The Characters.

Simon.

Simon was a man in his mid-40's, intelligent, well-off and cultured, now living in his own apartment in Washington. He had become something of a workaholic- almost a recluse- since his wife died a year ago in a car accident, which had shocked him to the core. She had been alone in the car, and he had only learned of her death when the police contacted him at their apartment- now his.

They had been married for twenty years and were faithfully devoted to each other. They had no children, by choice; a choice he now regretted. He had no other living relatives. It was a very difficult adjustment for Simon to make, and he escaped from day-to-day life into his work, until his grief dissipated a little. His work environment was almost exclusively male, and he had no close friends of either sex. He had no time for new relationships, and certainly couldn't face re-entering the 'dating' scene, even online. This world had changed since he had met his wife so many years ago.

Slowly, he began to escape the chains of his work, and realise that he needed to make a future for himself, but he was still resigned to a single life. He masturbated alone to the accompaniment of soulless porn, purely to relieve his frustration, and usually hated himself afterwards. He found much porn distasteful, and missed the real satisfaction of truly pleasing his partner: they had had a very adventurous, frequent and fulfilling sex life throughout their long marriage.

He found it very difficult to initiate any contact with any potential new partner, though. He did not visit bars or clubs, and his circle of acquaintances was very limited. He had no hobbies or practical interests to share, and spent his free time at home, listening to music and reading about the wider world outside. He was deeply fascinated by different cultures and lifestyles.

Aimi.

Aimi was a slim and very pretty young woman in her mid-20's, of Japanese heritage, brought up in a rather closed and inhibited enclave in rural America, which was somewhat suspicious and even fearful of 'outsiders'. Partly as a result, she developed a close gay relationship with Mari, a childhood friend of the same community, but when the nature of that relationship became more widely known, she was ostracised.

Aimi was inherently a brave and independent woman, though, despite her upbringing. She ventured out into the wider world alone and found that her boyish looks appealed to many young gay American women. Her well-practised dominant skills were in demand, and she enjoyed a good and varied gay sex life for a year or two. However, she still felt a deep longing to re-connect with Mari and they maintained an intense online relationship in secret.

Mari was much less independent in character, but also wanted to be with Aimi again. She said that she would leave the security of the community and join Aimi, when she could offer her the promise of an established, stable home, and a faithful relationship.

Aimi was determined to achieve that, but she also had a curious desire to explore a heterosexual relationship for the first time. She was very skilled in oral pleasuring of women, and her nimble, slim fingers were well-practised in delivering pleasure not only to her partners, but also to herself.

Like Simon, she used porn to masturbate and reduced the number of her gay partners, in an attempt to devote herself faithfully to Mari. She viewed straight porn as well, of course, and that heightened her interest in experiencing a male partner for the first (and perhaps last) time. However, she was nervous about initiating any sexual contact with a man, and fearful of being abused.

After a year of hard work and saving, she was able to rent the apartment next door to Simon, with the thought that Mari might be persuaded to join her there.

The Meeting of Minds.

When Aimi moved in to the apartment next door to Simon that springtime, he was made aware of her by all the noise, and the comings and goings, as she struggled to bring her accumulated possessions (which were not very many, in fact) up in the elevator.

When he first saw her, he was captivated by her appearance, much as he had been when he first saw his wife, so many years ago. Of course, she was very different in appearance and so very much younger than him, but when their eyes met, there was something in those deep dark pools which struck a familiar chord with him.

He offered his help, which was gratefully received with a beautiful smile, and they exchanged names. Aimi immediately felt the warmth and sincerity of Simon's greeting, and relaxed in the knowledge that her neighbour was so helpful and trustworthy.

When her move was complete, Simon invited her to a celebratory drink in his apartment, and she readily accepted. She felt that his welcome promised a happy and settled home life for the future, where she could welcome Mari to join her.

