Neighbours across the pond ( closed )

[DeliciousMaiden]

OOC:

This is a closed thread for myself (DM) and DaveDuff.
Please read along and feel free to PM or email any comments.
Hope you enjoy!
{{{huggs}}}

IC:

Beverley Chambers – 32

“Yeah! Ok… coming!”

I’d shouted and moved unthinkingly to open the door.
I blinked as I saw him stood before me holding the package.
“Shit!” I thought.
This was not the first impression I had intended to make.

His look was impassive. His expression closed.
Was he angry?… amused?
I’d have pulled the robe closer round me, only I’d not been wearing one as I’d staggered down the passage to answer the door.
His eyes raked over my dishevelled appearance.
I saw a flicker of emotion… faint surprise?

So far he’d seen me in my working gear, sober skirts and suits, neat skirt, blouse and jacket.
That’s the image I usually conveyed.
Now I stood my hair scraped high into a loose ponytail, lose as in untidy, as in several strands having made a bid for freedom and falling forward.
I wore livid yellow shorts and a t-shirt announcing a “DON’T MESS WITH ME MAN” Bart Simpson logo…( it was a gift!)… barefeet and.. oh my god.. bright coloured toenails of varying clashing colours completed the ensemble.

In short I looked a mess.

I pushed at the straggling bits of hair, tucking them behind my ear and turned on my dazzling smile.

“Hiya ... you must be my new neighbour!”

*********************************************

I was lying through my teeth and I had a nagging feeling that he knew it.
He knew that I knew who he was and he knew that I knew that he knew I knew it!

He’d moved into the flat below me in the middle of July and for the first week I hadn’t heard or seen anything of this enigmatic new arrival.
The week after that, last week, had been the first week of my holidays.

The one time I’m glad that I teach is summer!
This year there was a whole six weeks clear holiday and I was going to enjoy every single minute of my freedom.
This was the time I could become me.
No longer was I “Ms Chambers”, as I was often quite correctly and officially referred to, nor was I “Miss” as the kids preferred, I was me… whatever that was.
I had six weeks to discard the obligation to act responsibly, drag out my real self, dust myself off and treat myself to a riotous party of self-indulgence.
I knew I’d have to spend the last week subduing the personality I’d unleashed and enjoyed the previous month and gradually take up the bonds of professionalism again.

My holidays usually follow the same pattern.
My first week is “slobsville” during which I lounge around and let my body clock totally reset itself. I read, I play on the computer, I eat any foods at any time of day and I go into retail madness and order all sorts of things that I intend to use to occupy me in the forthcoming weeks, I wear weird clashing clothes and generally shut out the world.

It had been during this first holiday week that I’d actually seen him. Well noticed him. I wondered what on earth he was doing here? I couldn’t work out what he did.
Every morning a car collected him.
Off he went full suit, tie, carrying mobile, and a laptop in extended padded case.
He’d come back half way through the afternoon and open our communal front door, then I’d hear his own flat door bang as he ensconced himself, hermit style in his flat for the rest of the day.

Only once had I seen him venture out into the garden and then he’d had his laptop and phone with him and spent the whole hour hammering the keys and it seemed snarling down the phone.

Not that I’d been spying on him…!
I just happened to be washing up and my kitchen window overlooks the garden… and.. well.. I was curious. You need to know who you’re living with.. above!

*******************************************

Now it was “Freedom Friday” of week one and the only sign that this guy existed was that my mail order deliveries had miraculously appeared outside my door, balanced precariously on the first step. No doubt the bell had been rung early each morning and it was he who had had to sign for or receive the various items I’d ordered.

For the first time, rather than just leaving the box, he’d knocked, somewhat forcibly on the door.
The noise had dragged me out of my comatose state on the sofa.
I had rolled off and staggered over to open the door before I realised what I was doing.


I’d stood there in dazed reverie for long enough.


“How nice to meet you at last…fancy a tea.. coffee?”

I offered, completely forgetting that the "guilt-ridden house cleaning stage" did not kick in until well into week two and that the place was a total tip!

OOC: Picture of Beverly - not as she looks this morning!

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Beverley Chambers

OOC:

Pic didn't work before.. hope it does this time.

Apologies Dave et al x
DM

 

[DaveDuff]

Looking forward to this...

OOC:

Thanks for the invite, DM

Hope I prove to be a compatible partner.....

Followers, Welcome, hope you enjoy, PM's and E-mails accepted...


IC:


Timothy Evans - 28

How in the hell did I end up here? I had found myself pondering that question more than once over the last couple of weeks. This wasn't exactly what I'd had in mind when I took the job at International Travel Corp., nearly a year and a half ago.
***********************************************
I was a computer guy, I started off in-house, administrator of the mid-sized network in the Seattle office. I had more than a few run-ins with those hi-tech geeks... this way, no that way, that's not how we do it here.... I was sick of it, I could never live in one of those damn little cubicles anyway, punching a time clock, frittering my life away, waiting for the elusive gold watch and pension. When this position came up on the 'Job Postings' section, of the comapnies electonic newsletter, I couldn't move my cursor fast enough to the 'click here to apply' button...

It sounded great, hell, it still sounds great,

Web Page Designer: flexible hours, work at home, travel possible, paid accomodations.

I would of had to have been an idiot for not jumping at the opportunity, to get out of that corporate hell-hole. Now I wondered if I were a bigger one for having done so....

The job seemed easy enough, at first, designing web sites, I had done my share of that, but they were all pretty dull, corporate web sites, products, services, blah..blah...blah....These guys wanted someting different, after all ITC was based on travel. I had supplied them with a myraid of different designs, and they seemed to like them well enough, hell, they had praised me, and my work.

"But", they had said, (those frickin' corporate pinheads just loved to throw in those 'But's'), the content lacked 'Insight'..'Feeling'..'Inspiration'...and some more of those sissy, frilly kind of words that I wasn't really interested in. They begged me to stay on, even offered me a little bump in pay, if I would enter a new program, that some big-wig, sit around a table, problem-solving task-force had come up with. I just loved those self-promoting, over indulging titles these corporate dick-wads invented for themselves. Where do they get their egos, anyway. I thought about it for awhile, and I decided to give them a chance, listen see to what they had to offer.

It sounded like a chance in a million, travel to exotic destinations, live with the people, get to know the places I was designing for. "Sign me up!" I said, after all, the sights I had submitted for acceptance were just like that, exotic, inviting, places I had always wanted to visit, Jamaica, The Virgin Islands, Hawaii, placed I'd read about, with beautiful girls, neverending nightlife, the kind of places people traveled to. I signed a five year contract. Hell, I would've signed up for more if they'd have let me.

So, you can imagine my dismay, when I recieved my first assignment. I had opened the envelope with shaky fingers, dreaming of bottomless daquari's and topless women. I had stocked up on sunscreen, expensive sunglasses, swimsuits, shorts and sandals. Then the brochure fell out on the table, Big bold letters, like an unexpected swift kick in the balls...London, England.

I stared at it for awhile, repeating the words over and over, still they sounded the same...London, England?....I closed my eyes. Pictures of old women, with gray buns, cateye glasses, dressed in 17 layers of wool coats, musty, tattered dresses, shuffling through the fog with a bag full of who the hell knows what, coming from the butcher, planning some god awful supper for her wretched family. Stodgy old men, pipes in their mouths, talking like an old Sherlock Holmes movie, about the latest cricket wicket, or whatever the hell they called that goofy form of baseball they played over there. Bridges, Castles, Queens, and those gin drinking statues in their giant black fuzzzy hats...Beefeaters, I think they were called. Where were the beaches, the sun, the skin, the wild nightclubs, I kept scouring my brain, and couldn't match anything at all pleasand with the words, London, England.

No, it can't be. Five years. No fuckin' way, man. I flipped through my papers, there had to be an out. I placed a call to corportate, sat on hold, and was transferred umpteen times before I got any straight answers.

Yep.....London.... 1 year....more assignments to follow....contract....

Well, I did have a choice after all, I could go to London for a year, or I could quit.

I fired up the PC, and did some searches....Well, not exactly the pictures that scrolled through my head when I first read the words on the brochure, well, all except the stiff silent guys from the label of my favorite gin bottle, but still a far cry from the ones I'd imagined before I had open the envelope. The web sites I found were mostly crap, hotels, trees, castles....nothing with the style, look, or technology, I was used to creating. How do they get paid for publishing this shit, I wondered. I could make Antarctica more appealing than this.

So, it seemed, I had made my decision...A year of my life...a roll of the dice....so I crapped out this time....I could put up with a year, I hoped, for another chance to take a roll into my dreams.....
***********************************************


So here I was, London, frickin, England. Well somewhere near it I presumed, anyway. I'd been here nearly two weeks, and hadn't seen a damned thing. Every morning it was the same thing. The driver they'd set me up with was an idiot, He'd pick me up in the morning, seemingly drive to the nearest traffic, and we'd sit, for what seemed like hours at times. Oh I'd see a few cars pass by. People apparently came and went somewhere, but all that I'd really learned, is that they had tall busses, drove on the wrong frickin' side of the road, and had some sort of strange fetish for a strange form of traffic barrier, they were everywhere, and they all looked the same, they called them roundabouts, I guess because once you got trapped in one, you could spend the whole damn day going round, and, round, and round, about....absolutely nothing!.....

