Cupidity

by Lucinda Lamont

  She decided not to acknowledge Peter’s outburst because she was afraid of where it would lead and right now, the most important person was Mae where feelings were concerned.

  ‘I think you look better,’ Peter said, having taken a quick glance and then looking away again. ‘I think you’re right. My Mae looks beautiful in her dresses. The bee’s knees. But you look better as you are, a plain Jane.’

  Martha felt hurt by that last statement but decided not to react. They had gotten enough of her in the last hour or so, but she did wonder what he meant.

  A plain Jane?

  Am I boring?

  Nothing special?

  He said I looked like a tart earlier and now a plain Jane? Why is he so cruel? Perhaps he is jealous of David and me? Her thoughts were stopped by the knock at the door.

  ‘Well that’s me,’ she said awkwardly, at them both.

  Mae got up from her seat and patted down Martha’s hair while looking her up and down.

  ‘You’ll knock him dead, whatever you wear.’

  Martha looked down and blushed.

  ‘Thank you.’

  She turned her back to them both and made her way to the front door.

  ‘And Martha,’ Mae called.

  ‘Yes?’ she said, turning to look at Mae. ‘If you don’t want to come back tonight, you don’t have to. I can sort the boys out.’

  Martha nodded and smiled and turned to open the door.

  David and Martha pulled up outside his house. He switched off the engine and the lights went out. It was almost dark outside. David leaned into Martha and pulled her face into his. His soft lips kissed her gently. His hand cupped her head. She felt so relaxed. She wanted to kiss him harder. He pulled away.

  ‘You look beautiful, Martha. More make up on than you need mind, but you look beautiful.’

  He was about to open his car door, but she grabbed his shoulder. He turned back in his seat to face her again and she kissed him. He had always made the move before but this time she kissed him.

  She planted a small, soft kiss on his lips. Then she put her hand on his thigh and leaned in closer to him. She kissed him again. He felt as though he had surrendered to her and kissed her back at her beck and call. She kissed him harder but this time she didn’t pull away. She opened her mouth and he did his. He teasingly offered her his tongue and she accepted. They began kissing passionately. Her heart was racing and she was becoming increasingly aroused. Her nipples were on end and his erection was huge.

  They knew they had to go inside and so they stopped, both still holding each other with their lips locked, holding it there for a moment. Just one more little minute. They then pulled away simultaneously while staring into each other’s eyes.

  ‘What did I do to deserve you, Martha? You really are a fine woman.’

  She smiled from ear to ear and genuinely felt happy. She had opened her heart to him and it wasn’t as scary as she thought. Now that she had tried David, she wanted more. She wanted all of him. She wished he could take her right now, but that would have to wait.

  God, I’m turning into Mae, she thought.

  David got out of the car and walked around to her side to open her door. She couldn’t believe how much of a gentleman he was. He didn’t have much materialistically, but his manners were impeccable.

  ‘Mum and Dad are going to love you. Just watch out for Michael, he will probably love you as I do.’

  David had meant to be funny but had quickly realised the enormity of his words. He looked for the ground to swallow him up. Martha took his hand and entwined their fingers.

  ‘I’m sure I will love all of them, just like I love you.’

  He smiled at her in a goofy way and she realised suddenly that she could do a lot worse. This man wore his heart on his sleeve and she was the one he wanted to give it to.

  They walked hand in hand and she felt the most at ease now than she had in the last couple of days.

  It was hard to see what the house was like as it was starting to get dark, but it seemed pleasant.

  It was just outside of their local village, only a few miles from Peter and Mae’s house. It looked like an old farm and seemed as though it could benefit from a bit of tidying up but it looked ok.

  The pair went inside and Martha was surprised to see the house was very nice. It could have done with a proper clean but apart from that, it looked homely. She got the impression his family must have been quite comfortable before their health had started to deteriorate. It was decorated nicely with lots of family photographs and lots of light throughout. Martha could smell something sweet. Something like apple pie or a crumble or something. David had told her they were old and needed looking after, but she didn’t know how old or how much looking after they needed, he spent most of his time working down at the garage, after all.

  David’s mother came out of the front room to greet them in the hall. She was delighted to see them. Her smile lit up her whole face and she moved slowly towards Martha to welcome her. The two women exchanged pecks on the cheeks and David’s mother held Martha’s hands and took a good look at her. Martha could tell instantly that she was a lovely woman. She had kind eyes. Eyes that could tell a thousand stories. Grey hair neatly pinned back in a small bun. A few loose strands fell and framed her face. Martha could see that she would have been an attractive woman in her youth.

  ‘Well David, she’s a beauty. This is the one. I can tell. You keep hold of this one, boy.’

  She hadn’t taken her eyes off Martha and she was still holding her hands.

  ‘Don’t worry Mum; I don’t intend to. I know this one is special.’

  Martha spent the next couple of hours getting to know the family. David’s father was in a far worse condition than his mother. He didn’t talk. He just nodded from time to time. Martha didn’t want to ask what was wrong with him. She didn’t want to seem rude. At one point in the evening, while at the dinner table she made eye contact with him and he stared at her. He didn’t smile, but she got the feeling he couldn’t. She got the feeling he gave her his blessing.