Even on their first meeting in Simon's apartment, they exchanged their detailed histories and background quite openly and easily. It seemed they had an instant rapport which allowed them to talk freely about themselves, and ask questions which might have seemed intrusive to some, but they were both open and honest people, and instantly recognised that in each other.

It took only a very short time for them to become close friends and confidants, frequently spending evenings together in one or other of their apartments, and discussing art, culture, their different communities and backgrounds.

He did not say so, but Simon felt that Aimi was becoming something close to a daughter to him, though he knew that would have been impossible. He confessed to her that he regretted not having children with his wife when they had the opportunity. Aimi said that she would have been honoured to be his daughter, but they should think of each other as friends across the generations, without the complications of familial links.

Simon and his wife had visited Japan in the past and both had been entranced by the art and the philosophy and all the traditions of the culture. Aimi had largely rejected those elements of her background, to adopt a more American culture, but still had some sympathy with Simon's fascination.

He said how much he admired the Haiku form of poetry, but the only verse he could ever remember was a joke!

To write a poem
In seventeen syllables
Is very diffic...

This amused Aimi greatly, and she challenged him to write a sexy Haiku for her, knowing her dominant gay proclivities. Never one to refuse a challenge, Simon agreed to try.

The Meeting of Bodies.

The next week, they met in Simon's apartment, and he presented his effort at a Haiku, which he had written out by hand in beautiful Japanese-style calligraphy on a single sheet of creamy paper.

She read it quietly to herself.

“I kiss your wet lips,
Delve my tongue inside your depths,
Savour the flavours.”

She sighed and said, “That is beautiful, Simon! Thank you so much. I will frame that to hang above my bed. Mari will adore it!”

Their conversation turned to sex, of course, but now much more explicitly than before.

Aimi was impressed that Simon seemed to fully understand and appreciate the pleasures of oral sex for a woman, and also the skills of dexterously fingering her. She had noted his long and elegant fingers. His wife had enjoyed those skills as much as Aimi's partners always enjoyed hers.

She sympathised very much with the loss of his life partner, and his difficulty in finding a new companion. She talked about her own struggle to be more exclusive, in preparation for beginning a long-term partnership with Mari. She hoped that theirs could last as long as twenty years!

They agreed that they would each enjoy just being in the presence of the other when they masturbated, instead of being so isolated and alone with only porn and their memories to help. A real human connection would be a great addition to the experience, and it could become a pleasure shared, they thought.

As their conversation developed, Aimi again admired his sensual Haiku. Simon offered to prove his own oral skills by going down on Aimi. She readily agreed, on condition that he later allowed her to masturbate him! She had never even had real physical contact with a man before, and wanted to safely experience the realities, as opposed to the porn-world fantasies she had seen.

They agreed to meet the next evening, in Simon's apartment, to give themselves the chance for a change of mind overnight, but neither really expected to change their minds. The very fact that they had verbalised these wishes seemed to make everything more real, and each of them spent that night imagining what was ahead.

When Aimi came to Simon's door that next evening, he was anxious in the extreme, fearful that he might have disrupted their friendship, but when he saw her standing in the doorway, backlit by the hallway light, all such thoughts disappeared.

She appeared like an angel to him, slim and boyish, but with a distinct if subtle female shape. Her breasts were small, and her waist and hips slim; she was shorter than Simon, of course, but her shapely legs seemed long; her shoulder-length hair was the deepest black, and shone in the backlight, creating a halo effect around her. She smiled and said, “I've come for you, Simon; and I want you to make me come!”

Simon could hardly speak. Aimi was dressed in a short black skirt with a multi-coloured blouse and black high-heeled shoes. She wore colourful make-up which perfectly complemented her very pale unblemished skin, with bright red lipstick, very dark brows and eyelashes, and bright blue eye-shadow. She had the slightest hint of rouge on her cheeks, and bright red finger and toenails.

He had never seen her like this before. She had usually dressed very casually in jeans and T-shirt; it was VERY clear that she had made a special effort to please him this evening. And she had succeeded!

He took her hand to draw her into the living room, and asked if she would like a drink.

