Why’d You Ever Have to Say Goodbye

"You know what would make this taste even better?" Lisa mumbled as she munched on one of the starters. I looked at her, and felt I knew what was coming. "A bit of pigeon. Just a hint, not the whole fucking bird, just, maybe a wing." I quickly swallowed the food in my mouth before I spat it out. "Although, to be fair, it's pretty good as it is." she added and then took another bite. We finished off both starters quickly, there was enough for them to be shared between us and we swapped plates amid a clatter of knives and forks.

The pancakes were served and Lisa's eyes widened as the large plate was placed in front of her. "Wowzers!" she muttered and then looked at my plate and up to me. "You're gonna have to really watch my figure after this!" she laughed.

"It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it." I laughed and my eyes went down her body, pausing at the swell of her breasts under her shirt and dreaming of when I might touch them again.

We swapped plates again, several times and then sat back, breathing out deeply and satisfied.

"That was very good." Lisa said. "Well done, tour guide." She held my hand and looked at my fingers, then lifted it and put her lips to the end of the first finger and raised her eyes to look at me. She lowered the hand and leaned forward, smiling as her face neared mine, but the table too wide to allow us to kiss easily. She guided the hand down and moved it so the tip of the kissed finger pressed to the front of her shirt and against the breast, her smile wide and warm now. I gasped and she moved back and squeezed the hand.

I thought of so many things to say, but none of them could convey what I felt, so just sat and stared at Lisa and her beautiful warm smile.

"Armour." she whispered.

"It's the thought that counts." I said and felt warm inside.

"And what are your thoughts?" Lisa asked, her voice soft as if wafted over the table.

"Unrepeatable in public." I blushed.

"Good." she replied and then turned her eyes away from mine, suddenly shy and blushing.

We sat in the restaurant a bit longer, mainly as I would have trouble standing anyway. Lisa went to use the toilet and I got the bill and paid.

"It was my turn." She said and pouted.

"I know, but I wanted to treat you as you're going to have a tough day tomorrow. The next one is on you." I said, hoping there would be a next one.

"That's very sweet. Thank you." her smile made my heart skip several beats. We stood to leave and I moved behind Lisa and put my hand on her back and she turned to smile and then lifted her head to press her lips to mine. "There will be a next time." she whispered as our lips parted and her eyes shone. I pulled her to me again and gave her a quick kiss and let my hand drop to stroke over her bottom and she giggled, turned and headed for the door.

"You just touched my bum in a restaurant!" she laughed as we walked down the road.

"What about the whole, kissing my finger and..." I added.

"Dunno what you mean, must have been a dream." she replied and squeezed my hand. "Anyway, that one was jealous after the previous dream when you touched the other one." she added.

"I had some great dreams today." I said.

"You've got to have a dream, or how will they come true?" she said and smiled at me and then did a little jump and the front of her t-shirt jiggled. I looked down and she laughed. "It's mostly armour, they're not that dreamy."

"I'll be the judge of that... I hope." I replied and Lisa did another little jump and laughed.

"I know a good bench we can sit on for a while." Lisa said as we walked down the street. Sunday was settling in for the evening and the shops had now shut, the people gone home, or to a pub. We walked quietly, our joined hands swinging and soon we were crossing the bridge, the sounds of the drinkers fading as the river passed below.

There were still walkers and joggers on our side of the river. Dogs scampered along the dirt path and we walked quickly, hoping the bench was free. Lisa's hand dropped from mine and then I heard the sound of fast feet on gravel as she ran.

"Slowcoach. Good job I got here quickly to secure our place." She laughed and I sat down beside her.

The river did its thing, just getting on with rising and falling, swirling around and eddying all without our help, we just watched it a while in silence. I could feel the tension creeping over Lisa and I pulled her closer to me and wrapped my arms around her.

"Sorry, I am getting very tense now." she mumbled against me. I stroked her bare arm and she mumbled and snuggled closer. "I will have to have an early night tonight, sorry."

"It's fine, we can just have a little walk around and when you want to go, just tell me." I replied and she sighed.

"I might have the longest shower in history to try and relax." She whispered. "Although a shower is just not that relaxing."

"A massage?" I had no idea why I said it, but did.