After a little over a week of this nonsense, I informed the driver that I no longer required the service he was providing. Obviously, the word got back to my supervisor, and it took an long conversation to convince him that, I was sure I could get around on my own, at least as good as I was doing with the driver.

The next day, determined, to get something done, I decided to take the public transit system... apparently another big mistake, I did get around alright, I just had no idea where I had gotten to. The more I tried, it seemed, the worse it got, I spent the whole day, deciphering maps, seemingly coded in some secret language. Finally, 12 hours later, and with a 50 dollar taxi fare, I arrived back at my apartment, or flat, as they seemed to call it over hear. Who the hell had come up with that one? Flat?, hell it was a two story building.

The only positive hope I had left was that the 'flat', upstairs from mine was occupied by a seemingly normal, attractive, from the little I had seen of her, woman of about my age. I knew nothing of her, except her name, and that, only by seeing it on her packages. She dressed nicely, on the occasions I had caught a glimpse of her, nice blouses, conservative skirts, and suit jackets....She was a brunette, I didn't even know the length for sure. She seemed fit and trim. I hadn't seen her at all this past week, though I knew she was home, I could here her walking around occasionally, and could overhear her television at times. I assumed she had been ill.

I had decided not to go out today, to take advantage of the 'flexible work schedule'. I hadn't hardly spoked to anyone, save the hollering at my idiot driver, a few animated phone conversations with my supervisor, back in the States, and the nearly daily "Hello", with the postman. He seemed it fun to deliver packages for my upstairs neighbor, and knock at my door for a signature. I just got in the habit of scratching my name, and placing the packages on her step.

Today, I decided, would be different, I was up for an adventure, and figured it would be quite difficult to fail at this one. I picked up the package and looked at it. Not unlike the rest, plain brown wrapper, nondescript return address, and her name, Beverley Chambers. Even it seemed a bit stodgy, but what around here didn't. I suppose her friends called her Bev, but not wanting to stick my foot in my mouth at our first meeting, I decided to stick with Ms Chambers, safe and unassuming I figured.

I ran my fingers through my hair, and gave a knock at her door.

I was a bit surprised, to say the least, at the appearance of Ms Chambers......Obvioiusly it was her day off, or, perhaps, I had been right in my previous assumption, that she was getting over an illness, of something, I now hoped I wasn't intruding, as I saw her room to be a bit of a mess, to put it kindly, adding to my conclusion, that she wasn't feeling well. She was weating bright yellow shorts, and a tee-shirt, emblazoned with the words,'DON'T MESS WITH ME, MAN'. I immediatly took that message to heart. Her hair was long, at least parts of it were, it was half pulled up, into a sort of a pony tail, I suppose, much of it sticking out here and there, obviously not cared for lately...... She seemed to have a pretty face, what I could see of it anyway, behing her invading locks. My eyes looked down at the floor, partly because I was embarrassed, for catching her in this situation, but mostly to keep me from staring at her in disbelief. It proved to be of little use, as I was greeted by a variety of brightly painted toenails, none of the colors matching anything in sight.....Grasping for anything positive, once again, I'll have to say her legs, and her feet for that matter, short of the unusual looking paint scheme, were very attractive, slender and firm, sexy even, I would have said, until, upon closer inspection, I saw that what I had heard in the States was true, European women didn't often shave, at least not their legs, anyway......

"Well, Tim," I thought to myself, "your record of succeding at an adventure is still perfect.... what does this make it.... 0 for 8 now......"

The silence was deafening, I was at a total loss for words... Suddenly, she spoke, I looked up, and she was tucking some hair behind her ears, she did have an attractive face, it was something I could focus on, without feeling too ill at ease....

“Hiya ... you must be my new neighbour!”

She had a plesant enough voice, I had seen her several times before, she seemed completely normal, although I saw only glimpses, she had always appeared quite well dressed, and seemed to hold a job, some sort of professional even, I had previously assumed. There had to be an explaination, although, I wasn't sure that I wanted to hear it, maybe she was just a bit 'odd' shall I say. You can't judge a book by it's cover, but if that cover gives a first impression, of what you might find inside, I was seriously thinking of passing on this particular volume.....

I just stuck my hands out, offering her the package, my reason for knocking at the door to this... this bizarre scene that had just unfolded before my eyes.....

It wasn't as bad as all that, I told myself, just not quite what I had expected, not that I had really expected anything to begin with.

Realising, I hadn't yet answered her greeting, I cleared my throat,

"Hiya,"... I had to look at the package to remember her name again now, "Ms Chambers?" I couldn't help it from sounding like a question, I was almost hoping for a response in the negative.... "I'm Tim,...errr...Timothy Evans,".... I'm renting the apar.... I mean the flat below you......I..ahh... believe this is for you?...." looking again at the package I should have left on the stair, like the others.....

“How nice to meet you at last…fancy a tea.. coffee?”

I thought of a thousand reasons to say no, any of which, I would have been happy with, but, she was my neighbor, and I had to live with her, no under her, no in the same building as her, for the next year to come....This meeting was then inevitable, I supposed, best to get it over with quickly........

"Um....... sure......ok.......I could use a strong cup of coffee about now.......just a quick one though......" I said aprehensivly, as I entered.... and shut the door behind me.....

 

[DaveDuff]

Tim's pic

OOC:


oops, After that opening, somehow I completely forgot to post Tim's pic....what could I have been thinking...LOL

Ive got a feeling this is going to be fun.....

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Beverly Chambers

Why does it always happen to me??
The Gods must plan it .. deliberately!
I must have been someone seriously psychotic in a past life to deserve punishment like this!
Why is it that whenever I meet a drop-dead-gorgeous man, I look like an absolute wreck?

I looked at the package.
He held it out as if he were about to catch some lethal disease.

"Hiya. Ms Chambers?"
His questioning eyes fell as I nodded.

"I'm Tim,...errr...Timothy Evans,.... I'm renting the apar.... I mean the flat below you......I..ahh... believe this is for you?...."

Ms Chambers?
Still at least he wasn’t irate at having to keep bringing the things up the stairs every day!
I took the package from him noting that my offer of tea or coffee had only just prevented him from turning and fleeing downstairs.
I began to find the situation amusing.
He might be a hunk, but he was not exactly … um.. charismatic.

"Um....... sure......ok.......I could use a strong cup of coffee about now.......”

He responded with obvious reluctance.
Not offended I merely smirked as I thought:
“Yes I bet u could,”
After all, I hadn’t even looked in a mirror yet this morning.


I waved him in and closed the door.
Like a trapped rabbit he added …

“…just a quick one though......"

Finally registering the obvious, I turned with a grin and said, somewhat perceptively,

“Hey.. you’re American aren’t you? … long way from home!
How are you enjoying our beautiful British Summer?”

I walked into the kitchen as I spoke and realised that he was dragging awkwardly behind me.

“Come in, come in…”

I urged not waiting for a response to my question.

“The place is a mess and so am I, but… “

I pretended to check the calendar.

“In about 48 hours I should have cleared all my surfaces and found the floor again and completed the makeover…”

I laughed as I put the kettle on and turned to discover that he didn’t get the joke. I knew I had a stupid sense of humour, sometimes it got worse when I was ill at ease, but he obviously had a different laugh button to me! Maybe it'd gotten lost in translation?

I noticed his eyes roaming over the kitchen.
Ok.. well.. I guess it was a bit.. different.
The table was cluttered with mail-order catalogues and he had to move copies of Cosmo and New Woman… holiday reading… he had intended to seat himself at the table, but now stood looking at the latest cover declaring "Orgasms - Doing it alone!" his face the image of bemused query.

Mentally I checked out the kitchen from a stranger's perception:
The dishwasher was full of mercifully clean cutlery and crockery – hey, I wasn’t a total slob – though there were about 5 glasses in the washing up bowl and a clutch of empty wine bottles by the bin.
The notice board was a clutter of indecipherable notes and cuttings and lists and, the piece de résistance - to complete the well-lived-in-feel, the fridge, was adorned by assorted magnets, each holding various works of art from the kids in my last year class.
Surreal and lurid pictures shone out with captions such as:

“Injoy your holyday” and “I will miss you” and “Godby Miss” and “to my best teecher” each competing for space.
Ok.. so I admit it.. I’m a sentimental softie!
Usually such offerings stayed well and truly displayed for the first month of the summer holiday, but then I had be brutal and take them down - though not throw them away - and make myself focus on the forthcoming miscreants and begin to plan how to educate, subdue and generally manage them for the next 9 months or so.

His glance had followed mine and he was now examining these illiterate masterpieces:

“My kids..” I explained, “I’m a hoarder…”

He still looked puzzled.
I took two mugs off the mug tree.

“Sit down Tim.. and by the way … it’s Bee.. You know as in “comes after A and before C”… if you call me Ms Chambers again, I’ll have to give you detention.”

The lame joke was designed to clarify my professional status and hopefully put this poor man at his ease.
As I turned, spoon in hand at the sink, I realised both intentions had failed.
I regarded him frankly and spoke with shocking - judging by Tim’s facial expression – honestly.

“Tim.. Thanks for bringing up all my packages this week, and I’m sorry if I’m not making much sense. I teach and I’m on the first week of the summer break. I was asleep on the sofa when you knocked just now and it takes a while to get my head in gear.“

I saw.. realisation? …. dawn.