Aimi said, “No, Simon, that isn't necessary. I have been thinking about this evening ever since we talked yesterday, and I don't want to delay any longer. I have become excited by the very thought of us in physical togetherness. I am usually the one who goes down on my partners, though a few girls have done the same for me. No man ever has before, but I want you to be the first.”

Simon said, “I hope I can meet your expectations, Aimi! I have had plenty of practice over the years, but only with my wife. She always seemed to enjoy it, but you are more experienced than she was, so I do hope she wasn't just flattering me!”

“Well, let's find out, shall we!” said Aimi, and promptly kicked off her shoes.

Staring Simon in the face, she slowly unbuttoned her blouse and opened it, revealing that she wore no bra. She really didn't need one because her breasts were small, but they were perfectly formed, and the dark areolae crowned her pale creamy mounds, with firm erect nipples standing proud. Simon was in awe of the vision being revealed to him.

She smiled at his open-mouthed reaction, and wriggled her slim hips to loosen her tight skirt as she unzipped it, allowing it to fall to the floor.

If his jaw could have dropped any further, it would have! She was wearing no panties, and apart from a short, neat 'landing strip' of rich black hair, she was not only completely waxed, but it was clear that she was already wet. She sat on the couch and lay back a little, allowing Simon to clearly see her pouting pussy lips with beads of moisture glinting in the light.

“I've been waiting so long for this, Simon,” she said, “show me what you can do!”

Simon dropped to his knees between her legs and gently pressed her thighs apart, taking the opportunity to stroke the soft skin all the way from her knees to her pussy.

He looked up at her and smiled as her dark eyes twinkled with lustful anticipation.

Now he focused on her pussy. Her outer lips were darker than her pale body, and the complex wrinkles also contrasted with the smoothness of her body. He gently parted them and found her inner lips pushing forwards now, as they swelled with passion before his eyes.

He ran one long elegant finger along the length of her lips, helping them to part further, and releasing a little more of her honey to run free. He used his finger to spread her juices slowly up and down the length of her pink inner pussy, which seemed to open even further, and pulse with desire.

He parted her lips wide to reveal the darker well of her cunt, overflowing with juice, and introduced the tip of one finger, circling it slowly, to open her wider. He slowly inserted his longest finger as far as it could possibly go, and kept it there, continuing to circle it deep inside her. He could feel the grip of her cunt on his finger; it had never been stretched by anything more than a finger or two.

When Simon pressed gently on her pubic mound with his other hand, and stretched her open, her clit emerged promptly. It was hard and red, seeming to throb, and Simon told her how beautiful the view was from his position between her thighs.

She sighed and wriggled against his knuckles, but when he dropped his head to take her clit between his lips, she groaned loudly. When he flickered his tongue around her, she began to grind her hips against his hand, forcing his long finger inside her as it twisted and turned against her pussy walls.

He could tell that she was building herself to a climax soon, and sucked her clit between his teeth, circling and licking it with his tongue, while he pressed a second finger inside her. He began to move his fingers in and out of her while constantly twisting and turning them against the grip of her pussy.

His free hand moved up over her belly to reach her breasts and his fingers tweaked and played with her hard nipples in synchrony with his oral pleasuring of her clit. As she became more and more active, rocking her hips, clenching her belly, and moaning more and more loudly, he responded with firmer and firmer thrusts of his fingers, nips of her clit and pinches of her hard nipples.

She reached down to grasp his head between her thighs and force his mouth against her as hard as she could, while her hips rocked frantically back and forth against his mouth and his fingers.

Suddenly she stopped all active movement and froze still; he recognised the symptoms and also stopped, while he felt her pussy clench again and again, in rapid spasms around his two fingers. She shouted out loud, while her body shook and she held his head firmly in place against her trembling pussy.

Slowly the tremors passed, and she allowed him to breathe again!

She flopped back limply, arms and legs splayed wide, and gasped for breath.