"Oddly, no, they don't relax me. Plus... I would need a professional to do it. That's just too much hassle for a Sunday evening. And don't even think of saying anything as that would make the situation a whole lot... harder." She laughed at the last word.

"For me, yes." I laughed. "I wasn't going to offer as I don't like massages either, just not keen on strangers touching me." Lisa lifted a hand and touched my face and I let out a fake cry of anguish. "See!" She laughed against my shoulder.

"Oh well." She giggled. "I was going to offer you a massage." My mind span as I thought of that and I hurriedly tried to banish the images in my mind.

"If there is anything I can do..." I said, trying not to sound as if it was just an excuse to touch her more.

"What like, stroke my feet?" She mumbled.

"You like that?"

"No, just wondering if you had a weird fetish." she laughed. "Do you like feet?"

"Well, they are handy, or, rather, feety, but, no. That's why I wear big boots, to protect me from anyone touching them."

Lisa giggled "Feety" and there was a little snort of a laugh. "I thought you wore big boots so you could stand by muddy puddles and offer safe passage before taking advantage to kiss and grope a bottom." She said, her head lifting to look up at me.

"Well, that as well, obviously."

"Obviously." She smiled. and moved to put her lips on mine softly. "So how much to hire your bath then?" she laughed.

"Seriously? You want to use my bath?" I stared, her eyes looked serious, but I was unsure with her humour.

"Yes, I could really do with one now. Just sit and relax. I miss that with the shower... and the tomato plants are shit at massage."

"We have a special trial offer at the moment, just a kiss and you can have a one-off bath." I replied. Her lips pressed to mine and I felt her tongue caress over them. I opened my mouth and breathed in her sigh.

"I will get a towel from mine. I mean, if you're serious." she said, her eyes unsure.

"It's fine. If it helps, all the better." I replied and she smiled wide at me, then stood and reached for my hand.

I waited outside as Lisa ran down the path and into her flat. I tried to work out the layout of the building, it seemed like a normal house, but there was a door to the side that Lisa went through. She had asked me to stay outside and I didn't question it, figuring she had her reasons. She scampered back with a little bag on her shoulder and then took my hand and we walked towards my place.

The streets were quiet, nothing much happening on a warm Sunday evening this side of the river and we walked silently, our hands squeezing together and I could feel her nerves.

The flat was warm and I went to the balcony to open the door to get some breeze as Lisa stood in the hall, looking worried.

"You sure this is ok?" she said and I smiled and kissed her and felt her press to me.

"Yup. It's no problem. Is there anything else you're like?"

"Well, I mean, relaxing in a bath with a nice cup of tea and biscuits is great". she laughed.

"Ok, you run the bath, I'll put the kettle on. What biscuits? I mean, the choice may be limited."

"Is there such a thing as a bad biscuit?" she asked.

"Garibaldi?"

"Hmmmm, maybe. But then again, if you're trekking around Italy trying to rally troops, they might be good."

"You're having a bath, not quite the same." I pointed out.

"Yeah, a digestive is probably better." she laughed and went into the bathroom and started the bath.

"There is a small problem with the plan." I said as I stood in the doorway and watched Lisa swirling the water around, checking the temperature with her hand. She looked at me and her head cocked on one side. "You will be in the bath?" She nodded, still unsure of the problem. "And I am bringing tea and biscuits?" She nodded again and then her eyes went wide. "You should have brought a swimming costume." I added.

"It's not a proper bath if you have a cossie on!" she giggled, "But I see the problem. I mean, you could bring the tea before I get in," It was a good plan. Too good really as it mean there was no chance of me seeing anything.

I moved a small table closer to the bath and cleared off the toiletries on it so Lisa would be able to reach the tea and put a plate of biscuits down as she giggled. "You are a great host." she called as she looked at the biscuits. "OOH, Custard Creams! An EXCELLENT host" she cried and laughed as I poured the water into a mug with the teabag.

"Not that great, I have no milk!" I said from the kitchen and I heard a loud gasp. "Wait, Steve has some, I will borrow a smidgen of his." and I walked to the bathroom and placed the tea on the table as the steam rose up, swirling towards the open window. A strange silence descended as we looked at each other.

"Well... erm..." Lisa said, blushing slightly.

"Oh, yeah, I better leave." I mumbled.

