Chapter 26 - Sarah

After dinner the four of us sit down in the living room. Will and I sit on the sofa while Jessica and Chris each sit in one of the easy chairs. We have our drinks from dinner and Chris has brought the remains of the bottle of wine with him. The chatting continues for some time, no one thinking about the time.

As the evening wears on I decide my feet are in need of some tender loving care. I move away from Will to sit at the other end of the sofa to him and turn 90° so I can swing my legs up onto the sofa and my feet onto Will’s lap. Whilst many men might need to be asked for a foot rub, Will simply takes my move to be my request to him.

The conversation continues about this and that, old times and current situations and Will begins his ministrations to my feet. This isn’t going to be a ‘proper’ foot massage - he is at a slightly odd angle compared to normal and he doesn’t have the moisturizing cream we usually use - but he will do his best to leave me with nicely relaxed feet by the time he finishes.

I can see Jessica watching how I have moved and how Will is giving such a simple yet delightful pleasure to his wife. ‘You have a very considerate husband there’ she says.

‘Yes. He is very thoughtful and considerate’ I reply.

I turn to Will and add ‘You are wonderful, aren’t you?’

‘I try to be princess' Will answers.

To most this was a simple term of affection to one’s lover, yet to me it was a powerful acknowledgment that Will is my devoted Knight. We both smile at each other.

‘Why don’t you give me a foot massage?’ Jessica asks Chris.

Chris doesn’t give an answer, he simply snorts and takes a big gulp of wine.

Chris and Will had been great friends for many years, but for the last few years I’ve sensed a certain hostility from Chris towards Will. Or maybe he is angry or jealous.

Chris takes another drink as he watches Will’s fingers working on my feet.

Emptying his glass he asks ‘More wine anyone?’

We all indicate yes, so Chris fills up my glass and empties the bottle into Jessica’s. He goes to the kitchen and returns with a new bottle a few minutes later. He fills up Will’s glass and then his own and sits back down.

‘Why do you do that?’ Chris gestures with his glass at Will’s hands.

‘Because it is something I know Sarah enjoys,’ Will responds matter of factly.

‘I much prefer, treat ‘em mean, keep ‘em keen.’

‘Ain’t that the truth’ Jessica throws out. ‘How’s that working out for you?’

‘OK.’

‘Good. I have to say you’ve got the treat ‘em mean part down to a tee. Not sure it’s having the desired effect of keeping me keen though.’

‘No, keen you are not,’ Chris adds, contradicting his own hypothesis.

It would appear our friends are having some issues.

‘I prefer treat ‘em nice, happy life’ Will says. ‘I also find doing things Sarah enjoys is a pleasure for me.’

‘You rub her back, she rubs yours. So you put up rubbing her back to get your pleasure?’ Chris suggests.

‘Yes and no. Yes I do get things I like and enjoy in return, but it’s never one for her, one for me, one for her, etc. When we have some fun which I especially enjoy it's not related to when we have some fun which Sarah especially likes.’

‘I’d have to keep a record to make sure things evened out’ Chris states.

‘But that’s the trouble with society. It’s all about what can I get. People live with the attitude of I’m only going to do this if I get something for me.’

‘Is that unreasonable?’ Chris asks.

‘At one level, no,’ Will concedes, ‘However, the world would be a much better, happier place if more people were a little more giving without expectation of reward. We give Christmas presents to young children and don’t really expect a comparable present back.’

‘I do expect a present once they are old enough to understand.’

‘That’s a rather mean attitude,’ I say.

‘Yeah, well if I just keep giving I’ll end up with nothing. I don’t want to give everything away or have everything taken from me.’

‘But I do get something back, I get the satisfaction that I have given Sarah pleasure, or I get to watch the excitement of the young child opening their present’ Will says.

‘That doesn’t do it for me, sorry. A warm fuzzy feeling is nice but not enough.’

‘We don’t just get a warm fuzzy feeling because we each choose to give things the other enjoys, we receive things as well.’

‘I want what I want, and I’m not playing games waiting for it,’ Chris states.

‘Classic. Typical society. It’s all about me, me, me coupled with now, now, now. No one is capable of saving up to buy anything anymore. Everything is bought on credit, everything is instant gratification.’

The frustration his friend couldn’t or wouldn’t consider an alternative view to things is obvious in Will’s voice.

A quiet falls on the room. Will focuses on my feet. Chris has a drink. Jessica remains quiet and seems thoughtful. I close my eyes and enjoy Will’s touch.

After several minutes Jessica speaks, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if we did things we both enjoyed?’

‘Yes, in an ideal world,’ Chris replies, ‘but you have to do things I want.’

‘So, romance me, don’t just try and get me drunk and hope I won’t say no.’

‘I’ve tried and failed too many times. It’s not worth the effort,’ Chris says, an element of defeat in his voice.

Will opens his mouth, but no words emerge, so  I try to counter Chris.

‘We’ve become much more devoted to each other. We have discovered giving pleasure to the other is reward in itself.’ I try to give a measured answer. ‘We want to satisfy the other more than we want satisfaction for ourselves and as a result we both actually get more. I’m far more willing to say yes to Will because I know that he wants to do things I’ll enjoy.’

Will pauses from touching my feet to have a drink. He puts his glass down and returns to easing the stresses of the day for his princess.

Now that I've started the reply, Will adds ‘This is a simple and yet romantic thing for me to do. It really doesn't take much effort. To have a cuddle when we wake or go to sleep is no effort at all, it takes a few minutes but the effect lasts the day. So Sarah gets lots of romance and all these things are things I enjoy as well so there is little hardship on my part.’

‘He’s absolutely right' I say. 'This is a real pleasure to receive. When my feet are tired from the day, knowing that Will is willing, eager even, to give them a rub starts to ease the tension before he even touches them. He does lots of little things which are romantic. Each of them is a romantic gesture in its own right and for its own ends.'

'There is no tit for tat in this' I continue. 'And I know Will is always eager for sex when we go to bed. Tonight he might get lucky or he might not, I haven’t decided yet.’

Will blushes at my words.

Chris doesn’t speak. Whether he has dismissed what we’ve said or is not interested I don’t know.

On the other hand Jessica looks even more thoughtful.

I put my feet back on the floor and move next to Will. I instinctively rest my hand on his thigh. The conversation moves on to more mundane topics, Will and Chris no longer engaged in small talk.
 
 
I bit later I notice that Jessica is no longer making eye contact with me. Rather she is watching my hand. I realize that I am stroking Will’s thigh up and down. My hand at his groin, where I can feel the tip of his desire.

Touching my knight like this is so normal and natural I forget sometimes it’s not what others expect.

Instantly I feel extremely embarrassed and can feel the heat in my face.

I look to Chris, who is staring intently at his wine glass, clearly not happy with life. I look to Will who has his eyes closed, obviously enjoying my hand. I look at Jessica who cocks her head towards Chris and then rolls her eyes.

She looks at me, ‘It’s getting late, you must be tired after your long journey.’

I take her hint and lean in to Will, ‘Jessica thinks we should go to bed, what do you think?’

Will takes a moment to mentally come back into the room. ‘I'm happy to go to bed if you are,' he says.

I can see that he is more than happy.

It was a good idea to have him more charged up than usual for our trip, and I had enjoyed him being so knightly as he gave me the foot massage. I hadn't expected him to get so aroused in the car trip here though.

I can see that Will is very eager to go to bed. But his strong sexual desire is balanced by him having no idea of what will happen when we get there. He knows I might feel tired and it's just a cuddle, or that I might use his energy for much more.

Now what will it be ...?