“I’m still euphoric on the newly-won freedom, but I tend to calm down by week two and … if you promise to take that horrified look of your face… I promise to be positively comatose by week four?”

I smiled quirk a smile, but think sympathetically: Poor guy a stranger in the country and with me living above him. That was all he needed ... and it showed.

“Now.. strong coffee it is… “

So saying I took out a“Rombouts one cup filter” and poured water over it.

 

[DaveDuff]

She took the package and set it on a table.. murmered something about the coffee.. then,

“Hey.. you’re American aren’t you? … long way from home!
How are you enjoying our beautiful British Summer?.........Come in, come in.."

I heard a bit of sarcasm in her remark.. I wondered if she had something against Americans...

She was off, before I could answer, into the other room, I'd like to have told her how my damn British summer was going, it was terribly, I couldn't wait for the summer, hell the year to end.... but I did have to figure out how to get my job done, in the meantime...

I followed her into the kitchen.... she was looking at a calendar...

“In about 48 hours I should have cleared all my surfaces and found the floor again and completed the makeover…”

What?... does she mean clean the place up.. Why don't these people speak English..... I mean I know they speak English, but it was not the English I had learned, I was prepared for accents, but, hell, I was going to need a translator it seemed...

I just looked at her with a quizzical grin...

I scanned the kitchen, mostly normal here, there were some empty wine bottles, by the trash, various dishes, and bowls, a cluttered bulletin board, covered with notes... I moved to sit at the table...again the normal clutter, moving a magazine, I noticed a headline....."Orgasms - Doing it alone!" ...My face turned a shade, and I gave her a funny smile... hmmm... wine....orgasms.... now that sounded like a good combination... in any form of English.......Interest picqued...I gave her another look, She really was quite a looker, I just hadn't noticed it before.....just a bit of cleaning up and I'll bet she was a clock stopper......


Her refrigator was covered with childlike pictures, my kids, she had called them, She said she was a hoarder...What in the hell was that.?...All i could think of was some sort of collecter....there was a lot to learn....

“Sit down Tim.. and by the way … it’s Bee.. You know as in “comes after A and before C”… if you call me Ms Chambers again, I’ll have to give you detention.”

Another statement I didn't understand at first, oh Bee, not B...her name... Not Bev as I had assumed, but Bee...Why did she seem to talk to me in puzzles.... I was having a real hard time understanding my own damn language...



“Tim.. Thanks for bringing up all my packages this week, and I’m sorry if I’m not making much sense. I teach and I’m on the first week of the summer break. I was asleep on the sofa when you knocked just now and it takes a while to get my head in gear.“

Finally, something I could make out...she's a teacher.... the pictures... the ABC's..... her kids....the clutter, and the comfortable clothes, I wasn't going to ask about the toenails.....

“I’m still euphoric on the newly-won freedom, but I tend to calm down by week two and … if you promise to take that horrified look of your face… I promise to be positively comatose by week four?”


My face, of course, I must have looked like a idiot, a deer in the headlights.... I was so confused, had so much to learn...My god, what have I got myself into?

“Now.. strong coffee it is… “

"Yes, please, Bee, and I'm sorry, but I hardly understood a da... darn word you were saying back there. I know I must look a fool, but I'm having a terribly hard time here, ever since I landed, could you possibly give a damn yankee a break and explain just what the hell happened here?.....hmmm, pardon my french....but, do you all talk like that?... I'll never survive on this blasted island....."

I sat, happy for the coffee, and hoping she would help me understand.....

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Beverly Chambers

"Yes, please, Bee, and I'm sorry, but I hardly understood a da... darn word you were saying back there. I know I must look a fool, but I'm having a terribly hard time here, ever since I landed, could you possibly give a damn yankee a break and explain just what the hell happened here?.....hmmm, pardon my french....but, do you all talk like that?... I'll never survive on this blasted island....."

I looked at him surprised. He hadn’t understood me ha?
Ok.. I was gabbling, still…?

“No.. not everyone speaks as quickly as I do, Tim,”

I reassured him,

“.. I’ll try to remember to slow up a bit when I’m round you, ok?”

I smiled so he knew that the comment wasn't supposed to be insulting.
Quickly I finished making the coffee, asking him about milk, cream and sugar, then made myself a pot of tea.
Bringing the drinks over to the table I sat down opposite him.
We both sipped the hot liquids and allowed ourselves time to assess each other.
He looked on edge still; as if he didn’t quite know what he was doing here.
Here being in England, rather than my dump of a flat.
More than my bizarre appearance and daily package delivery had gotten to him.
I didn’t want to pry, but…

“If you don’t mind me saying so, Tim, you look a bit.. lost .. still.. yet.. you must have been here for...what at least two weeks now..?”

I asked casually, then thought,
“Damn – so much for implying you didn’t know who he was, he’ll think he’s been under observation since day one.”
I didn’t let any of that show and just held my teacup comfortingly in my two hands.
Curiosity ever being a weakness of mine, I continued to pry, err ask;

“So… are you working, studying, visiting friends..?”

I let the question hang in the air.
Tourists did not stay in these kinds of flats and I knew the minimum lease time on these types of property was six months.
I thought of his words, the way he’d expressed his incomprehension;
Why was he having “a terribly hard time” since he’d arrived?
It didn’t make sense, but I felt sorry for him.

“Look, if I can help you out in any way whilst you’re here… just ask…”

I couldn’t help a mischievous smile as I added;

“ ..after all, we are “living together”…”

I bit back a giggle and drained my tea, remembering belatedly that this man didn’t seem to “do” humour.

 

[DaveDuff]

Timothy Evans

I realized I was being a bit, ummm, rude?, well, outspoken, at least. I had been told, more than once, thinking back, that I tended to get that way sometimes. Especially when my temper had gotten the best of me, and that, it surely had in the last couple of weeks. I figured that if I were to recieve any assistance, from Bee, or anyone else for that matter, I was going to have to try to keep my emotions, and my cynical attitude in check a bit. It was not something I was used to doing, but it would probably make things a bit easier. I took a long deep breathe, trying to calm my nerves, and my blood pressure.

"I'm quite sorry, Bee, I'm sure I've come off poorly. I tend to let my mouth get away from me sometimes. Please, don't take anything I've said personally, and I'll try to keep my negative side under control in the future. I gave her an apologetic smile, and felt a little better for it.

“No.. not everyone speaks as quickly as I do, Tim,”

“.. I’ll try to remember to slow up a bit when I’m round you, ok?”

Thank God for that, I thought to my self, oops, doing it again, careful Tim.

“If you don’t mind me saying so, Tim, you look a bit.. lost .. still.. yet.. you must have been here for...what at least two weeks now..?”

“So… are you working, studying, visiting friends..?”

"That would be great, It's no so much the speed, I guess, well maybe it is, a little," I grinned. " I just didn't understand the context of some of your words, I know we both speak English,'..nervous laugh..."but,..." I struggled to make clear my shortcoming....'I just don't seem to understand your, not you personally, but England in general, yes England's flavor of the language." That came out funny, but I hoped she got the jist of it. "So, feel free to have a bit of humor at my expense, when I ask a silly question or ask for a definition, of some particular word, or phrase. I'm a big boy, I can take it."

I realized she didn't know any more about me than I had about her. I'd been mostly listening, she had no idea of who I was, what I was doing here.

"Let me go back to the beginning," I laughed, "That should help you understand where I'm coming from:

You'll probably never believe this, from of the remarks I made, but I am here to promote England to the worlds travel community." The statement did sound ridiculous, considering the things I had thought, and even said. "Sure, you must be thinking, This guy, promoting England, with that kind of help, who needs enemies? , and I don't bame you a bit for that, in fact, I still think that myself, for the most part, but that is my assignment. I work for a large corporation in America, in the travel industry. I am here to get a feel of the places, the people, the culture, and put together the best damn web site the world has ever seen. A web site that, when people visit, they'll become entranced, addicted, and they'll just have to come here, to see it all for themselves."

That pretty set out my task, I thought, now for my miserable attmpt at accomolishing it.

"So far, I've made no progress whatsoever. I've been stuck in traffic, seemingly every time I venture out, gotten myself lost several times, become confused, and frustrated nearly all the time, and fired my only aide, a driver that I berated for being incompetent."

I hoped that made clear my situation, I seemed more like a frustration dumping session, but getting it off my chest, made me feel as if I had taken the first step.

"To tell you the truth, I was not at all happy about the task, but now, it's becoming a challenge. I'm sure there are many great, and grand things to do and to see here, my trouble is I can't seem to find, muchless understand, any of them."

And then the words I secretely had been hoping to hear, that I had felt too much of an imposition to ask.....

“Look, if I can help you out in any way whilst you’re here… just ask..after all, we are “living together…”

"Oh, where can I begin? Anything, anything at all. I hate to impose, I'm sure you've got a busy schedule, and looking forward to your vacation, but if you could maybe steer me to a competent tour guide, or help me understand the transit system, or answer some of my questions, as I'm sure I'll have a million of them. I don't want to be a bother, but any help at all you could provide, would be most appreciated."

Was that a flirt?...Well it was meant to be humorous anyway, so I thought, I'd take a stab at responding in a like manner...a grin broke out on my face as I crafted the words in my mind.....

"And one more question, if I may......since, we are, as you put it,....living together....What in the Queens name were you drinking..." I glanced at the empty wine bottles, knowingly..."and why didn't you come down and invite me up....when you had you little toenail painting party!!...