“Wow, Simon,” she said, “I've never had better that that from anyone! I didn't think any man could perform as well as a woman. But you certainly know how to please a girl!”

“Thank you,” said Simon, “I take that as a great compliment from you, but I thought you were usually the active partner?”

“That is true,” she said, “but I have reversed roles on several occasions, and none of them were better than that. Your wife taught you well!”

They both slowly relaxed and recovered, but it did not go unnoticed by Aimi that Simon had an enormous erection bulging his trousers, when he stood in front of her, between her splayed legs.

“Simon, we really need to do something about that, don't we?” she said. “I have never had a cock inside me, you know. In fact, I have never even touched a real hard cock in my life, but there is a first time for everything, don't you think?”

Simon laughed and said, “We can take it step by step, Aimi. There is no hurry.”

“No,” she said, “there isn't. But apart from porn videos, I have never even seen a real hard cock, you know, let alone touched one. It seems to me that you need to be relieved, and I would be sad to think of you doing that alone. So please may I help you?”

“Well, this isn't going to go away, without some attention,” said Simon. “ I always used to fuck my wife, after I had brought her to an orgasm orally, and I think my body remembers that! But if this is really your first experience of any contact with a man, we should take it slowly, I think.”

Aimi nodded vigorously. She was still naked before Simon, her legs splayed around him as he stood in front of her. His erection was definitely not going to subside!

Simon unbuttoned himself and dropped his trousers to his ankles, revealing his hard cock protruding above the waistband of his briefs. Aimi looked a little taken aback by the swollen red head which pulsed against his navel, but composed herself quickly and asked what she should do.

Simon put his hands behind him and said, “You should do whatever you want, Aimi. I realise this is all new to you, so you should explore me in your own way and your own time. I hope that you will eventually bring me to a climax, but there is no great hurry.”

Aimi swallowed hard and reached out for her first ever real touch of a hard cock. She gently stroked the swollen head and commented on how soft, yet hard, it felt. There was a drop of pre-cum emerging at the tip, and she used her delicate fingers to spread that around the head, making it glisten in the light.

She looked up at Simon, as though for permission, then stretched his waistband away from his body, to lower his briefs below his knees. His cock stood fully proud and exposed now, and she groaned a guttural groan as she saw its full length and girth, above the tightly clenched balls.

“May I?” she said, but Simon stared to the ceiling, trying to restrain himself, and left Aimi to her own decisions. She reached out and, again for the first time ever, encircled the shaft of his hard cock with one tiny hand, while the other cupped his balls.

“My goodness, Simon,” she said, “I thought the cocks I saw in porn videos must be unusual, but you are as big as most I've seen there! I can't imagine how it could ever possibly squeeze inside me...”

She naturally began to stroke her hand steadily up and down the shaft, while the other rolled and squeezed his balls. While she was doing this, she studied his cock closely, and then tentatively leaned forward to touch it with her outstretched, pointed tongue, and delicately traced it along the lines of the prominent veins which ran about the length of the shaft in such complex ways.

She said, “Simon, I'm not sure how tightly to grip you. Should I be firmer with you?”

He said, “Use me however you want, Aimi! I will enjoy whatever you do, I assure you. Just don't stop now, until I cum.”

“Oh my goodness,” she said, “I want to see you cum, Simon!”

She dipped her head to wrap her tiny red mouth just around the head, but pressed no further. Filling her mouth with saliva, she then allowed it to dribble slowly out to run down the full length of his shaft and lubricate the strokes of her hand, up and down, up and down.

With the extra lubrication, she felt able to grip more tightly, and withdrew her head to witness the swelling of Simon's cock as she pumped ever harder and faster. Simon began to groan and she felt the involuntary thrusting of his hips, pushing his cock through both of her hands now.

She decided to hold both hands still, gripping his saliva-coated cock as hard as she could, and imagined that they were the muscles of her cunt, trying to hold him while he thrust more and more energetically into her, harder and deeper each time.