  David’s younger brother, Michael, was a darling. He was slightly taller and slightly leaner than David, and he was cheekier than David, but you could see he idolised his older brother. Martha was very happy with the family. They were all lovely. They all made her feel quite at home. They were salt of the earth kind of people.

  She compared them to Peter and Mae. Peter and Mae were comfortable because Peter was born into money. Mae wasn’t born into anything. The two of them acted rather high and mighty compared to this family. Martha would put money on it that David’s family made their own money and that’s why they were so ordinary. They didn’t gloat or act like they were better than anyone. In fact, they invited her in, fed her wonderful tasty food and all asked her lots of questions about her life. They were interested in her. She didn’t feel like she had much to tell, but they were hanging off her every word.

  David and Martha insisted that everyone could go and sit down and that they would clear up. Michael sat in the back room with his parents and Martha and David danced around each other in the kitchen. Love was well and truly in the air. They put away the last of the dishes and David blew out the last candle at the dinner table.

  ‘Come on, I’ll give you a tour,’ he said, and he took her hand.

  She had only seen the hallway and the kitchen since she arrived. Martha hadn’t realised the place was as big as it was. Every room was nice and well kept apart from a bit of dust. Some of the rooms hardly looked lived in.

  There was the kitchen where they had been tonight, a front living room which David said didn’t get used too much, a back dining room which was used more in the height of summer and another living room at the back. There was even a downstairs toilet. The back living room was where his parents spent most of their time. His father had a bed made up in there and they had a small sofa, two armchairs and some furniture dotted around. His dad wasn’t mobile enough to get up the stairs anymor
e. Once back in the large hallway, David looked at Martha.

  ‘Shall I show you upstairs? Nothing funny like, just give you the grand tour you know.’ He laughed nervously.

  ‘Yes of course. Why not. I can’t believe how big this place is. It’s huge. It can’t be easy trying to keep it clean and tidy,’ Martha said, genuinely surprised.

  ‘It’s not easy but Mum still manages a bit and I do some when I’m not working. Michael tries, but he’s just not that way inclined. He makes things untidier than they were so we let him off the housework.’

  ‘I heard that.’ Michael shouted through.

  They smirked at each other and went upstairs. Martha was shown four bedrooms, a bathroom and a couple of laundry cupboards. She realised his mother must have been very house proud.

  The house still looked great, but you could see it was a bit tired in places. For a moment, they stood in the hallway not knowing what to do next. Martha asked to use the bathroom and told David to wait for her in his bedroom. She had another look at herself in the mirror. She dabbed her eyes for any smudged makeup and blotted her lips. She ran her finger under the cold tap and used the water to wet her lip and use the lip stain as blusher. She didn’t know what was about to happen. She felt nervous yet excited. Then she thought about Johnny and it took her by surprise. She hadn’t thought of Johnny for a few days. She felt a pang of guilt.

  She stared at her eyes in the mirror desperately looking for answers, but she wasn’t going to get any. She was a big girl now and she was in charge.

  She looked up at the ceiling.

  ‘Johnny, if you are there, I love you. I miss you terribly and think of you all the time. No one will ever replace you.’

  She closed her eyes and pictured his face. This time she remembered it clearly. She hadn’t seen it like that for a long time. He smiled at her and that told her everything she needed to know.

  She blew a kiss up to the ceiling and took a deep breath.

  She went back into David’s room and he was pacing around it slowly. They smiled at each other and then she sat on the edge of his bed. He bit his nail and looked at her. She patted the bed and gestured to him to sit down.

  ‘I can’t sit down Martha. I would love to but I have to be honest with you, I just can’t sit there.’

  She looked at him as he continued to nibble on his nails.

  ‘Why can’t you, David?’

  She asked although she was pretty certain she knew why.

  ‘Don’t ask me that Martha. You will think I’m just like all the other men and I’m not. My mother brought me up better than that.’

  He began to pace again.

  ‘David, I really like you.’

  She reached her hand out to him, but it was just a little too far away to touch him.

  ‘I like you, Martha. That’s what I can’t sit there. If I sit on that bed, I won’t be able to keep my hands to myself. Don’t think I’m always like this because I’m not. It’s just you. You are beautiful. You’re intelligent. You’re funny. You’re a great mother. My mother loves you; my whole family loves you.’

  He turned to look at her.

  ‘I love you.’

  Martha gulped.

  ‘If I lay on that bed with you, I will want to make love to you and the fact that I can’t, well, I couldn’t bear it and so I have to wait. You are a lady and so you will be treated like one.’

  Martha couldn’t quite believe her ears. She never thought she would find a man who was so respectful. He wanted to treat her right and not take what he thought was his.

  ‘I understand, David.’

  Martha stood up.

  ‘I'm actually blown away by how wonderful you are, and I…’

  Her heart began to pound as she felt herself let go.

  ‘I am falling for you, too. I didn’t, however, realise how irresistible I was.’

  She let out a slight giggle.

