tomorrow. I sent a goodnight message and put lots of X's on the end and she replied with a similar one. I stared at the message for a long time and then watched night take hold over London from the balcony before I went to bed and inhaled her scent.

Chapter 4:

I was itching to message Lisa the moment I woke up, but worried I'd just annoy her. In the end, I sent a very benign "Good luck today" text and she replied shortly after to thank me. The another message arrived which was about twenty x's, so I replied with a load for her. Then we both got to work.

I checked the phone often, but nothing happened. I packed up my laptop and put my boots on and walked towards the bridge. I was close to it when my phone pinged.

"Walking towards the bridge, do you want to meet me?" I replied that I was waiting and a smiley face popped up a few seconds later.

I almost didn't recognise Lisa, her hair was tied back, tighter than her ponytail of yesterday and she was wearing a shirt and skirt. She was walking with purpose and looked angry. I breathed in deeply and waited. She was smiling, which I took as a good sign, but then realised there was little warmth to it. I took several deep breaths. She strode towards me and her eyes looked pained. I opened my arms and she fell into them. "Can we go to the bench?" she muttered and I held her tight for a few moments before we started walking.

Luckily the bench was empty. Lucky for anyone who may have been sitting there as she didn't look in the mood to be messed with. She sat down and the bench shook. We had walked hand in hand, but no words had been said. I sat next to her and reached for her hand and it was shaking. "It's ok." I whispered and there was the hint of smile. I took a deep breath. "So..."

"Fucking fuck." She spat out. This was going to be a long evening. She looked at me and her eyes were cold at first, but then softened. "Fucking shitting fuck." she said. I squeezed her hand.

I breathed deep and Lisa did the same. I opened my mouth to ask, but she beat me to it. "So, I waited all day, ALL FUCKING DAY" she spat out, "and then they tell me one of the managers had to go home as his kid was sick, so could we do the review tomorrow! TOMORROW! Fuck fuckity fuck." she said and a passing dog walker turned and glared at her. 'keep moving' I implored them with my gaze and they did, muttering under their breath at such a rude woman.

"Want another bath?" I offered and she turned and stared at me.

"I need more than a bath." She mumbled. "But, that's a lovely offer." She smiled a bit and then squeezed my hand.

"Come on then, let's get you in the tub." I stood and held out my hand and she took it and rose. We looked at the river from the slipway for a few minutes as it swirled around, pushing some flotsam onto the slope before a small wave took it away again, as if the Lorelei were tormenting us with gifts. I squeezed Lisa's hand as we walked and she'd occasionally mutter and swear, but then would just giggle.

We were outside my block when Lisa realised she had no towel. "I have a spare." I said and she looked at me quizzically.

"Sure? You're not going to suddenly say you sent them all off to be cleaned just as I step out the bath are you?"

"Scouts honour." I replied and raised some fingers in a strange salute.

"Were you a Scout?"

"Well, I mean, if you're going to be pedantic..."

"I am." she giggled as she continued to stare at me.

"Not exactly a Scout." I mumbled.

"What exactly?" She kept staring.

"I once walked past a Scout hut." I explained.

"Good enough for me, come on." she laughed.

Lisa prowled around my flat. I had had a sudden panic that the flatmate might be in, but I had heard him go out earlier, so hoped he was working. I ran the water in the bath as she paced back and forth to the balcony.

"Would you like tea as well?" I asked and she looked at me as if I was a stranger, before her eyes flickered and recognition swept over her.

"Yes, yes please, that would be lovely." She mumbled and then paced about some more. I realised I still had no milk, mainly as I didn't drink it, but there was some from the flatmate, so used that and made a mental note to buy him more. I put the little table near the bath as Lisa stood and looked at the water.

"I wish I had something to wear." she mumbled quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"In the bath." she looked at me wondering why I didn't understand.

I tried to answer, but my mind froze.

"I'd like you to stay here, keep me company, but..." I twigged now and looked around the bathroom for a solution, which was rather stupid.

"What about your underwear, I mean, similar to a bikini." I suggested. She looked down as if having x-ray vision.

"No. No, can't do that, my knickers might be transparent in the water." She muttered, still moving back and forth on her heels as if needing to be constantly in motion.

"You could borrow my swimming shorts." Lisa stared at me and looked down.

"Let me guess, baggy style things that come down to your knees?" I nodded, she laughed. "Yeah, that's not gonna work for me."

