Jenny

Chapter 5

"Hey, Andy." I turned at the sound of Jenny calling out to
me. The bustle of the busy street seemed to recede as her
smiling face filled my vision. I cleared my throat, which
seemed suddenly constricted.

"Errr. Hi, Jenny. No news I'm afraid."

"Oh I wasn't bothered about that, I just wondered if you
were free this afternoon?"

"Err. Umm. I'm sorry Jenny I have a meeting."

"Bullshit. I just checked with Sally and she says she just
'phoned you to say it's been cancelled." I could smell
collusion.

"I've been set up, haven't I?"

"You bet. So you might as well give in gracefully."

I sighed theatrically and held out my wrists as if to be
handcuffed. "I'm all yours."

Jenny stared into my eyes and I blushed at my unintended
double entendre. "I might take you up on that one day."

"Yes. Well. Umm." I was saved from further embarrassment as
Jenny grabbed one of my hands and dragged me off in the
direction of Waterloo station.

"Come on. I want to play the tourist and you're just the
person to help me."

And so we did.

The London Eye was surprisingly good fun, for what was
basically just an enormous Ferris wheel. We arrived just as
a wedding party was leaving; the bride and groom laughing
and joking about how surprised the office would be when they
got back and told them all how they'd spent their lunch
hour. We stood close to the glass and Jenny insisted that I
put my arms around her to 'make her feel safe'. She felt as
if she belonged there and she must have felt something like
that too as she sighed and relaxed against me.

Our next venue was the London Dungeon. We giggled like
teenagers at the reactions of the other patrons and managed
to remain un-shocked until right at the very end a figure
that we had presumed to be a statue in a tableau moved
towards us. Both of us screamed at the unexpected movement.
The figure laughed a little and spoke to himself, 'Gets them
every time.' We emerged energised from the place, and still
holding hands. A barker standing at a nearby bus stop
announced the imminent departure of an open-topped
sightseeing bus tour.

"Oh good. I've always wanted to go on one of these tours."

We bought tickets and trooped upstairs to the top deck. Not
long after, the bus began its journey. The girl doing the
commentary was witty and informative and we were soon lost
in the vision of London of the 16th and 17th centuries that
she evoked. Along with several nuggets of information that
I'd always wondered about and never bothered to discover for
myself: like the derivation of the phrases 'on the wagon'
and 'one for the road' or the fact that there were several
rivers running through London and not just one; the Fleet
and the Tyburn for instance.

The ticket included a trip on the Thames; we left the bus at
Westminster and got on the Jubilee line out to Greenwich.
Since we were there we went to the observatory and stood on
the Meridian. I glanced at my watch; it was getting late and
the time of the last boat-trip was approaching. Holding
hands we ran back to the river and managed to catch the last
boat. We sat on the top deck and listened to the commentary
that a member of the crew gave us. Jenny insisted that she
was cold and the only way for her to get warm was to sit on
my lap. We cuddled as the various buildings, including the
folly of the Dome, were pointed out to us. The trip ended at
Tower Bridge and we disembarked. I made a point of making a
'donation' to the crew, who weren't paid to give us a guided
tour. It was getting dark and we were both hungry.

"Let's grab something to eat and then I'll see you home."

"I do love a man with a plan."

We eschewed an imported convenience food for more
traditional fare: Fish and Chips, drenched in salt and
vinegar, and eaten out of newspaper on a park bench. They
tasted fabulous. Jenny thought so too and ensured that every
morsel of her portion - and some of mine - was eaten up. By
the time we'd finished, it was quite late, late enough that
the ceremony of the keys would soon be starting. I listened
for and heard the challenges and responses

"Halt. Who goes there?"

"The keys."

"Whose keys?"

"Queen Elizabeth's keys."

"Pass, Queen Elizabeth's keys. All's Well"

A short while later the final phrases drifted into the
night.

"God preserve Queen Elizabeth!"

And the voices of the guards responding, "Amen!"

I felt a tingle running down my spine as I considered the
fact that these very words had been said every day for
almost 700 years. The longest running military ceremony of
any sort. My voice cracked as I explained what I was feeling
to Jenny. Finally I was able to carry on.

"It just makes you think, this place has been around almost
a thousand years. It kind of puts one's own problems into
perspective."

Jenny shivered and I slipped my jacket over her shoulders. I
realised that, once more, I didn't have a clue where she
lived. I laughed, the information was in the file that I
kept on her I just hadn't bothered to read it. Jenny smiled
at me.

"It's nice hearing you laugh. You should do it more often."