  ‘But it is important that we do this right. I assume your parents know I am a widow and have a son but still, tonight is the first night we have met and I don’t want them getting the wrong idea about me.’

  David gave her a soft kiss on the lips and then held her head.

  ‘Firstly, my mother knows everything about you and she knew about you the day you arrived in the village because that’s when I first set eyes on you. She knows about Willy, and she can’t wait to meet him. She was sad to hear about your husband and has told me I must take extra care of you and as for what happens between us, that is our business and no one else’s.’

  Martha felt light-headed with pure elation. All her worries disappeared. Her barriers dropped and she wanted to give him everything she had and for him to take all of it.

  She let out a sigh and leaned in to kiss him. She almost wanted to collapse into his arms. It had been years since someone had made her feel this way and who made her feel good and made her feel safe. The two began kissing passionately again like they had in his car earlier. The passion between the two of them seemed to pick up where they left off. It was a deep passion. Peter’s recent affections had been intense and selfish, but David’s were deep and meaningful, and he was sensual just as her late husband, Johnny, had been with her.

  He kissed her and lowered her onto his bed. The kissing became even more animated, passionate and desperate and they began to explore each other with their hands. He ran a hand up her long slender leg. She had a hand on his chest, feeling his strong physique.

  He kissed her all over her neck and then her chest and as low as her dress would allow. He rose to his feet and removed his top to expose his naked torso. He looked much stronger and more rugged than she had expected. He removed her shoes and lifted her skirt. He kissed up her legs. Every single goose bump on her delicate skin rose. Her soft hairs stood on end. He kissed her thigh and caused her to tremble. He sat her up and tenderly removed her dress, taking a minute to stare at her body and take in her beauty.

  While keeping his eyes fixated on her he removed the rest of his clothes down to his underwear. He climbed on top of her and they kissed for the first time, skin on skin. Martha felt like she was in heaven. One of her favourite things was just two bodies touching, naked skin on naked skin. The two of them became immersed in each other and David couldn’t hide his hard erection. It was big and prodding against her. She couldn’t wait to feel it inside of her. She had been living a life of celibacy for so long. That sensation of him sliding in and taking her breath away, she could only imagine the euphoria she would experience. Those sensations had been lying dormant within her for years.

  She was tingling with passion in her knickers and if she knew him better, she would just take over right now and take him. Get on top of him and sit on him and take every inch he had to offer. He was kissing her all over her stomach. Even though she had carried a child, her stomach was smooth and taut. She was slight and slender. He pulled her bra down to expose her breasts and sucked and nibbled on her erect nipples. Her body was writhing in pure ecstasy. He got up and quickly removed his pants.

  ‘Sorry,’ he said, ‘I can’t wait any longer.’

  She sat up and removed her bra.

  ‘Don’t be. I want you.’

  With that, he pulled down her knickers and straddled her. He gently pushed her down on the bed, kissing her continuously, stroking her hair down to her chest and then her breasts and then finally dragging his index finger down her torso to her navel. He wet his finger, never taking his eyes off her and stroked it down and around her and then inside to make sure she was ready. She bit her lip. He pushed her legs wide and brought himself up to her.

  ‘Are you sure?’

  She nodded back at him. He slid his hard erection inside of her and she gasped. She wrapped her legs tight around him and pulled him in close.

  She was in heaven.

  Chapter 11

  David pulled up outside Mae and Peter’s house.

  It was dark and the street was barely lit. There was soft drizzle floating gently down
and you could just make it out in the soft lighting of the street lamps.

  ‘I wish you would’ve stayed,’ he said, looking at Martha like a lovesick puppy.

  He stroked her face, she held his stare and bit her lip.

  ‘This evening has been wonderful and you, well, you were wonderful,’ she said blushing slightly. ‘I have to get back to Willy. I haven’t left him on his own overnight before. So much has changed for him recently, I don’t want him to think I am abandoning him. He’s probably asleep anyway, but he needs a goodnight kiss from his mum. He needs to know I am home.’

  She let out a gentle sigh.

  ‘Why don’t you bring him over next time. My mother would love to meet the little guy and Michael is great with kids too.’

  Martha looked at him but didn’t say anything. Her mind was racing with several thoughts all at once.

  ‘He will have to come over one day. If you keep liking me and keep wanting to see me, then I guess the next step will be you and Willy coming to live with me.’

  Martha was shocked. She hadn’t thought that far ahead but what shocked her even more was that the idea didn’t scare her. David made her feel whole again. He made her feel comfortable in herself. Being at his house tonight, she felt at home. She hadn’t realised at the time, but she had moved around that kitchen with more ease than she ever had at Mae’s. It all just felt so natural.

  She broke into a sheepish smile.

  ‘Yes, I suppose that would be the next step. One step at a time, but yes, one day. Your family would need to get to know me better first.’

  She reached down to pick up her bag.

  ‘They will get to know you because you’ll be coming around more and you will bring Willy with you too. I’ll never be his dad and I would never try to replace him, but I promise you I will look after you both. You’d never want for anything. I could teach him things. He could come to the garage with me. You and mum could make the house all pretty. She would like another lady in the house, and I know she likes you.’