"What about my underwear. It's black and like little shorts." She stared at me. "Want to see?" I suddenly felt stupid about offering to show her my underwear, but she nodded, so I went to my bedroom and returned and held them up.

"Are they clean?" She asked, with a smile. I nodded. She took them and held them across her hips. "You're kinda skinny." she said, "Or I'm big." I assured her the latter was not the case. She looked at them again.

"I mean, you could wear your bra and those and it would be like a bikini. A slightly odd one." I said as Lisa held the shorts against her again.

"Are you saying this to try and get into my knickers?" she giggled.

"No, I'm trying to get you into mine." I answered and she laughed loudly.

She looked at the water and dipped her hand in and swirled it around a bit. "Ok, just need a towel now." she said and I went to get a clean one for her, then went to go outside. "Where ya off to?" she said, her voice lighter now as she had calmed. She wrapped the towel around her waist and then put her hands up inside it. "Dunno why I did this when I still have my skirt on." she laughed and then mumbled "Don't look." so I turned away. She grabbed my underwear from the table and then shuffled about under the towel again. "Like being on a beach holiday." she giggled and then pulled the towel away. Nothing looked any different and we both laughed.

I turned away as Lisa undid the buttons on her shirt, she didn't ask me to, it just felt right. She draped it over my head and laughed and then I heard the zip of her skirt move and that joined the shirt. I removed them and placed them on the towel heater and then glanced to see Lisa as she stepped into the bath. There was a gasp and she looked at me and smiled. "It's not that thrilling, is it?" I couldn't answer, all the blood had gone elsewhere. She lowered herself down into the water and sighed and the water lapped around her body and her bra darkened as it was soaked. I looked down at my underwear as it clung to her and her hand went down to press it and expel the air as it bulged up slightly. My eyes scanned down her legs, they were pale, but toned. We had walked miles over the weekend and she was clearly used to it, judging by her muscles. I tried not to stare at her belly, but it seemed better than looking at her underwear,

"Sit down and relax." she said as she moved down to let the water wash over her shoulders. I looked around and realised I needed a chair as the floor was uncomfortable, but Lisa tapped the side of the bath and I rested against it, with my arm out and she rested hers on it, the wet skin hot on me, but making me shiver. I would pass her the tea and even the biscuits as she relaxed. Her eyes would sometimes flicker and close as she drifted.

"Feel better?" I whispered as she smiled at me. She nodded and then reached for my hand and pulled it into the water to rest on her waist. I tried not to scream with joy as I touched her bare skin.

"Thanks for the underwear." She sighed as she sank down again in the water and a ripple of water rose from the edge of her bra as she rose again. I glanced at her cleavage and she caught me and laughed. "Armour." she giggled.

"Well, you have a spare one here for after." I said.

"That's yours... unless you don't want it."

"I mean, I could lend it to you, so long as you give it back." Lisa looked, her eyes seemed too tired to work out the logistics.

"Erm, no, just keep it." she giggled. "It wanted to stay here, so it would be sad to take her away." She sighed and dipped her shoulders under the surface again. "Oh." Her eyes went wide, "I don't really want to go home braless in that shirt though. I'm not that brave."

"Want to borrow a t-shirt?" I suggested and she nodded as she tried to soak her shoulders more before she settled down and her eyes closed again.

"I need to get out, I am turning into a prune." Lisa said a while later as she looked at her hands. I helped her stand in the bath and she looked at the towel, then down and then back to the towel. "Hmmm, we didn't think this bit through." she said and I stared at her as she stood in her bra and my underwear, dripping in the bath. She was having to hold the underwear up as the weight of it wet was now pulling it over her hips.

"What's the problem?"

"Well, I need to get out of the wet underwear and then get dry and then get into dry clothes." she said and the penny dropped.

"Wait." I said and reached down to pull the plug out of the bath and it gurgled as it began to empty. "You can stand here until the water drops, then take off the undies and leave them in the bath, get dry, then get dressed. Simple!" Lisa looked at me and didn't seem convinced. "I'll go outside and you can decide what's the best thing to do." She smiled and I closed the door and stood with my back to it. I heard splashing and some swearing and then there was a gentle tap on the glass and I turned to see her face pressed close, lips against it and I laughed and put mine to hers. She stepped back and I saw the pale blurry shape of her, the mottling disguising details as she stood naked before she turned to a green blur as the towel was wrapped around her.