I couldn't hold back my chuckles as my eyes again became fixated on her multicolored, mismatched toes......

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Beverley Chambers

"I'm quite sorry, Bee, I'm sure I've come off poorly. I tend to let my mouth get away from me sometimes. Please, don't take anything I've said personally, and I'll try to keep my negative side under control in the future.”

I smiled at his apology.
He really did seem pretty negative, but he had redeeming features as well I mused, especially when he smiled!

He was speaking again I realised about not getting the “flavour of the language.”
I smiled sympathetically, but did not really understand what was so different, but then I had never been to America and didn’t really know any yanks.
Communication problems all round then…?

I tuned in again as he said;

"So, feel free to have a bit of humor at my expense, when I ask a silly question or ask for a definition, of some particular word, or phrase. I'm a big boy, I can take it."

I quirked an eyebrow. Big boy ha…?
My eyes drifted to below his waist, wondering what it was he could take…
I suddenly checked myself and my… lewd thoughts and snapped my attention back to his face as he began to explain about his job.

"Sure, you must be thinking, This guy, promoting England, with that kind of help, who needs enemies?

I tried not to nod in agreement.
I couldn’t imagine anyone more out of touch with what England was about or the people.
Hell it was like sending me out to promote America!
I sipped my tea and continued to listen, trying not to let an amused smile play on my lips.

"So far, I've made no progress whatsoever. I've been stuck in traffic, seemingly every time I venture out, gotten myself lost several times, become confused, and frustrated nearly all the time, and fired my only aide, a driver that I berated for being incompetent."

I couldn’t help the amused surprise that crossed my face.
London – in a taxi? God.. no wonder he was frustrated!
He really did need help!

”… if you could maybe steer me to a competent tour guide, or help me understand the transit system, or answer some of my questions, as I'm sure I'll have a million of them. I don't want to be a bother, but any help at all you could provide, would be most appreciated."

He was still so formal and guarded. I put my cup down as I considered.
Did I want to spend part of my holidays shepherding him round?
I eyed him... mmm... well.. there were worse ways of spending time.. . besides.... it was my duty as a Brit...
Maybe if I let him hang round with me for a couple of weeks, maybe that would set him up… if I could loosen him up a bit that was …

I looked up and met his look. I was amazed at the grin that broke across it, the first unguarded expression I’d seen.

"And one more question, if I may......since, we are, as you put it,....living together....”

I quirked a grin, then nodded preparing for a question about trains, or museums or…

“What in the Queens name were you drinking..."

He interrupted glancing at my empties.

“…and why didn't you come down and invite me up....when you had you little toenail painting party!!...

I all but gasped as he chuckled and I belatedly remembered my toes..
Blushing I joined in his amusement. - Man he had a cute laugh!

I couldn’t claim I hadn’t seen him around, so I decided to match his bantering tone.

“I need to be formally introduced before I expose my toes to strangers… although… you got a sneak preview this morning… it’s only cos you jumped me when I was still half asleep that you get to see me in all my splendour..”

I stand up and do a mock twirl, knowing I look a mess, but not caring and giggling at his continued amusement.

"And as for what I drink... I have a beverage to coordinate with every nail colour... "

I realise as soon as I make the statement that it is the only thing about me that does co-ordinte this morning.

“So… as we’re now on.. intimate terms... I guess I’d best lend you a hand, cos you sure are not going to get any feel for the place locked in traffic jams.
You need to get out there and do the tourist thing. You can’t observe from the sidelines. “

I hang on the edge of the table and eyed him curiously.

“I’ve got a proposition for you. I usually indulge in the sight-seeing-cultural-touristy bit at this time in the holidays.
Why don’t you tag along and after a couple of weeks, you might feel happy enough to go it alone…?”

I watch his face, trying to assess his reaction.

“Now… do you really need to go, or was that an excuse to get out quick?”

I smile, as he looks somewhat shame faced.

“Cos if not I have heap of guide books and stuff in the den, you could look at them whilst I get a shower and get dressed… no time like the present.. and then today or.. tomorrow…we hit the town?”

I paused looking at him, hoping he’d actually followed all that.

“But you have to do as I say…"

I say in my best school marm voice.

"...and no wingeing or opting out… else you don’t get the benefit of my services….”

I laugh flirtatiously…

“Deal…?”

I hold out my hand and eye him challengingly.

 

[DaveDuff]

Timothy Evans

She seemed to be listenting, taking in my words, and my problems sincerely. I wasn't sure by the look she gave about the difference in our language.....maybe she was unaware as I... anyway, we could always work on that, if she would be willing to help at all, after all, she may have had plans, better plans than teaching a damn American things he didn't seem to want to learn...I reminded myself to dampen the temper, try to be more easygoing, there were going to be frustrations, but I'd do well to limit their affect on me.

I couldn't help but notice her eyes drop toward my crotch while lifting an eyebrow....hmmm, I thought, this could get interesting...wondering if she had noticed me glancing at her... umm... personal reigons.....

She seemed to find some humor at my statement regarding my work, as well she should. Again, I realized I would have to change, or at least wrangle my attitude, if I wanted any chance of success.. I could see her laughing, inside over my earlier trevails.... the car... the getting lost... as if she knew, or had seen it before....

She put her cup down, pondering my request.....would she help me?... I had tried to be more calm, less irritated....Did she at least know of someone who could help...probably afraid of losing that friend if she sent me their way.....

Just the look in her face, as she looked up, told me that I was in good hands....I could feel a tremendous weight, lifted from my shoulders.... she was formulating some sort of plan, I surmised, and having fun with it as well....

Wonderful, I thought, unable to keep a large grin from exploding across my before-nervous, serious face...I think she just may help, after all, and, it apperared, she may just enjoy it too...

I caught her in a blush, after asking about the toes, but she seemed to join in on my fun and exclained, whilst standing up and doing a twirl.....

“I need to be formally introduced before I expose my toes to strangers… although… you got a sneak preview this morning… it’s only cos you jumped me when I was still half asleep that you get to see me in all my splendour..”

I took the opportinity too look again, a little closer this time at her while she twirled, laughing at my first impressions...."I'll bet she looks real good... mentally imagining her another outfit, or none at all, remembering her glance at me....wondering if this trip may all be worth it after all, no matter how rough the task at hand may seem at the moment....

“So… as we’re now on.. intimate terms... I guess I’d best lend you a hand, cos you sure are not going to get any feel for the place locked in traffic jams.
You need to get out there and do the tourist thing. You can’t observe from the sidelines. “

Ahhh, major relief......and hapiness overcame me, just at the mention of assistance....she eyed me curiously, and continued.....

“I’ve got a proposition for you. I usually indulge in the sight-seeing-cultural-touristy bit at this time in the holidays.
Why don’t you tag along and after a couple of weeks, you might feel happy enough to go it alone…?”

I sounded like just what I needed, to follow a local, see how they did it, learn the tricks, the secrets to getting around, and at the same time.... spend some time with her, get to know this gal a little better, this girl who at first almost scared me from her stoop, and I was now finding intriquing... I jumped at the offer, trying not to sound too eager....

"Are you sure, I'd hate to be an imposition. Yes, of course, if you'd be willing, I would be most appreciative, Bee, that's a very kind, and generous offer...

“Now… do you really need to go, or was that an excuse to get out quick?”

My face reddened a bit, remembering my reluctance when she first invited me in....I could only force a chuckle, and tried to make ammends.....

"You caught that then, I grinned again....just ummm, keeping my bases covered so to say...In fact, i'm beginning to enjoy myself now, I"ll admit I was quite uneasy at first you know... first impressions and all you know.. I laughed, and put my hand on hers, hoping to convey the feel of ease and comfort, that was beginning to overcome me, and to feel her soft skin beneath mine.....

“Cos if not I have heap of guide books and stuff in the den, you could look at them whilst I get a shower and get dressed… no time like the present.. and then today or.. tomorrow…we hit the town?”

I liked that idea, getting right to it.

“But you have to do as I say…"

"...and no wingeing or opting out… else you don’t get the benefit of my services….”

“Deal…?”

"Yes ma'am," I answered to her last questions, put forth with some intended sternness. I suddely recalled she was a teacher...

"I'll do my best at being a model student," I grinned back at her.."I certainly hope I pass muster...Deal," I winked a sexy wink and took her extended hand, shook it, nearly released it, then turned it, half over, removed my mock hat, dipped at the knees and placed a kiss on the back of her hand...some scene that had played in my head from an old drab, propper european movie.....

"I thank you kind miss, and hope to prove myself worthy of the task laid before you". I coudn't help but smile widely, pleased at the way things were working out...

"But, before you go...may I please get some more of this wonderful coffee?", I nudged my empty cup.....

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Beverley Chambers

"Are you sure, I'd hate to be an imposition. Yes, of course, if you'd be willing, I would be most appreciative, Bee, that's a very kind, and generous offer... “

I smiled and was pleased that he sounded eager.

“Of course I’m sure. I wouldn’t make the offer otherwise,”

I assured him and smiled as he agreed to my “terms”.

"Yes ma'am,"

Damn he had a cute accent, I was just beginning to notice it now his nervousness and ranting had faded away.