"Sorry" she whispered. "Actually, I should have brought a cossie, then you could stay and chat." She lifted her face and kissed me and her smile was so warm as the steam swirled.

"If you need anything, just call." I said, trying not to think of her lying naked in my bath.

"I'll keep the door unlocked." she said, her smile still on me.

"Oh, the door doesn't really close properly unless you lock it." I said and regretted it straight away.

Lisa just looked at me. "If you sat outside, would you see anything?" She asked and I looked to the door.

"Probably not." I mumbled.

"Ok, wait until I get in, then come and sit outside. I will need someone to guard me, in case the cats... you know." her smile even warmer now. I just nodded and we kissed again before I went outside. I closed the bathroom door and stood with my back to it, resisting the temptation to look through the mottled glass to see her pale shape appear from her clothes. There was a soft "oooh" as I heard the water moving as she stepped in. "Ahhhhhhh" she gasped and more water moved, the gentle sound of it lapping around the tub as it made way for her. There was a louder sigh and then she called me and said I could sit.

I moved to the side of the door and it moved open a couple of inches and I heard her laugh. "Told you!" I said as I glanced through the gap and into the steamy room. I could see her face, flushed from the hot water, looking back at me.

"Can you see anything, please be honest." She said as she sank down a little.

"I can see your face and... a knee." She laughed and lifted a foot. "And a foot."

"Tell me when you can see my hand." she said and I looked again.

"Now." I said as her fingers rose up somewhere near where her chest would be.

"Cool, now I know how much I can move before there is a nip slip." she giggled and my mind went into overdrive.

We sat there in silence, save for the occasional splash of water and sigh from Lisa. I would glance through the gap now and then and if our eyes met we would laugh, but mostly I just sat and listened to her relax.

"I can't actually believe I am in your bath." she giggled.

"Imagine how I feel." I replied.

"Slightly frustrated?" she giggled again, getting the description spot on. "Me too." she added.

"So why has this job review got you so worried? You don't have to answer if it will make you more tense."

"It's fine." she said, her voice quiet, but still with a slight echo from the bathroom. "I told you my old boyfriend helped me get the job. Well, he suggested it and said I would be good, even though I didn't think so. Well, there was always the feeling they hired me as he wanted me to move jobs and he knew them. Then we could date properly and not hide. After I got it, we broke up, so now I am worried he'll have said something to his friends and they'll kick me out." There was a big sigh after that.

"Did it end badly? Again, no need to answer."

"Not badly. In fact... I had a feeling he was eyeing up someone else." Lisa laughed. "You think you're bad with the opposite sex, welcome to my world!" she laughed. "He was a player in some ways. I was a new girl onto a team he had some control over and he showed interest, but I batted him away. He wasn't really doing anything for me, but he persisted. After one big and tough job we walked out of the office at the same time and he asked me for a drink, to celebrate, he said. I went and he turned on the charm."

My stomach turned as I listed, not wanting to look through the gap now, to let her talk.

"He suggested a hotel, but I turned him down. That seemed to make him keener." Lisa giggled a little. "I told him about the no romance policy and he said it only applied if you got caught. He was quite open that he wanted more and it, kind of, made me feel good. He circled some more, invited me to dinner and we had a few more drinks. He offered me a chance to go on a 'business' trip and stay in a hotel, but I backed out. Then he asked if I wanted to go away for a weekend, visit his place which was outside London. We'd had a few furtive kisses by then, so I went for a day out with him." There were some splashes as Lisa moved around.

"Hey, don't look." Lisa called and I turned my face to stare down the hall and I heard her move in the water and then more was added to the bath. "need to heat it up a bit." she laughed and a few minutes later I heard her lean back and sigh. "You can look now." She said and I turned to see her eyes waiting for mine and a big smile. "You didn't peek?" she said and smiled wider.

"No, not at all." I blushed.

"Really, you may have seen a boob." she giggled.

"Really." I replied, kicking myself in my head and her smile got bigger.

"Thank you." she whispered and sank down into the water. "Anyway... he got me back to his place and went on a charm offensive. I was overwhelmed and also a bit worried about work. If I didn't do anything, he might get mad, if I did, I might get fired anyway. He was nice though and we had a good day, but I felt bad, so left. He was very sweet and I found myself getting closer. He asked me again the next week and he took me for a snazzy dinner and wooed me and I..."

