Through the Glass (7 page)

“So what did you
actually
want to ask?” she whispered, hoping she knew the answer.

“I wanted to ask if I could see you again?” He lowered his face until their noses were touching, and her heart relentlessly pounded at her ribcage.

“I was hoping that’s what you were going to ask.” She breathed. Her mouth met his for another mind-blowing kiss. When they broke apart, he held out his hand and she weaved her fingers in his once again.

“Shall I take that as a yes then?” He grinned.

“You shall.” She hoped her smile said it all.

Just like a perfect gentleman he walked her right to her door and made sure she got inside. She hesitated and took a deep breath. “Do you want to come and look my latest sketch?” The words rushed out of her body as if desperate to escape.

“Hmmm, so you’re inviting me in to see your etchings, eh?” He sounded like Sean Connery and it made her giggle.

“Hardly. It’s just the one sketch and it’s a bit rubbish really. I just—”

He placed his fingers on her lips. “I was teasing, Flick. And yes, please, I would love to. Just to see the sketch and then I’ll go.” He stepped inside and walked over to her easel. “Oh yes, I see what you mean. It’s totally rubbish.” He teased again.

She hit him playfully on the arm. “Thank you but you could have been nicer.”

“Flick, this is beautiful. The attention to detail is…amazing. I can’t believe you did it from memory.”

 “Thank you. Like I said, it’s just what I see through the glass…nothing fancy.” She smiled, pleased with his compliment. “I’m glad you like it though.”

He walked back to the door, pulled her into him and kissed her again. “Goodnight beautiful and talented, Flick,” he whispered placing one last kiss on her nose.

“Goodnight…handsome and sweet, Jim.” The heat in her cheeks rose again. She closed her door after him and then collapsed on her bed with a huge sigh of contentment and a smile as wide as the Thames on her face. She had a pretty good idea what she was going to dream of that night.

~~~~~

As Jim walked, he couldn’t help grinning like the Cheshire cat. Checking that no one was watching, he did a little happy dance in the middle of the road, only to be caught by a group of Fresher’s walking around the corner. He covered his eyes with his hands.
Great
. They whistled and cheered as they passed him.

“Oh, fuckity shit! I’ll never live that one down.” He sniggered aloud to himself.

~~~~~

Work at university was harder than she had imagined, but for the next few weeks after that initial date they spent every possible minute together. Their friendship had deepened and their relationship was secure and special but not yet intimate. They were part of a large group of friends and all socialised together (mostly when they were supposed to be studying).

Matthew caught up with Flick and Jim as they walked back to halls. “You guys up for a club on Friday night? We’re thinking of heading into Oxford to the tastefully named
Razzles
!” He sniggered. Jim walked along with his arm loosely draped around Flick’s shoulders. He looked for her acquiescence and she nodded.

“Sounds like good craic, Matty. Aye. Reckon we could make one in!” Jim kissed the top of Flick’s head.