"I'll do my best at being a model student. I certainly hope I pass muster...Deal,"

I giggled as he winked and felt his hand in mine as we sealed the bargain with a handshake. My hand felt good in his, but I tried not to notice. Just as I began to think that he had held onto my hand a bit longer than necessary he turned it and performed one of those old-fashioned bows, kissing the back of my hand lightly.

"I thank you kind miss, and hope to prove myself worthy of the task laid before you".

Oh man, I was really going to have to do something with him. Did he think this is how chivalrous Brits behaved?
Come to think of it was there any such thing?
I laughed as he stood again, shaking my head incredulously, but enjoying the change in his mood.

"But, before you go...may I please get some more of this wonderful coffee?",

I met his cheeky grin with a mock stern look.

”In my place five minutes and already demanding ha?”

I teased, but automatically moved to click on the kettle.

“Ok, you asked for it…”

I took his hand and pulled him out of the kitchen and down to the hall past the bathroom and onwards.
At the end of the hall straight ahead was the living room, but the room to the right was my den.
Stairs led up to the top floor where my bedroom was situated.

I opened the door to my den.

“No comments about this room,”

I warned.

“This place is sacred.”

I drew him in after me and watched his face as he looked round.
My “office” was in a little box room upstairs, this room was my relaxing room, my refuge. I loved being in here.

There was a wealth of scatter cushions, a laptop on a small table in the corner.
The room was colourfully decorated in contrasting pastels with long flowing drapes at the window.
Candles adorned the sill.
Books and magazines formed a tottering tower in the corner. This room was a microcosm of my interests, my personality.
The effect was bohemian, but relaxed.
The clutter ensured everything was to hand, but there was plenty of room to stretch out in.

I flopped down on a cushion and invited him to do the same. I grinned as he looked curiously at one of the opened packages; an assortment of nail varnishes was visible inside.
I turned to the bookshelves in the corner and pushing aside the figures, shells and paperweights which stood before the books, I drew out a couple of books and guides and maps.

“Ok.. homework… research at least… have a look through these and let me know what kind of things appeal. I guess I should be kind and start with taking you somewhere you actually want to go…”

I mused.

“I’ll go get your coffee… and go slip into something less comfortable…”

I watched momentarily as he picked up the small but colourful guidebook then slipped out.
I made coffee and returned quickly putting it down beside him.
I was pleased to see that he seemed engrossed in his reading.

Satisfied that my neighbour was occupied I took a shower.
With hair washed and body scrubbed and smoothed, toes still retaining their clashing colouring, I dumped the psychedelic clothes dumped in the laundry basket, wrapped a robe around me and padded out of the bathroom.
I towelled my hair dry as I moved to the kitchen, leaving it damp about my shoulders.
I paused, listening.
There was no sound from the den, so I went back to the kitchen and made yet another tea and coffee.

I sat on the chair and drew the biscuit tin to me.
Mmmm.. choccy biccies! An essential British institution.
I ate one, then summoned by the click of the kettle rose to make the drinks. Holding a drink in each hand and balancing the biscuit barrel under my arm I made my way down the landing and opened the door with my foot…

“Quick.. before I drop it!”

I called, as the barrel began to slip slowly out of its position, sliding lower across the folds of my robe as I was unable to get any grip on the shiny metallic surface, even though I tried to trap it with my sleeve.

I giggled as he tried to catch it and I balanced the two steaming mugs.

 

[DaveDuff]

Timothy Evans

I was pleased, to say the least, that we had struck a deal. The two of us seemed to enjoy each other’s company well enough, and that in itself would make the experience something that I could look forward to. My earlier trepidation of the sites that lay ahead were even subsiding. Bee seemed a fun loving type, and I was beginning to think she could make a trip even to some dreary old museum an interesting journey.

She laughed at my lame attempt at humorous chivalry, at least that was a start. Both of us had come a long way from the first impression stage, that was quite awkward at best.

I met his cheeky grin with a mock stern look.

”In my place five minutes and already demanding ha?”, She teased, with a forced stern look, at my request for a refill, “Ok, you asked for it…”,

She clicked a knob on the stove, and led me out of the kitchen, down the hallway. We stopped at a closed doorway, and she warned me not to make any comments about the room we about to enter, it was sacred she told me...

I took in the room as we entered, it appeared to be a mix, between a library, a sitting room and a study of sorts, very comfortable, with an organized, hodge-podge feel to it. It was filled with books, magazines, and all sorts of items, over-filled shelves, and the overflow stacked, in corners and against the walls. There was a table, with a laptop computer, and large pillows, or cushions spread about the floor. I was impressed, she obviously loved to come here to sit, read and research. There were candles in the windowsill, and I even spotted a box of polishes, obviously the source of her unusual foot decor. I grinned again at the not so distant memory....

We sat on the cushions, and she turned, moved a few items and pulled out just what she was looking for, guides, maps, and information, about the local sites. Again she impressed me, with her mental card catalog. She probably knew every item, on every shelf.

“Ok.. homework… research at least… have a look through these and let me know what kind of things appeal. I guess I should be kind and start with taking you somewhere you actually want to go…”

"Yes, Ms Chambers," I responded, sounding like a disappointed student, dreading a homework assignment, but I shot her a grin, letting her know I was joking...

She said she would check on the coffee, shower and change, while I browsed the materials that she provided. I chose a guidebook, and began flipping through the pages, as she disappeared through the door. I was full of sites, and locations, not unlike those I had seen previously on the net, but they had a new appeal now, they didn’t seen quite so boring as before. I began mentally making a list of places to see, of course beginning with what I would call the must sees, the places all tourists would be going to an a trip to London. Buckingham and Kensington Palaces, Westminster Abbey, and the Tower of London.

I also found some places that I had not seen or heard of before that sounded interesting as well, the Chiselhurst caves, London Dungeon, and a host of others..

Bee returned, and gave me a fresh cup of coffee, I thanked her again, and she was off again, as quickly as she had entered. I enjoyed the warm beverage, and continued, my list growing with each paged turned. I made no notice of time, as I ‘studied’. The descriptions of the places I had thought old, dank, and boring were bringing new life to them, There was a lot of history, early history, to be seen here. I had never realized, or paid attention before, but there were castles, buildings, and structures here older, way older than all of America itself. My mind had traveled back, centuries before, visioning life, as it must have been back then. I had enjoyed some of my historic travels back home, but most of what was here, put that to shame, time wise anyway. It was also an extension of our history as well, back, before the founding fathers, before the pilgrims, and Plymouth Rock, back, well back here.

I was becoming more, and more engrossed in the subject, hadn’t even noticed the door open, when all of a sudden, I was startled back to the present.

“Quick.. before I drop it!”

I looked up, and saw Bee, a steaming mug in each hand, and a shiny metal tin, tucked under her arm, but slowly and surely slipping. Her elbow was trying to pinch the tin against her body, but it was only a matter of seconds before it was going to squirt out. I leapt up to my knees, leaned forward, arms outstretched, and caught the canister, just as it had slipped from her grasp, in a move that would have made the highlight reel in any Monday Night Football game. I almost knocked her off her feet in the process, but somehow managed to just miss hitting her in the legs. I rolled onto my back, clutching the precious object in my arms like a wide receiver waiting for the referee to raise his arms and whistle for a touchdown. I opened my eyes, amazed that I had made the outstanding catch, only to be embarrassed by the fact that I was now lying on my back, at her feet, and looking straight up her robe. I could see nothing, but her smooth silky legs, disappear in the darkness above, but could see her, looking down, at me looking up. I quickly wriggled out of the situation, set the tin down on the table, and hoping she knew about American football, made a joke about how the touchdown would be called back for an illegal procedure penalty.

I laughed, and she opened the tin, offering me a delicious chocolate cookie. We sat, drinking our drinks, eating cookies, and I showed her through some of the selections I had made in the guide. I explained that I had no idea of where any of these places were, and that she was probably better equipped, to set the itinerary, seeing that she probably knew the locations, and best times to visit…

I smiled, and jokingly apologized, insisting that I was not a perverted student, taking advantage of the situation to sneak a peek up the teachers dress, but it was in fact, all a gallant effort to save these scrumptious cookies from an almost certain demise, and I was willing to accept any punishment she saw fit.

We laughed and joked about the situation, and looked over the guide, becoming more at ease with each passing moment……

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Beverley Chambers

I had to admire his speed and dexterity.
Dropping the map he was holding he lunged towards the jar and caught it just before it hit the floor.
I concentrated on keeping my balance and holding the mugs still as he lunged across the carpet.
My main reaction was to ensure that I did not scold myself, or indeed him now that he was lying on the floor directly beneath me.

I looked down to check there was no damage and caught his eye, seeing his gaze snake up my leg and beyond into the confines of the robe.
Wordlessly my eyes widened in surprise.
He caught my eye and looked away, scrambling up clumsily, very much the lil boy caught in the act.
I hid a grin and moved to place the mugs safely down on coasters on the side table.
He joked about touchdowns.
I didn’t understand the terms he was using, but could see that he was covering up his embarrassment, so I laughed along with him.
This guy was so full of contradictions.
It was difficult to follow what he was thinking or to decipher how he felt really about this whole thing; being sent to the UK, stuck in a "definitely-not-centrally-located-flat" and left to “explore” without good advice and then finally being taken in by a neighbour who sent him into massive culture shock!

Chocolate cookies were the only diversion available.
I opened the tin and after a tentative bite, he was soon munching the biscuits and draining his coffee rapidly as he showed me the places he’d seen and tried to decipher the maps, getting totally confused with the A to Z of London and the underground map.