She turned to look at me, the blush adding to the redness of the hot water. I smiled and her eyes dropped.

"It's ok." I whispered.

"So, when I got this job, I heard rumours about him. Someone asked if I was leaving because of him and realised he had told people. Someone told me it wasn't the first time for him. I guess I was too swept up in the charm to see what he was, but he was so persuasive and attractive. Anyway, now I have this job and I am scared shitless I'll lose it tomorrow." She turned to look and I saw her eyes weren't shining. I wanted to run and hug her, but couldn't.

"It'll be ok. Whatever happens happens. If you got that job you can get another. Just relax in the bath and drink your tea." She giggled at my suggestion.

"Ok, don't look." she laughed as she sat up and reached out to take the mug.

"You said that after you were already moving!" I shrieked as I turned away.

"Yeah, testing your reflexes." she laughed and there was a loud slurp of tea and she laughed again. "I am so elegant."

"Can I look yet?" I asked after a few more sips and then quiet.

"Yeah, knock yourself out." she laughed and I turned as she moved away from the table, the top swell of her breast just visible. "Oh, maybe too soon then, sorry." she laughed. We continued this until the tea was finished, her asking me to turn away, but too late or early so a bit of her chest was visible as she sat up, but never enough. I would have seen more if she was wearing a bikini, but it was her playfulness that made it sexy. "I would ask for a refill, but that will be tricky." she laughed.

"I could close my eyes."

"Yeah, I mean, boiling tea and having your eyes closed, what could go wrong?" she laughed.

"Ok, I will reach in and close my eyes and you put the mug in my hand, then hide." I suggested.

"You are full of the great ideas. I am not sure this isn't a ploy to go for a nip slip, but I also want more tea." she laughed. I opened the door more and reached my arm in towards the little table and then closed my eyes. I heard water move and the sound of it dripping, then a hot wet hand took mine and pressed the mug to my fingers and then curled them. The water moved again. "Ok, ready to go." I opened my eyes and Lisa was back in the bath, just low enough for me not to see. I moved back and the pushed to door as I headed for the kitchen.

The second part of the plan was trickier and I knelt in the doorway and put the mug down, then turned the handle away, towards Lisa and held the hot side and reached out, then closed my eyes. There was some splashing and laughing and she said "ok" as she held the mug, feeling it move in my hand. I relaxed my grip and was relieved to not feel it fall, instead it moved away and I heard the 'clank' as it was placed on the table. Then I felt the warm, wet hand hold mine for a few seconds and squeeze. "Thank you." she whispered and then she slipped back into the water and told me I could open my eyes.

Lisa was sitting up and looking at me, her body pressed to the tub, but high enough for me to see the rise of her right breast as she leaned at an angle. I figured her nipple was just below the top surface of the tub. Her smile was the warmest thing ever, even in a steamy room. I moved backwards and closed the door slightly and then sat outside, glancing through the gap to see her smile.

I was drifting, watching tendrils of steam waft through the gap and swirl down the hall. "I am as liquid as the water." Lisa mumbled and I turned to see her starting to sit up. "Oops" she giggled and sat down again. "Forgot for a moment." she said. "Anyway, you will have to close the door now as I am getting out."

"Want me to hand you the towel?" I asked.

"Nice try. Very nice try." she laughed and I pushed the door closed and stood against it, listening to the dripping of the water as it left her body and the wet padding of her feet on the floor. A few moments later she knocked on the door behind me and I turned to see her distorted face through the mottled glass and pressed mine to meet it, both our lips pressed together but not touching. I stepped back and she pushed the door open and poked her head out. "Hi cutie." she said and my heart melted.

She stood in the bathroom, the steam still wafting past her as the water ran out of the bath. The towel was wrapped around her and her skin was flushed from the heat. "I haven't been kissed in an age." she said and smiled. I walked towards her, trying not to think that she was only wearing a towel. I put my arms around her and pulled her close and her head lifted to mine, lips wide and ready, her tongue finding mine the instant we kissed.

"I am putting a lot of trust in the towel to stay put." she giggled as I held her, my hand rubbing her back, aware that there was nothing else between my hand and her skin. "Is everything still ok?" she asked and I looked puzzled, then I slid my hand lower and felt her bottom and gave it a squeeze.