Between The Lines Ch. 06

"So, once I hit eighteen I left and did the usual rounds looking for work, I was getting nowhere fast and the allowance money wasn't enough. Well, to be honest, it would have been enough if I'd known how to handle it... but I just didn't. As I told you, I got a job working in a shop during the daytime, which paid peanuts to be honest, so I started working as a lap dancer in a club. That paid a lot better, but it still wasn't enough so, for a short while, I started working for an escort agency.

"It's something I'm not all proud of, Jack. I went out on about half-a-dozen 'dates,' and nearly all of them made it clear that there were 'bonuses' to be earned. I did that twice... and I was disgusted with myself both times. The first was young, single man who didn't have a clue what he was doing... I think it may have been his first time. If so, it was also his second and his third... and it would have been more if there'd been more than three Durex in the packet. The second was an old man... a widower... and all he wanted was for me to tie him up and bring him off with my hand. All I could think of was that conversation when I'd heard my mother refer to Walter and 'those whores he pays to tie him up.' That was my last job as an 'escort.' After that, I started doing striptease. It didn't pay as well, but at least I had enough to manage on.

"Someone saw me and asked if I fancied doing movies. Well... you already know what happened about that! I was just about ready to admit defeat and go home but, Deidre came into the shop where I worked one morning. We'd known each other at school... not particularly well, but she asked me to have lunch with her

"Naturally, I didn't want to tell her what a failure I was... so I told her that I was doing a bit of striptease while I was between acting jobs. I probably made it sound like fun because she said it seemed a lot more exciting than working in an office. She came to watch me that night and, afterwards, took me back to her flat and... well, the rest you know. We made a lot of money with the act we devised and we were happy for a while. But we both knew that neither of us was totally committed to that lifestyle. Eventually, she started dating and, once it became serious, we slept in separate beds.

"Actually, Jack... I continued to sleep in this one."

Now that startled me. We were sleeping in the same bed she'd shared with Dee? I wasn't sure how I felt about that and I was going to say something, but she quickly went on.

"So now you know all of it, Jack. This woman that you say you want to marry has been assaulted by the man she thought was her father and has a mother and a sister who have no idea how to keep their legs together. I'm a failed drama student who nearly fell into porno movies, a striptease artist who lived with her lesbian lover and, as well as all that, I once made my living as a prostitute. I mean, I could try saying 'escort' but I don't want to deceive you, Jack. I was a whore... that's the simple truth of it."

**

18.

In ancient times, they say that the gods used to feed on ambrosia and nectar -- obviously that was before anyone discovered corned beef hash! I'd already softened the chopped onions in the melted butter and added the mixture of diced cooked potatoes and pieces of corned beef which had browned very nicely. All that was left to be done was to add the seasoning, slap it on plates and put the fried eggs on top -- perfect! Ambrosia was supposed to confer everlasting life whereas this meal was designed to fur up a lot of arteries and shorten it but, what the hell; I wouldn't want the responsibility of being a god anyway.

Penny looked at the meal suspiciously. I looked at her lustfully. She was suspicious because she'd had never had this food-fit-for-gods before; I looked at her that way because she wore nothing but a short, wrap-around, silk dressing gown.

It was lunch time; we'd slept late after staying awake and talking until the early hours of the morning and, when we'd finally woken up a couple of hours earlier, we'd found ourselves lying face to face and greeted one another with ridiculously shy smiles.

"I'm going to have to show you how to make this," I said.

"Hmmm... you've already shown me quite a lot of things, Jack," she purred, then dug her fork into the food and shovelled a substantial amount of the food into her mouth. "Mmmm... this isn't at all bad!" she mumbled, and I was only mildly disappointed at the surprise in her voice.

As I got stuck into my own plateful, I watched her carefully, wondering if she was only trying to be nice to me about it but, as I'd already discovered, she had a pretty healthy appetite for a lot of things -- and what's not to like about corned beef hash? We both cleared our plates, drank our cups of tea, and Penny quickly cleared the table and washed the dishes.