There was a lull in the conversation and he met my eyes apologising insisting that he was not trying to be the “perverted student” and insisted that that was in fact his attempt at gallantry.
He offered to accept any suitable punishment I chose to give him.

I shook my head in mock exasperation.

“Look.. if you’re desperate to look up my robe, then we’ve obviously moved on from our first encounter. “

I bantered, but made it clear that I wasn’t going to get upset by it.

“I much prefer your “gallant” look to the horror on your face this morning when I opened the door…”

The smile I gave him was deliberately provocative.

But just for future reference:
My school days are over for a long while… What I have in mind is purely.. adult education… so you’re going to have to play with the grown ups…. “

My eyes move slowly over him, letting my interest show for a short while, until I adopt the playful tone once more.

”After all… you did put it on record that you were a big boy!”

He joins in my laughter.
He is amused.. surprised... by my comments and his own unease has vanished.

“Now show me what you found…”

I instruct and move closer leaning over the guidebook, my state of undress temporarily forgotten.
Guide and map in hand I try to show him which place is where and then match their positions with the underground map.
I laugh as it all proves too much to him.

“Tim… honestly… the best thing to do is go into London and just walk round, get your bearings, learn the landmarks and get a feel for the scale of the place…”

He nods in agreement, his eyes still on the maps.

“So..when.. when do you want to pop into town?”

He looks at me then questioning how I can call it “popping into town”.
I assure him there is nothing to it, as long as you don’t try to navigate the city in a car.

”Just let me know when you want me to show it to you…”

I offer, meeting his quizzical look and then smutty smile as I pick up on the double entendre I have unwittingly let slip.
Caught unawares I blush and look down at the map, then up to see his eyes still on me.
He is relaxed now. His laugh is infectious.
His face shows humour, good-natured humour.
Gone is the aggression and anger I met with previously.
I realise his eyes are on me, giving me the same appraising look.
Our laughter stops and we hold each other’s gaze.
I catch my breath, but he is the first to turn away.
I flick through the guide book waiting for him to comment or answer…

 

[DaveDuff]

Timothy Evans

“Look.. if you’re desperate to look up my robe, then we’ve obviously moved on from our first encounter.“

“I much prefer your “gallant” look to the horror on your face this morning when I opened the door…”

Her words reminded me of just how far we had come from our first shocked, surprised moments, when her front door was first swung open. I returned her smirk, her reference to my uneasy first impression taken as intended..

”But just for future reference:
My school days are over for a long while… What I have in mind is purely.. adult education… so you’re going to have to play with the grown ups…. “

Her eyes gave me a deep once over with that last remark, its deeper meanings not lost. She was showing some interest in me other than just the pitiful yank, lost and helpless.

Adult entertainment, huh, well I’d be more than happy to play that game with her. My interest in her had been growing as well. I was truly looking forward to out future encounters.

”After all… you did put it on record that you were a big boy!”

I couldn’t help but bust out a big grin on that comment, and had to return one of my own…

“Well I suppose you’ll just have to be the judge of that yourself after we get to know each other a little better.”

We shared a good laugh, teasing and playing with our words, both of us becoming aware of a more than friendly attraction to each other.

“Now show me what you found…”

She leaned in, over the book I was thumbing through, her robe opening slightly, giving me a good view of the top of her full breasts.

“Well, what I’m finding is that I’m having a hard time concentrating at the moment.” I smirked, pulling my eyes from her cleavage to look her in the eye, “but if I must…”

We looked over the guidebooks, and maps together. Bee tried as she might to help me make heads-or-tails out of it, but I just wasn’t catching on.

“Tim… honestly… the best thing to do is go into London and just walk round, get your bearings, learn the landmarks and get a feel for the scale of the place…”

I agreed with that statement, I knew it would be better when I could compare a map to some actual streets.

“So..when.... when do you want to pop into town?”

“Pop into town?” I quipped, “you make it sound as if it’s a joyride, what I experienced could hardly be called popping into town.”

She explained to me that traveling into town by car was not the preferred method of transit. I didn’t doubt her for a minute, and felt quite sure that there had to be a better way of exploring London.

”Just let me know when you want me to show it to you…”

I raised my brows, and gave her a smutty grin. “You mean more than you already have?” My eyes glancing down to the opening in her robe, and back up again, as I twisted her offer into a lewd proposition.

We shared another laugh, as her cheeks flushed a bit. I felt a twinge of delight, catching her off guard for a change. We were definitely enjoying ourselves, the lighthearted flirting, innuendo tossing, and testing of each other’s personalities.

I liked her, and knew that that feeling was only going to grow over time. I found myself gazing, at her glistening hair, the delicate features of her face, and her smile. Her smile was contagious, and I could just see us, strolling through town, laughing, joking and teasing with each other.

Our eyes met, and we spent a moment gazing deeply into each other. Stillness; silence; an unspoken conversation played out between our souls…

“Anytime, Anyplace, I’m ready when you are.” I snapped myself out of our mesmerizing stare, returning to our previous state of joking playfulness. “I’ll happily follow your lead. In fact, I’m more than looking forward to it.”

I listened as she thumbed through the guidebook, watching her more than the pages she was turning. Gone was the anger I had felt the last few weeks, replaced by a newfound sense of anticipation. My mind jumped ahead, to the walks through the parks, the conversations over coffee, and tea at some secluded sidewalk café, the candlelit dinners, us all dressed up, out for a night on the town, carefree, joyous, drinking in each other’s company.

I realized now just how lucky I was, when I opened that envelope. London, Frickin’ England, I had exclaimed at the time. Right now, I couldn’t dream of anywhere I’d rather be…

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Beverly Chambers

“Pop into town? You make it sound as if it’s a joyride, what I experienced could hardly be called popping into town.”

He was so funny! He really had no idea.
I was amazed at the way he joked back, matching me flirt for flirt and being deliberately provocative in return.

I all but gasped at his response as I asked when I wanted him to show it - London - to him!

“You mean more than you already have?”

I tried to hold back a blush, unsucessfully as his eyes were now focused on the opening of my robe.
I resisted the instinct to draw the fabric closer round me, and looked away rapidly, aware that he was amused that he had caught me off guard.

Mr Timothy Evans was proving to be more interesting with each moment.
The angry and lost young man was actually turning out to be quite... interesting... and ... a challenge.
I glanced up and caught his amused glance and laughed with him.

The temporary embarrassment had gone and unconsiously we were now filling the silences which had signalled our assessment of each other, both aware that first appearances had been... misleading.

“Anytime, Anyplace, I’m ready when you are.“I’ll happily follow your lead. In fact, I’m more than looking forward to it.”

At ease again, I thumbed through the guide book.

"OK... well.. why don't you go lock up your flat and I'll get dressed then we'll go and do lunch... "in town"... that way you get me to go easy on you first outing...?"

I smiled as he agreed and showed him to the door.

"I'll be ten minutes... err.. or so.... actually... I'll leave my door open so you can just come and wait in here for me when you're ready."

I smiled at him, half shyly, still slightly self conscious and without intending to, pulled my robe about me.

"I really need to get dressed. I can't go to London looking like this..."

I watched as he agreed and turned down the stairs to his own flat.

 

[DaveDuff]

Timothy Evans

"Sounds great Bee, I'll be back up in just a little bit." I returned, smiling as she let me out the door I had such trepidation about entering earlier.

She said she'd leave the door open for me. I skipped down the stairs, to my part of the house, and got a few thing together. I grabbed my digital camera, and a light jacket, setting them on the chair near the door.

I shut off the lights, and television, cleaned up my breakfast dishes, brushed my teeth and combed my hair. I felt a bit nervous, as if I were going on a first date, but reminded myself that it wasn't really like that, more of a friendly neighborly, working lunch. Still I was excited as I double checked myself in the mirror before grabbing my things, and heading back up the stairs.

The door was open slightly, so I knocked quietly, and let myself in. I sat in a comfortable chair and picked up a magazine from the end table, thumbing through it and looking a the pictures, not realy interested in the content.

I truly was thanful to have such a nice, fun, and good looking neighbor. Her help was going to prove priceless, I was sure, and I would have to think of some way to repay her favor. She was going out of her way, taking time from her holiday, to help out a cocky, lost American. I was going to have to make sure I let her know how much I appreciated what she was doing, and make sure we had as much fun as possible with the time we spent together.

My anticipation was building as time went on, I knew she was quite a good looking woman, and was looking forward to seeing her in some 'normal' clothes, at least something she would be seen wearing in public. I had seen her before I knew her, coming and going from work, and thought she looked good then. This morning still brought a smile to my face just thinking about it. I was real glad we had overcome that, and were becoming so friendly. This year would have been difficult, if not impossible to withstand without a friend, and I had one in my new neighbor...

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Beverly Chambers

I watched him go and turned back, walking down the hall and up the second flight of stairs to my bedroom.
I finished drying my hair then pulled on some clothes.
Normal, but not fancy, what I usually wore for these kinds of trips: light cotton skirt, sky blue, falling about knee length topped with a white sleeveless blouse.
I picked up a light jacket and pushed it into a small rucksack. That was failsafe and creaseproof, well as good as.

Slipping into sandals I finished drying my hair with the hairdryer, but left it fractionally damp and hanging loosely.
Grabbing up the rucksack I moved downstairs to put in the guide and A-Z map, purse and keys.