I asked her where she lived and so we made our way back to
her flat. We said our goodbyes and I attempted to walk away
from her.

"No you don't," said Jenny as she grabbed me and kissed me.
Sparks flew. The tingle as her lips touched mine was
electric. I was not the only one who could feel it, as her
lips opened under mine and she moaned into my mouth and
melted into me. The tip of her tongue explored my lips and
before I could help myself I was responding to her kiss.
Even at the height of my most passionate moments with Kate
I'd never felt anything like this! Finally, we broke apart
and she stood before me, flushed and breathing heavily. I
remembered that she'd looked this way as she was fucked in
the room. I choked back a sob, turned and ran. I heard Jenny
calling to me, bewildered.

"Andy, what is it? What did I do?"

.oOo.

The 'phone rang in the way that indicated it was a call on
an outside line. I debated whether or not to answer it. I
knew who it was bound to be and I didn't particularly want
to speak to either of them. I shook myself; this was
ridiculous. I picked up the handset and spoke into it.

"D.A.S.I. Andrew Baker speaking."

"Andy, what was last night all about? I know you felt
something, and the next thing I know, you are, quite
literally, running away. What's going on, Andy?"

"I just realised I was getting in too deep and I was being
un-professional. I'm sorry if I upset you."

"It was more than just that, you saw something. What was
it?"

"Nothing, nothing at all." I took a deep breath and exhaled
quietly, I could hear my voice getting shrill with tension.
"Look, I do have this rule: I don't get involved with my
clients; it prevents complications."

"Leaving aside the fact that I'm not actually a client of
yours, I'd much rather have you as a friend than as an
investigator, so I'm telling you to stop investigating the
payments."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Perhaps now you can stop avoiding me at the
coffee-shop."

"Okay. Though we really are busy at the moment, so I can't
promise anything."

"We'll see. I'm not going to give you up, Andrew, you make
me feel too good for that."

"Sounds like you're getting addicted to me, perhaps you
ought to go to 'AA'?"

She laughed, getting the joke immediately. "'Andyholics
Anonymous', very funny. See you Andy."

As soon as she rang off I looked for the file. After a few
minutes of fruitless searching I remembered I had thrown it
at Kate the last time she had been here. I found a new
folder and wrote Jenny's name on it and filed the
'Investigation Suspended at Client's Request' form in it. In
the reason field I wrote 'kissed client'; I wondered what
Sally would think if she saw the form and then filed it
away. I sat and considered my options. Perhaps if I took a
sabbatical for a few months, then Jenny would forget about
me and I could get my life back onto its previously even
keel. It was an idea worth considering. I made a note in my
diary to investigate a temporary manager. As I wrote the
note, I added an addendum to see how Sally felt about doing
the job; this seemed like a good plan, it would be a lot
easier to find another PA than to find a temporary manager.

.oOo.

I was late. I waited for the door to Kate's apartment to
open in some trepidation. I hadn't seen her since our
argument and now I was late. I steeled myself for the
inevitable blast of annoyance as the door opened.

"Hi, Andy, glad you could make it. You haven't missed
anything, come in. Don't just stand there imitating a
goldfish."

I closed my mouth with a snap and handed over the flowers
and the wine. Normally I don't bother with flowers, but as I
was late anyway, I'd made a detour to pick up some as an
extra peace offering. Kate thanked me for the wine and cooed
over the flowers. I wondered if I had stepped into a
twilight zone episode.

"Who are you and what have you done with Kate?"

She giggled at this. "Oh stop looking like I'm an evil pod
person and come in, will you?"

I finally stepped over the threshold and took off my jacket.
Kate spoke again.

"Sally, your faithful PA - who deserves a raise, by the way
- 'phoned me to say you were really late leaving the office
and you'd probably be late to my dinner party. So I just
extended drinks by a few minutes. So stop waiting for the
other shoe to drop and come and join the party."

Kate led me into the sitting room, and since I knew everyone
there, she didn't bother with anything other than a 'now
he's finally made it we can eat' sort of introduction. And
she carried on through to her dining room with us all
following in her wake. Strangely for Kate there were named
place settings; usually it's just a sit anywhere you like,
but tonight she'd opted for fixed seating. As I started to
sit down I realised why.

"Hello Andy, how are you? I haven't seen you at the coffee
shop recently."

I looked up to see Jenny. She looked breathtaking. I made
the mistake of meeting her eyes and I was lost. Some time
later the sound of Kate's voice broke the spell.

"If you two lovebirds would like to sit down, perhaps we
could eat."

