1 THE FLING

*Chapter 1*

It was a quarter past six at the end of a cold, day when Steve Brown drew his shabby coat around him as he walked home briskly along the street in the heart of London.

It was autumn and the weather was mostly cold, windy and rainy. But Steve wasn't adequately dressed for the chilly weather. He wore a threadbare tweed coat.

Like his marriage, that coat was ten years old, but there was a lot more warmth left in the coat than there was in his marriage. Steve pushed the thought away as he walked. His blonde good looks obscured by the fatigue etched on his face.

Food was uppermost on his mind now as hunger pains began gnawing at him. He thought in pleasant anticipation of getting home.

Soon enough, he was there. He lived in a flat on a quiet dead end street, with a small park opposite. It was on the top floor and quite small, not more than six hundred square feet from bumper to bumper.

Though tiny, the two-bedroom flat had a unique personality. Every room had abundant windows which brought streams of sunlight that cast a glow in every corner on sunny days.

As he climbed the stairs, Steve could smell fried meat and potatoes cooking, vegetables boiling. He was hungry because most lunch times he snatched a soda and a meat pie and ate while he tried to cram his brain with facts and figures.

He was taking an accounts course in the evenings at the university so that he could get a better job.

The dinner he had smelled was next door's, his was beans and rice.

'I'm sorry Steve,' said Laura his wife as she served the simple dinner. 'But I've been all afternoon cleaning. I was too tired to cook an elaborate meal.'

'If only I had a housekeeper,' Laura said for the third time in three days, 'I'd have more time for cooking.' It was no time since they had finished paying for re-decorating the flat, thought Steve.

But he finished up his dinner, said nothing, left the dining table and walked to the sitting area. His kids were watching television.

Lily and Lucy, their five-year-old twins made a warm space for him between them on the sofa, and Diana, the baby of the family, nestled on his lap.

'Daddy!' she smiled and curved her fat little arms around Steve's neck. She covered his face with mint-flavored kisses.

It was like silk against sandpaper, but she didn't seem to care. This was the best part of Steve's day.

Abruptly, his wife switched off the television and stood in front of it facing him. She was pretty in a scrubbed immaculate way.

Her braided hair straight and long; fell on her shoulders and framed her face. Her eyes were brown, her face neatly boned, her head supported by a long neck and narrow shoulders. Her bronze, toffee brown skin was something Steve had always admired. But that was not on his mind right now, looking at her face, Laura was ready to make one of her numerous demands.

'Steve,' she said in her long-suffering tone, 'We really will have to buy new clothes for the kids – their clothes don't look right.'

'They've outgrown them. Since we bought some new coats last month, we should get shoes to match. Pink would be best.'

'I thought the twins needed new toys. Surely, that's more urgent,' said Steve. Tiredness washed over him as Laura listed all the things they needed. 'We just don't have the money sweetheart,' said Steve.

He was tempted to leave the warmth of the sofa and Diana on his lap and go to the pub just to get away from Laura's reproachful tongue, but he had only just enough money for the next day's bus fare and lunch.

Steve kept back the bare minimum from his salary and gave Laura the rest. She managed it well. They had a comfortable, warm home and the kids lacked for nothing. But Laura's friends did much better, or so she kept telling him.

'You're not listening Steve!' Laura snapped. 'Why don't you try to relax, my dear,' Steve said. 'Come and sit with me, you never do.' Laura was indignant. 'Sit down? When there's ironing to be done?'

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

The next evening at the university something happened that threw Steve off balance. It was during the tea break. He looked up to find a woman staring at him.

She was very attractive. She had golden brown skin and her hair was neatly swept back from her face, tied in a chignon behind her head. Her eyes were deep brown, shadowed by long lashes, and her curving mouth full and sweet.

He noticed her dress. It was a bright blue shade, the woman looked sophisticated and, there was something extravagant and untamed about her.

It was love at first sight. His knees trembled, as his eyes met hers, his blood recognizably pounded. Was it possible to feel so much emotion within the first second of meeting someone? At first sight?

Steve looked away but he could feel her eyes on him, compelling him to look. He met her eyes again and she smiled.

When Steve went back to his class, he found it hard to concentrate. He kept seeing her frank smile.

After classes, as he walked, hunched against the wind, a car pulled up, a light colored Mercedes Benz. 'Do you want a lift?' It was the woman he had seen at the canteen. Gratefully, Steve got in beside her. It was much warmer in the car.

'I haven't seen you at the college before,' she said conversationally as she pulled away from the pavement. 'What course are you taking?'

'Accounts,' Steve told her. She laughed and it was a nice sound. 'You don't look like an accountant. I could imagine you doing management or something.'

Steve loosened the polo neck of his sweater, warm suddenly. 'And you?' He asked. 'What do you do?' 'I teach human resource management.' She laughed again.

She smelled of musk. Steve had noticed it as soon as he'd got into the car. The smell was unforgettable. It really got to him.

'I'm Alice Smith,' she said. 'Am on my way home, why don't you join me for dinner? Then I'll drive you home. By the way, what do I call you?'

Steve was perspiring. 'Steve' he said. 'Steve Brown. And thanks, but I'd better be getting home.' The kids liked to see him before they went to bed.

Never in his life had Steve felt so stupid, so tongue-tied, and so out of his depth. Alice laughed at him, gently. 'I'm offering you dinner, nothing more.'

Soon they arrived at Alice's home. When they got out of the car, she went ahead of him, took one flight of stairs and opened her flat and he followed her indoors.

The flat was all very elegant and grownup. All was cream and navy blue. Padded thick curtains hung in swags and folds. There was honey-colored carpeting, thick to the wall, an ornately framed oval mirror.

Steve cleared his throat. 'What a charming room.' 'Yes, it is pretty, isn't it?' Said Alice as she threw her coat on the sofa and went to the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Alice came towards him with two steaming cups of tea. Her figure in the long straight dress was as perfect as her face.

Alice sat on the sofa opposite him, curling up her feet tucked beneath her. Across the space that divided them their eyes met.

Steve felt his temperature rise. This woman was amazing. Everything about her was amazing. The more he looked at her the more beautiful she became.

He found her terribly attractive. She was so warm. Years ago, Steve's instincts had been attracted to Laura's innocence and youthful bloom. Now, he was sharply drawn to the sophistication and excitement that lay with Alice. She was totally different from Laura.

Half an hour later, Alice served dinner. It was a simple but splendid meal. The chicken was so tender you hardly needed teeth to chew it, the potatoes were firm and rich, the vegetables crisp, warm rice to mop up juices, and washed down by chilled white wine.

For a meal as simple as this, it was utterly satisfying and delicious. After a bit, his stomach stopped groaning, and he felt infinitely better.

After dinner, Alice drove him home in silence. Once she parked outside his home, Steve turned to her and kissed her cheek.

He left her and set off at a brisk clip. Once outside the entrance, he turned and looked back. She was gone. He smiled to himself and went up the stairs.

Steve could think of little else, all week. It amazed him that such a lovely woman could be interested in him. He was flattered, and more than once his workmates caught him with a silly grin on his face.