I walked to the kitchen and found Tim thumbing through a magazine.
I smiled wondering if he found such things truly interesting, but checked the comment, not wanting to lead things in the wrong direction.

"Ok... off we go.."

I led the way out of the flat, locked my door then downstairs secured our front door, the communal entrance to our house. Turning left I led the way down the long road that in fact ran parralel to the railway line.

"Have you even found the railway station here yet?"

I enquired lightly.
The walk was not too long, but I watched him taking in the run down shops and array of different housing.

"Most of this is let off to flats. Housing is scarce and expensive even round here on the outskirts,"

I explained.

We turned left and cut under the bridge and then left into the station.
Though not subterranean, the entrance was relatively concealed and poorly signposted.
I guess everyone just assumed that you'd recognise the place as the trains thundered in and out of it between Wimbledon and Waterloo!

I led him as he followed and bought two travel cards from the machine and began to mount the stairs onto the platform.
I smiled as I watched his eye roam round the station.
To an impartial eye the place was a dump.
Graffitti was apparent; I'd seen it worse and I'd seen it look better.
The changing creative face of walls and any architecture was a fact of life round here.

I looked up as a train pulled in.

"Ok.. this is ours - first stop Waterloo..."

I grinned and reached for his arm, encouraging him to climb quickly aboard.

"Speed is important round here... don't get left behind,"

I joked as I led him to a double seat and let him sit near the window, knowing the sights at this side of town would be pretty dreary, but still...

 

[DaveDuff]

Timothy Evans

I heard her pad down the stairs and into the kitchen. I looked up, tossed the magazine on the table and followed her out the door, remembering to lock the door to my flat as we passed.

"Have you even found the railway station here yet?" She asked as we walked down the road.

Embarrased slightly by my ignorance, I responded truthfully, "I've herard the trains, but at home, they only run between major cities, usually a hundred miles or more. I've only ridden subway or commuter type trains once, on a visit to Chicago. I had no idea they stopped nearby, or where they went." I realised that I should have done more research on the subject of travel, but after my experiences earlier, was sure I'd have gotten lost, or frustrated as well.

We passed several of houses, similar to the ones we lived in, as well as some small shops, and businesses.

"Most of this is let off to flats. Housing is scarce and expensive even round here on the outskirts," she explained, as I looked around.

I was wondering why I had never even taken the time to walk around the neighborhood before. I suppose I was just too busy pissing and moaning about my current situation. It certainly wasn't any upscale, fancy community, but not unlike the places I grew up, and have lived in most of my life.

We turned into an unassuming entrance, and arrived at a train, or subway type station, maps on the walls and ticket machines, very similar to the type I had seen in Chicago. I looked at a large map on the wall, and took a wild stab at our location, guessing we were on the Northern Line, somwhere near the southern end of it, but not sure of even that. I grabbed a smaller version of the map from a counter and put it in my pocket.

It was like most stations I had seen, mostly in movies, or on television, dirty and and marked up with grafitti, which was a major problem back home, anywhere I had traveled.

"I see the kids here enjoy messing everthing up with spray cans just like home," I stated. "I guess some things are universal. I wish we could round up the little buggers, and make them scrub it all off with their toothbrushes."

She purchased a couple of cards from a machine, and led me up the stairs. "Here, let me pay for those," I offered, not realising whether or not the machines would have accepted American currency or coins. "I suppose I should convert some of my cash to your pounds, and even open up a bank account, seeing that I'll be here for a year." I hadn't even thought of cashing, or depositing my monthly paychecks. Just another small essential I overlooked, I laughed at myself.

My attention was drawn to a swift train pulling in and coming to a quick stop.

"Ok.. this is ours - first stop Waterloo..."

She practically pulled me aboard as the doors only seemed to stay open for a few seconds.

"Speed is important round here... don't get left behind,"

We were barely seated before the train pulled out, quickly came up to speed and was cruising along at a fast steady speed.

"Amazing," I grinned to Bee. "You've already gotten me further in 10 minutes, than I've been able to struggle through in 2 weeks. You've already proven youself invaluable, I'm not sure how I'll ever repay you for all your help, but I owe you plenty.

I pulled out the rail map, and opened it up, hoping to get my bearings straight. "So, where the heck are we, and where are we going," I asked quizzically as I unfolded the map in front of us...

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Beverley Chambers

"I see the kids here enjoy messing everything up with spray cans just like home.
I guess some things are universal. I wish we could round up the little buggers, and make them scrub it all off with their toothbrushes."

I quirk a smile and comment.

”I guess I could really use your form of discipline in my school, Tim … “

I do not disagree with him, but take the opportunity to tease him. I laugh imagining what would happen if I opted for that type of punishment regime in school.

I buy the tickets without thinking, but quirk an eyebrow when I realise that he is still carrying American currency and no English. He laughs at my exasperated sigh.

“God, Tim… you really should get out more…!”

I drag him onto the train, urging him to hurry and laugh as we collapse on the plastic seating.
The train speeds away and I turn to him, surprised by his boyishly enthusiastic grin.

"Amazing! You've already gotten me further in 10 minutes, than I've been able to struggle through in 2 weeks. You've already proven yourself invaluable, I'm not sure how I'll ever repay you for all your help, but I owe you plenty. “

Again I banter with him.

”Just what you owe me depends entirely on what form of currency you’re intending to pay in…

He laughs at my teasing tone and he pulls out a map.

"So, where the heck are we, and where are we going?"

Although already sitting close together, I bend my head to his and point.

”We’re on this line here… next main station in the opposite direction is Wimbledon, this terminates at Waterloo… but you get the thrills of Clapham junction in between…

I see his quizzical look and explain.

”There’s not much there, just a place where lots of over and underground routes come together… but… if we go into Waterloo, we can decide where to go from there. There is nothing you can’t get to from there if you know what to jump on and off. These tickets cover you for today anywhere in the London area, underground, overground and buses. If you’re gonna travel around a lot you’re better getting a travel card that lasts a week or a month or even longer, rather than this daily ticket.”

I watched as he nodded and looked at the map in fascination.

”When we get there Tim, I’ll drag you round the station a bit to get your bearings and then… we’ll head for the centre… sound ok..? “

I looked up at him and saw a mixture of expressions.
I blushed realising I'd become Miss efficient tourist guide.
I blushed self-consciously.
The knowledge that he really did look even better when viewed from such a close advantage point did nothing to help my composure.

"I know... I'm sorry... if I get too bossy or overbearing, just slap me ok..?"

I joked keeping my tone light, but dropping my eyes quickly to the map, not trusting myself to maintain my gaze, just incase there was an answering light of interest in his eyes.

Maybe bossy tourguide mode was best, I consoled myself.
Having this young American hothead downstairs from me was sure going to make my summer interesting, if noting else.

 

[DaveDuff]

”Just what you owe me depends entirely on what form of currency you’re intending to pay in…"

I didn't miss the double meaning of her statement, as she had mixed them into the conversation before.

"I'll be more than happy to provide whatever 'currency' your register is willing to accept." I shot back my grin telling more than my words.....

She leans closer and points out out present location and destination on the map. I pay attention, but am somewhat distracted by the smell of her hair, and closeness of our faces. I find myself looking at her more than the map.

”We’re on this line here… next main station in the opposite direction is Wimbledon, this terminates at Waterloo… but you get the thrills of Clapham junction in betweeen..."

She went on to explain the travel cards, how it would be more efficient to purchase the long term, rather than the daily pass.

"So, let me see if I've got this right".....I touch the map as it sits on her lap....."Wimbledon is here," placing my hand near the word, but on her left thigh...."and here is Waterloo..." moving my hand to her right ...."and you say the thrills of Clapham junction lie right between...." I will be looking forward to that stop.....I can't help but smirk at the the game we both were playing..."I think I will need to purchase the long term pass, as I hope to travel that route often... I do intend to spend alot of time all around the perimiters and of course, delving deep into the center...probing every nook and cranny, I'm licking my lips with anticipation as you describe it."

She blushed, beautifly so as I spoke, I could banter back and forth like this all day. It was becoming a turn on, not that I needed one, just sitting close, looking at her and taking in her intoxicating aroma was doing a good job of that itself.

"I know... I'm sorry... if I get too bossy or overbearing, just slap me ok..?"

"No, your doing great, I couldn't have asked for more. I may need a llttle bossiness now and then to keep me in line...if a spanking is called for, either way, then so be it...."

I liked the feel of her head, against my shoulder, her hair brushing my face...I knew that this was going to lead to an interesting year. Neither of us had expected it, but the attraction was obvious, and mutual...The anticipation was going to be fun, flirting and playing, touching and toying, the sexual tension was starting to build...

I hardly noticed the scenery as we travelled, just the fun we were having together.

"I hope you know that you are arousing my interest in the land laid before me, from peak to dale, from mountain to valley, more than I ever expected. I await the opportunity to do a lot of exploring together...

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Beverley Chambers

I sat on the train and caught his eye.
I remembered his comment about the currency;

"I'll be more than happy to provide whatever 'currency' your register is willing to accept."

I knew he'd picked up on the spanking comment, which I had intended as a casual comment to excuse my monologue about the transport system.

"No, your doing great, I couldn't have asked for more.
I may need a llttle bossiness now and then to keep me in line...