Flick smiled at Jim’s loving gesture. He had been the perfect gentleman since that first kiss. Never expecting too much of her. They spent a lot of time alone but things never progressed beyond kissing, albeit passionate. He had only touched her breast once, but she had recoiled at the sensation and he had apologised profusely for pushing her too quickly. He hadn’t done it since. She regretted that incident so much. She’d never been touched in that way before and it had taken her breath away, but she
had
liked it and mentally kicked herself for her immature reaction. She was an adult now, for goodness sake, but thanks to the beady eye of her mother she had never got past
first base
with a guy. And by definition even
first base
was a little iffy. She was ready to change all that now. She just needed to find a way to convince Jim.

~~~~~

Friday night came around, and Flick and Polly were getting ready in Flick’s room. Polly was Flick’s best female friend at University, Jim being the obvious
male
candidate in that department. Polly was really sweet and quite shy too. Her long, fiery red curls cascaded down her back. She used them as a veil, too, hiding behind them most of the time.

“Flick, can I tell you a secret?” Polly took a swig from the bottle of wine she had been glugging for Dutch courage. Flick pulled on a long tie-dyed skirt, camisole, and lace top as she listened to her friend.

“Of course you can, Pol. I won’t tell.” Flick grabbed the bottle and took her own gulp of courage. She needed it for what she had planned.

“Ahem…erm…I have a
massive
crush on someone.” She blushed beetroot red at the admission and slapped her hand over her mouth.

“
Really
?” Flick was intrigued now and dropped to her knees before her friend. “Who? Tellmetellmetellmeeeee!” Flick patted her leg as if trying to slap the info out of her.

“Matty,” she blurted. “He is
so
gorgeous. I love the way he swipes his hair back off his face and pushes his glasses up his nose with his finger… And his hands…oh what I’d like him to do with those hands.”

“
Polly!
” Flick burst out laughing at her friend’s brazen wantonness. The two girls fell about in fits of almost hysterical laughter. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and they froze. Their laughter ceased.

“Oh shit! Do you think they heard?” Polly’s face drained of colour, and she slapped her hand over her mouth again, making Flick giggle uncontrollably. Matty and Jim had agreed to call for the girls at eight o’clock and it was now eight oh five.
Dammit!

“Oh dammit! Just act
normal
, Pol.
Normal!”
Flick grasped her friend’s shoulders trying not to snicker. Her friend stared back in horror.

“Normal…yes… I
can
do normal.” Polly burst into hysterics again and collapsed on the bed. The girls calmed themselves down and answered the door.

“Bloody hell, Flick, what took you so long?” Jim chuckled in reaction to the girls who were trying their best not to laugh. “What’s so funny?”

“Oh…just a bit of girl talk.” The girls exchanged knowing looks and stifled any further giggles as best they could under the circumstances, i.e., the alcohol-induced giddiness. Matty, as Matthew had now become known, went a delightful shade of crimson at seeing Polly. His famous nervous stutter came out with a vengeance.

“H-hi, P-Polly. You l-look l-lovely.” He gazed at the buxom red head, who just melted into his eyes.

“So do you, Matty…just lovely.” Her giggles were gone and she turned to give Flick and Jim an enormous grin when Matty took her hand in his.

The atmosphere at the club was buzzing when they arrived. It seemed that ninety per cent of Oxford Uni was out for the
craic
. The DJ played decent music, despite the club’s somewhat corny name. Jim and Flick spent most of the time on the dance floor wrapped around each other, even when the songs were fast paced.

The end of the night came around too soon. At one in the morning, the gang of friends walked back to their dorms. Some of the group had been a little too eager with the beer and were singing rather loudly, tempting the wrath of the hierarchy without seeming to care. Stubbs and Clara were the two worst culprits. They had all the musical intonation of a pack of howling banshees.

“Some of this lot won’t be seeing the light of day tomorrow.” Jim chuckled as he walked along with his arm around Flick. Matty and Polly had stopped and were locked in a smouldering embrace.

“Oh, bless them. They finally got together,” Flick said, looking over her shoulder as Jim turned to see what she meant.

“Aye, thank goodness for that. Maybe he’ll stop rambling on about her hair and her eyes and her lips.” Jim mimicked Matty’s posh accent and swooned, as Matty had apparently been doing.

“Really? Oh, that’s so sweet.” Flick smiled in their direction.

They arrived at her door and Jim kissed her deeply, exploring her mouth with his delicious tongue. “See you tomorrow then, sweetheart?” he breathed as he rested his forehead on hers.

“Would you like to…erm…come in? For…coffee?” she stumbled over her words. Her heart rate had increased and her palms were sweating.

“Oh…I’d love to. Could do with a cup really. Clear my head a bit. Oh and to see how you’re doing with your painting.” Jim smiled enthusiastically and followed her in.
Dammit, is he dense or just plain oblivious?

As soon as they were inside, she grasped at him, crashing her mouth into his and thrusting her tongue into his mouth.