"Have you anything planned for today?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

"Oh, yeah... it's a busy one," she answered, "I mean, first of all, I have to go Buckingham Palace to collect my medal for saving the Queen's life last week; then it's off to Paris on the Eurostar to do a bit of modelling for Yves St Laurent. Oh... and I have to be back in time to brief the intelligence services on the situation in the Middle East... and then it's dinner with...."

"So...."

"...George Clooney and...."

"...there's nothing important, then?"

"Nothing I can't cancel."

"Good, so... back to bed, then?"

"Mmmm... as long as you don't want to jump on me right away. I need time to let that bash settle."

"It's 'hash,' Penny. It's hash... with a 'H'!"

"Really, Jack... I thought you were supposed to smoke that?"

"No... that's bacon."

"Bacon?"

"Pig, Penny!"

"Okay... Babe!" she grinned, knowing she'd won that round, and then, still smiling, "Would you mind holding this for me?"

"What?"

"This!" she said, slipping her only garment off and tossing it at me as, completely naked, she sashayed towards the bedroom with a wiggle that instantly doubled my pulse rate.

"Is that what they call an offensive weapon?" she smiled as I stripped off to reveal a growing erection. She was laying on the bed - totally naked and vulnerable - her hair a splash of vivid red-brown on the white pillows and her gorgeous body looking more enticingly edible than... well... than even a corned beef hash!

"Only the ones belonging to other men," I replied, "you need to keep away from them."

"Hmm... you can be such a spoilsport at times, Jack!" she laughed, "anyway... I've grown quite... errm... attached to that one."

"I've been 'attached' to it all my life... so eat your heart out, kiddo!"

"Fair enough!" she declared, "Are you going to stand there all day? Remember, I gave up a hot date with George Clooney to be here! At least I'd have got some dessert from a meal with...."

That was as far as she got, because my dive landed 165 pounds on the bed beside her, enough to make her bounce and squeal with surprise.

"Forget him... he's ugly," I insisted as I wrapped my arms around her and planted a hard kiss on the side of her neck.

"Mmmm... forget who?" she murmured as her own arms encircled me and her sweet lips sought and found mine. We held each other close, kissing and stroking one another's bodies, hands roaming freely, and it felt so wonderful that I was totally in awe of the way such a beautiful woman was willing to give herself so completely to me.

"Are you still going to want to do this when the baby makes me swell, Jack?" she asked.

"Whenever you want me to," I answered before moving my lips to one of her hardened nipples and flicking my tongue across it.

"Wait... just wait a moment," she said and, before I even had time to wonder why, she explained, "I've decided what I want for dessert."

"Are you sure?" I asked, as she began to move her lips slowly down towards my groin.

"I think I'd like something similar," I suggested.

"Not 'til I've finished mine, Jack."

I groaned with pleasure as a stab of pure delight coursed through me when the tip of her tongue began to play across the head of my erection.

"If you're going to do things like this," I told her, "you're going to have to marry me, Penny."

"I'm thinking about it, Jack," she muttered, taking the end into her mouth for a moment, and then releasing it for a second to repeat, "I'm thinking about it!"

**

EPILOGUE

This is the last episode of this story but, as I've already said, I like these characters and I'm hoping that it won't be too long before I take up the story again.

To all of you who've said nice things about the story -- sincere thanks, I can't even begin to tell you how welcome your comments have been, both on here and via email. To those who didn't like it, I'm sorry -- but you can't please everyone.

And just to finish off, a couple of Jack de Ladd gags:

I was banging this bird over her kitchen table when we heard the front door open. She said "it's my husband! Quick, try the back door!" Thinking back, I really should have legged it... but you don't get invites like that every day!

I went to see an air show today. There were gasps of "Ooh" and "Aah" as the crowds watched on in amazement. Near miss after near miss had some people covering their eyes and shaking their heads in disbelief. It was a good half-hour of entertainment but, in the end, my wife finally managed to park the car and we made our way to the show.

MITCHFREN.