I smiled, but then he added mischeivously,

".. and if a spanking is called for, either way, then so be it...."

I giggled and tried to hold back a blush.

"Why do I get the feeling that you're not concentrating?"

I asked putting a mock sternness into my voice.

"I bet you haven't got a clue where you are.."

I accused, eyeing him challengingly.
Immediately he got the map out and smirked as he laid it across my lap, preparing to point out the landmarks I'd already mentionned.

"So, let me see if I've got this right"

We both peer at the map as he steadies it on my knee.

"Wimbledon is here,"

I nod, trying not to be distracted by the hand he lays on my thigh, his touch to indicate where Wimbledon is situated.

"... and here is Waterloo..."

Again I am speechless as he repeats the action, moving his hand to my right thigh... under the guise of indicating the station I had pointed out to him.

"....and you say the thrills of Clapham junction lie right between...."

The intended innuendo is too obvious to be imagined.
I meet his eyes and blush rosily.
He holds my gaze and adds softly;

"I will be looking forward to that stop....."

His smirk causes me to laugh with him, but his hands remain on my thighs.

"I think I will need to purchase the long term pass, as I hope to travel that route often... "

I nod not sure if he is speaking seriously, or still being... smutty...

His head moves closer to mine, to ensure I hear his next words.
I feel his breath on my ear as he whispers;

"I do intend to spend alot of time all around the perimiters and of course, delving deep into the center...probing every nook and cranny, I'm licking my lips with anticipation as you describe it."

I cannot help it, I blush bright crimson.
The comment bringing an unexpected heat to my body as well as my face.
I try to blot out the image that comes to mind as he speaks of delving and probing...

His voice interrupts my lascivious thoughts. He takes his hands off my thighs and folds up the map, his movements slow and deliberate as he speaks.

"I hope you know that you are arousing my interest in the land laid before me, from peak to dale, from mountain to valley, more than I ever expected.
I await the opportunity to do a lot of exploring together..."

My voice seems to tremble slightly as I reply, making sure not to refer directly to what has passed between us...

"..well... it seems... you have learned a thing or two afterall... you seem to think you know what you're talking about... at least..."

My shaky reply amuses him.
I risk one look at his handsome face as it grins, clearly pleased that he has unquestionningly won this bout and am thankful when we pull into Waterloo station.

"OK... we're here..."

I pull him towards the door and jump out as soon as the doors part.

"Here's the ticket, follow me through the barriers and don't forget to pick the ticket up as it feeds through... come on..."

At ease and in control again I take his arm and draw him after me in the crowd.
He reaches down and removes my hand from his arm and then closes his hand around mine.
I look up at him and we exchange a smile.

"You don't want to lose me do you, not now we've come this far...?"

He asks earnestly, as if checking that he has not gone too far...

"No.. I wouldn't want that to happen..."

I respond softly, reassuring him...

We turn then and walk hand in hand towards the ticket barriers and then out beyond into the main concourse of the busy international station...

 

[DaveDuff]

"OK... we're here..."

No sooner had the word come out of her mouth, then she grabbed my arm and we were out the door, reiterating the fact that moving fast on and off the trains was standard operating procedure

"Here's the ticket, follow me through the barriers and don't forget to pick the ticket up as it feeds through... come on..."

We immerse ourselves into the crowd, as I move her hand from my arm and into my hand.

"You don't want to lose me do you, not now we've come this far...?" I ask not so much worried about becoming lost, as just wanting to hold on to her, to feel her hand in mine.

"No.. I wouldn't want that to happen..." she stated softly, as we walked toward a row of turnstiles, hand in hand. I had been feeling a bit uneasy, wondering if I had taken things a bit far on the train. Her answer settled me, and we were off on a new chapter.

I watched as she put her ticket into a slot on the turnstile, walked through, and retrived the ticket on the other side. I followed her lead, and we were off, into an even busier area of the station.

We had entered the main concourse, or terminal I assumed. It was teeming with bustling throngs of travelers, lined with shops and booths, eateries, and car rentals, looking much more like an airport, than any train station I had been exposed to. My eyes scanned the scene, taking in the enormity of the station and the massive volume of people it held. I imagined it was similar to New York's Grand Central Station, though having never been there, only assumed that fact.

I could tell Bee was right at home, pulling my hand as I lagged, my head turning this way and that. She, the seasoned traveler, veteran of the transit system, moving with a purpose and destination in mind, and me, the virgin to it all, slowing to gawk, looking, I'm sure, everlike the first-time tourist, eyes wide, taking it all in. I was certainly lucky to have an experienced guide to take me through the place so quickly. It would have taken me hours to sort my way past all the gates and corridors on my own. I squeezed her hand, and shifted my attention from the scenery to her.

"Well, you certaily seem to know this place like the back of your hand. I feel like the luckiest traveler in all of London," I said with a wink, "getting a private tour from the prettiest escort in England."

I smiled at her reaction, as we continued our walk through the station....

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Beverley Chambers

I watched Tim as his eyes took in the size of the main hall and smiled as the determined commuters jostled him. I took his hand and pulled him out of the main thoroughfare and watched as he took in the shops, booths and all the places I now took for granted.
He turned then and commented in admiration.

"Well, you certainly seem to know this place like the back of your hand.
I feel like the luckiest traveller in all of London, getting a private tour from the prettiest escort in England."

I laughed at he outrageous compliment, but was pleased.

”Come on Tim.
Let’s get out of here at least or you’ll never see anything interesting… “

I had insisted that he speed up, but still he lagged taking it all in as if he was on another planet.
My hand in his pulled him along, until finally he responded and I managed to coax him along and down an escalator to the underground.

Again we fed our tickets through the slot.
Tim grinned in triumph as he managed it this time without instructions or coaxing.
I watched him. He was so like a little boy, very handsome and charming.
I giggled and pulled him through the labyrinth explaining that we were going to get off at Charing Cross so we could walk round for a bit.

Tim watched as the train sped in and still hand in hand we got onboard.
He seemed amazed that the journey was so quick.
Only a couple of stops and we got out and soon surfaced at Charing Cross.

Finally outside, stood beside the fruit and flower stall that was a daily feature I turned to him and asked.

”OK you have a choice.
We need to have something to eat as well as see the sights, but there are lots of options-

One: river ride with either picnic, or river trip with lunch included
Or
Two:
We walk through theatre land and go Italian
Or
Three: We go to convent garden and eat whilst listening to a string quartet.
Or
Four:
We buy something and go picnic on Embankment or St James’ Park.”

I look at his confused face and reassure him;

"As I’m obviously buying you have free choice, but you definitely owe me Tim."

I notice his embarassment and stop teasing and squeeze his hand.

”Just choose what you’d like to do and I’ll sort it from there…

I smile softly.

”You’re quite safe in my hands you know… “

I look him in the eye filled suddenly with compassion for someone abandoned and confused and so far from home.For some inexplicable reason I know I want to help him and at least be a friend.

”I’ll take care of you… “

I promise, somehow dropping my intended banter and kissing him tenderly on the cheek, before blushing at his expression…

 

[DaveDuff]

”Come on Tim.
Let’s get out of here at least or you’ll never see anything interesting… “

She continued pulling, and I continued gaping as we whisked through the terminal. We went down an escalator, and through another turnstile. I managed to feed my ticket through like I knew what I was doing. Bee told me we were going to somewhere called Charring Cross, and walk around. I had no idea if that was a town, a square, or another terminal, but followed without question as we boarded another train. In just a couple of short stops, she pulled at me again, and we hopped off the car. Taking an escalator up, we emerged outside.

She turned to me and offered an extremely varied list of options.

One: river ride with either picnic, or river trip with lunch included
Or
Two:
We walk through theatre land and go Italian
Or
Three: We go to convent garden and eat whilst listening to a string quartet.
Or
Four:
We buy something and go picnic on Embankment or St James’ Park.”

I’d hardly begun to sort my options before she continued.

"As I’m obviously buying you have free choice, but you definitely owe me Tim." She said, teasingly.

Again I realized that I had no English currency, and felt a bit embarrassed for being in situation where I was so out of control. I was fully dependant on the kindness of my newfound neighbor and felt rather foolish for being so ill prepared after being here for two full weeks. As if sensing my feelings, Bee gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.

”Just choose what you’d like to do and I’ll sort it from there… She continued with a sweet smile, ”You’re quite safe in my hands you know… “

She looked me in the eye, her appearance shifting from one of humor and amusement at my bewilderment, to a deeper more sympathetic gaze. I sensed a different, more caring tone in her voice as well.

”I’ll take care of you… “

She completely caught me off guard, moving her head toward me and planting a soft, tender kiss on my cheek. I think I froze momentarily, expressing a look of pleasant surprise.

“Well… I…dunno…” I stammered, trying to gather my suddenly jumbled thoughts, ranging from a barely remembered list of option to my schoolboy reaction at her innocent kiss on my cheek.

“A picnic in the park sounds wonderful. I finally managed to answer, not only because is sounded simpler, and I didn’t want her to have to extend more credit in my direction than necessary, but it was also the first option I was able to fully reconstruct in my mind, which was just now slowly reorganizing itself.

I put my arm around her, gave her a warm smile and gentle hug.

“Lead on miss, you’ve got me this far, I have every confidence in your abilities to see me safely through my first real day in this new unknown world.” I joked, taking her arm and putting in mine as she led us off.