He pulled away from her. “Whoa, hey! Flick, what are you doing?” He gasped, grasping her shoulders, and stepped back. She stepped away too, feeling stupid and more than a little embarrassed, but somehow she summoned up a little of the courage she had felt earlier.

“I…oh sod this…courage Felicity… Jim, I want you…
naked
.” She lifted her arms up in the air, not knowing why. “There I said it. If you don’t feel the same, then we have a serious problem.” Her chest heaved as adrenalin coursed through her veins and her heart tried to escape through her chest.

He gaped open-mouthed, as if at a loss for words. Then suddenly as if a realisation had hit, a sweet smile spread across his gorgeous face. He stepped toward her and his expression changed again. His eyes became darker as he reached up to stroke her cheek.

“We don’t have a problem, Flick,” he spoke quietly and huskily. Heat rushed through her body. “I’ve wanted you since the first time we kissed…no, even before that. I just got the sense that you may be…ah…a virgin and didn’t want to take advantage of you. Things had to be on
your
terms.” He tucked her hair behind her ear and continued to stroke her face.

“Well…I’m sick of being a bloody virgin. I want to experience things. I want to experience sex…with you…now.” Her hands grabbed his checked shirt. She was desperate to convey her feelings but worried it was all coming out wrong.

“There
is
a slight problem, then.” His eyes stayed locked on hers but her heart sank.

She bit her lip. “Oh? Do I want to hear this?” She gulped.

“I don’t want
just
sex, Flick. I want
us
to be a
permanent
thing and so I want to make love to you. However cheesy that sounds, it’s the truth.” His voice was soft. He took her face in his hands and lightly brushed her lips with his. She realised she was holding her breath and was feeling a little lightheaded. The air rushed from her lungs as she absorbed his words.

“That would suggest…that you, kind of…love me... Is that what you mean, or am I getting this all completely wrong?” She gulped as she placed her hands over his.

He took a deep breath and paused. “I think I’ve loved you since that morning you were trying to do origami with all your paperwork.” He chuckled. She blushed at the memory. She had felt so stupid on that day and was a little overwhelmed to hear that he had fallen for her
then
.

“Oh…wow.” She was trembling now. He kissed her again, their tongues danced as they tasted each other. She ran her hands through his hair and he pressed his body against hers. She inhaled sharply when she felt his arousal press against her stomach.

Stepping away slightly, he eased her denim jacket from her shoulders and slipped her pretty lace top over her head, followed by the camisole underneath. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she gazed up into his eyes. He crouched and slid the skirt down her thighs. Then he stood and held her at arm’s length looking at her, all of her, standing there before him in her white lace underwear.

“Wow…just as beautiful as I imagined,” he breathed as his eyes scanned her body.

Stepping into him, she nervously pulled his shirt down his arms and discarded it with the other clothes. His T-shirt came off next, exposing his sculpted pectorals and defined abs, the kind she had only ever seen on posters. His low hanging jeans revealed a little trail of curls leading down under his waistband. Suddenly, she froze. Jim stroked her cheek and unfastened his belt. He slipped his jeans and boxers down his legs never moving his soft gaze from her. She gasped and shivered as he stood before her naked and in a state of arousal.

“Hey, you’re cold.” He pulled her into an embrace. She wondered if he could feel her heart pounding against him. “Shall we get into bed? Warm you up?”

She nodded silently, feeling in complete awe of his form. They climbed into the limited space, and he lay beside her propped up on his elbow. He trailed his finger down her cheek and placed his palm over her heart. “Hey, are you okay? If you’re having second thoughts—”

“N-no…no second thoughts.” She lifted her hand and pulled him toward her. The kiss was gentle to begin with. She felt his heart rate increase as he moved his hand from her heart to her breast to gently caress her through the lace. She breathed in sharply at the overwhelming sensation and he stopped. “Don’t stop, Jim…I’m fine…honestly,” she breathed.

Flick was certainly feeling warmer as her own arousal took over. She felt heat pooling between her thighs. Jim’s fingers continued to toy with her nipple through her lace bra and it hardened under his caress as a rush of pleasure traversed her body. A moan escaped her and he smiled. Reaching around her back, he released her bra clasp,

“Is this okay?” Jim whispered.

She nodded. “Yes…please don’t stop.” He removed the bra and let it fall to the floor over his shoulder. After admiring and caressing her for a few seconds more he leaned toward her body and took her pink bud into his mouth.  Flick gasped as her eyes rolled back and she grabbed at his hair, desire coursing through every fibre of her being. She released another husky moan and his mouth played there a little longer. His hand, however, slid down…down…down, tracing the outline of her waist and her hip…to the front of her panties. He gently stroked her over the fabric and she opened her thighs for him. His breath caught in his throat and he moved to kiss her stomach. Slowly, he slid his hand inside her panties. As he continued with the feather light kisses, his fingers found her dampness. He let out what sounded like a low appreciative growl as he explored her there, his thumb circling her sensitive place.