There was another tap on the glass a few minutes later. "Where's the t-shirt?" she called.

"Oh shit, sorry. Wait there." I said, as if she had anywhere else to go. I ran to the bedroom and rummaged through the drawer to find a t-shirt that wouldn't show too much. It was grey and had bats on it. It was thick enough to disguise her shape and was also quite long. I went back to the bathroom door and told her to open it and a bare arm reached out. I could tell from the glass she had ditched the towel, so she was only wearing her knickers now and the door was open. I struggled to breathe. I put the shirt in her hand and she thanked me and then the arm went back inside, the door remained open. I saw her blurry shape turn grey through the glass and then the door opened a bit more and her head popped out.

"Thanks darling." she said and smiled and I had to kiss her. "I need to lie down now." she said and I took her hand and walked her to the bedroom and she slumped down on the bed and I tried not to stare at her legs.

"You ok?" I said as I moved to lie alongside her, me on my side and her on her back.

"Yeah, just... still a bit stressed. Sorry." She mumbled. It was odd seeing her like this, the light from her eyes gone and the smile infrequent. I lifted my head to look at her and she turned and tried to smile wider, but it didn't work. "Sorry." she muttered again. I put my lips to hers and her mouth opened, her tongue flicking with mine as I stroked her face as we kissed.

"Is there anything else I can do?" I asked as she stared at the ceiling. I could almost see her mind whirring in her eyes.

"No, you're been great, but... I might just go and try and deal with this alone."

"Sure, I mean you can stay here and relax. I can make more tea."

"Tea would be good, thanks, but, I think I'll try more stress relief at home... alone." She sighed.

"Ok, but if you need a hand with anything." Lisa giggled at that and then blushed. She turned to look at me.

"What? Oh, you... I mean... lend a hand... help... you didn't mean..." she laughed. I was confused. "I mean, your kissing helps to get things... flowing." she whispered the last bit and blushed again. I was still confused and she turned to look at me again. "You can be too innocent at times, John." she laughed.

"Sorry, I think I missed something, but I'll make more tea if you want."

Lisa reached out to take my hand. "Sorry, I wasn't being mean, I just thought you were being cheeky." She said, her eyes showing some concern.

"Nope, still lost." I laughed.

"Ok." she blushed as she looked at me. "I will need to go home and try to destress... and you offered to lend a hand." She looked at me, her cheeks reddening again.

"Nope."

"Ok, how do you relieve stress?" She giggled and went redder.

"Have a coffee, listen to music... try and sleep." I replied, still confused.

"That's it. Nothing more... physical?" she laughed.

"Like cycling or running?" I replied.

"More the indoor kind of sport." Lisa said, trying not to laugh now. I stared at her as her eyes glowed. "Indoor stress relief. Alone. With the bedroom door locked." she giggled.

"Ohhhhhhh. OHHHHHHHHH!" I said and she laughed and it was my turn to blush. "Really?" She nodded shyly.

"The bath was good, but tonight I am just freaking out a bit. I need to... sleep, release the energy. It's all I can think that will work."

"Have you tried it before when this stressed?" I asked, still trying to make sure I really knew what she meant.

"Actually... no. I am not sure I have been this stressed about a job. I just cannot turn off my mind tonight. Really not sure this will work, to be honest, or that I will... erm... well, reach the conclusion." Lisa went very red.

"Ok. Well, I am happy to try and distract you with kissing." I said, still hoping she'd stay a bit longer.

"And lend a hand?" she laughed.

"Needs must." I replied and she reached up and stroked my red cheek.

"It's a lovely offer, but..." she sighed, "This wouldn't be sexual really, just..." she looked into my eyes, "relief."

I shrugged. "Yeah, guess it would be odd." I said and now my brain was swirling.

"You could kiss me though. I mean, that's always good and then... well, I will be a bit more ready."

"Where should we kiss?" I asked.

"On the lips." she giggled.

"No, I meant, here or at your place as you wanted to destress there." I saw the thinking in Lisa's eyes.

"Yeah, I hadn't really thought this through."

"You can do it here... but then I'd have to carry you home." I laughed.

"That would be even weirder, I mean, what, you'd go sit on the balcony as I did it?" she laughed a little. "Not sure I could relax if you watched."

She moved a bit so she was pressed to me and I idly stroked her belly as she sighed. "Is there another plan?" I asked.

"Not really. Maybe I'll just lie here for a while and then go home. Sorry I'm not great company tonight."