We looked about us and blushed. We sat down hurriedly and
fiddled about with napkins. When I looked up there was
Jenny, still beautiful, looking at me with adoration; I was
lost. The reason for Kate's seeming good humour was evident:
she hadn't been about to let anything ruin Jenny's evening.
I tried to sort out how I felt. On the one hand I was
greatly attracted to her but, on the other, I knew I'd
ruined her life. If we were going to have any sort of
relationship I had to come clean with her, but doing this
would hurt her and end the relationship before it began. I
had to stop this before either of us got in too deep. I
looked up to see Jenny looking concerned at my lack of
conversation. I grasped at the straw of a simple ploy and
ignored her. The hurt in her eyes as I began to make small
talk with my neighbour was like a knife in my heart; from
somewhere I could hear the sound of someone moaning.

"Andy, are you all right?"

Shit! It was me! I looked up again and saw the concern in
Jenny's face mirrored in Kate's. I cast about, frantically,
for a reason.

"Sorry. I just had this sudden headache; it caught me by
surprise. Have you got any aspirin?" As I spoke I became
aware that my headache was, in fact, a reality. Kate jumped
up from the table and returned with a glass containing two
large tablets fizzing loudly. I waited until the fizzing
stopped and the drink turned clear. I downed the painkiller
and reflected that it didn't taste too bad; that was before
the characteristic aspirin aftertaste kicked in. I screwed
up my face in an unavoidable reflex. Jenny giggled.

"That's right laugh at the afflicted. I don't care."

I winced as the pain lanced once more through my head.

"You poor man; it really hurts doesn't it?" She reached
across the table and gripped my hand in hers. Perhaps it was
the aspirin kicking in, or perhaps it was the incredible
electric tingle that seemed to race up my arm as she held my
hand, but the sharp pain in my head receded and within
minutes it was as if it never was. I sighed in relief and
Jenny smiled at me as I relaxed visibly.

"I can see that it's gone now. That aspirin sure works
fast."

"I think it was the fact that you were holding my hand."

"In that case I'd better keep holding it. We wouldn't want
your headache to comeback now would we?"

"I'm not sure it's all that practical; I'm not all that good
at eating left-handedly."

Jenny smiled but continued to hold my hand until the
starters were handed round.

With the ice between us broken, we pretty much ignored the
rest of the party; each time that I glanced across at Kate
she smiled at me and looked smug. The rest of the party
'oohed' and 'ahhed' as course followed course, but looking
back, I couldn't name a single dish we ate; Jenny captivated
all of my attention. Every now and then I would feel a
twinge of regret that I would be hurting her all the more
when I left as I knew that I would have to, but the regret
was swamped by the simple joy of seeing her smile.

"That's so cool."

I'd just let slip that I was at the same University as her,
the realisation that I'd done so was like a bucket of cold
water. I wondered if she'd recognise me for the scum that I
was, now.

"Did you know that weird guy, the one with the long hair and
bare feet? Dick- something?"

"Dickson?"

"Yeah, Professor Dickson."

"No, I don't remember him at all."

She laughed at the simple joke. "Oh you."

I stirred my coffee as I cast about for a change of subject,
but I needn't have bothered.

"You will see me home won't you?"

"Of course."

Kate and Jenny lived only a few minutes taxi-ride apart.
Once at her door I tried to kiss her platonically on the
cheek, but Jenny was having none of it. The depth of her
kiss burned my soul and left me leaning weakly against her.

"After a kiss like that, you are not going to run out on me
again." Wordlessly I followed her into her apartment.

We sat on her settee, necking like two teenagers. Her kisses
were like fire, her tongue duelled with mine and I could
feel my passion rising fast. In the middle of our latest
kiss Jenny moaned into my mouth; her voice was thick with
arousal.

"Oh God, I'm so hot."

It was like a bucket of ice-cold water; all at once I was
back in the room twelve years ago. I felt the remorse hit me
like some sort of emotional juggernaut and I was helpless to
prevent the sobs that tore their way through me.

"Andy? What is it? I love you, it tears me apart to see you
hurting like this; please let me help." The concern in her
voice cut me to the quick, how could she love me - her
rapist? I struggled to control myself. She hugged me
fiercely and this almost broke me again.

"Jenny, I have to leave. Before we do something..." I
struggled to control my sobs, "... that we may both regret."

"What's to regret? I love you, Andy. You obviously have
feelings for me. We're both adults." Her voice tailed away
in confusion and not a little hurt.

"I can't explain. I have to work things out. I'm sorry."
With that I stumbled from her apartment and made my way
blindly towards the street and away from the woman that I
loved. The sound of her crying was in my ears long after.

-Continued-