His breathing became louder and louder, and hers matched it, until he finally let out a roar and she gripped his cock even tighter than ever as his final thrusts forced through her hands, and the throbbing red head stopped inches in front of her face.

She squealed as the first pulse of thick, creamy cum shot forcefully up from his cock, and arced upwards to fall back again onto her. And again, and again, and again, the pulses shot out, slowly weakening until the final surges simply ran down over the head and down the shaft, over her tight fingers, to mingle with her saliva and drip from his balls. She had held her breath from the first pulse, to the last dribble, focusing on the sight before her.

Simon's legs were shaking uncontrollably, and he had to sit down, but Aimi was in awe at what she had just witnessed, for the first time ever in real life. She could breathe again now.

She released his cock from her sticky grip, and looked him in the eye. “Simon,” she said, “is that …. 'normal'... ?? It seemed like an awful lot, and I was shocked how much force it came with. Is that what would be happening inside me, if you fucked me? I'm not even sure I could take your cock inside my tight little cunt!”

“Oh, I'm sure you could, with the proper preparation, Aimi,” said Simon, when he recovered his own breath. “Perhaps we should try that another day, but now, we need to shower I think! It looks like I have showered you with cum, and you must let me wash you clean again.”

He thanked her for relieving him, and she thanked him for allowing her to!

Hand in hand, they walked naked to the bathroom, and luxuriated in the streams of hot water flowing over their bodies, washing away all the cum, sweat, saliva and pussy juices which had spread to every corner. The soapy lather smoothed the stroking of their hands over each others bodies.

Aimi studied Simon as she cleaned him. His cock was now subdued, of course, but she noted that it was still sensitive to her touch, as she squeezed any remaining drops of cum from him. She took the time to admire his body... a real body, not too gym-toned, not too sun-tanned, not too honed. It was a real honest body, showing some signs of his age, with the occasional scar or mark here and there, but still well-toned with no excess flabbiness. She liked what she saw.

Similarly, Simon took time to study Aimi in the shower. She was young and fit, slim and boyish in shape, but distinctly feminine nevertheless. Her pale skin was almost translucent, glowing with health and vigour, and contrasting starkly with the dark black shining head of hair and neat matching 'landing strip'. He knew that she was bi, and in fact primarily lesbian, but no man could have resisted her sexually. He had been honoured to introduce her to the realities of heterosexual life, but he had no ambitions to turn her away from her first love, Mari.

Afterwards, they dried and re-dressed each other, before they separated and Aimi returned to her own apartment, with effusive thanks to Simon. They agreed to talk again, and form some sort of agreement about how their relationship might progress; it was clear that they were very much more than 'good neighbours' now.

Plans for the future.

The next time they met, of course, it was already clear that their relationship had changed. It was time for an open and honest discussion about their future, and a bottle of wine helped that conversation.

Aimi was restless when she talked, fidgeting uncomfortably in her seat. She said she had been talking online with Mari, and had told her that she had made very good friends with her neighbour Simon, though not quite how close they had become.

She wanted to devote herself to Mari, and not deceive her in any way, but her recent experience with Simon had unsettled her a little. She had enjoyed every moment of her recent evening, which had been a complete revelation to her, but she felt that it had fallen short in just one regard.

Simon had allowed- or encouraged- her to see and to feel a hard cock for the first time ever, and even to the point of masturbating him to a spectacular conclusion, but she still felt an urge to take his cock inside her. She thought that until she had done that, it would nag away in the back of her mind, perhaps forever, and distract her from Mari.

Simon said he had no thoughts of their own relationship becoming any more than it was now. They had each simply helped the other in the absence of their partner, to overcome the inevitable sexual frustrations which had built up.

In Simon's case, it was unfortunately true that he had no partner any longer, and he said he would simply take care of himself, as he always had ever since her death.

In Aimi's case, the separation from Mari was (hopefully) a temporary one, and he said he had no wish to create any sort of rift between them. On the contrary, he wanted to help them to form a long-term relationship as strong as his own had been, for over twenty years. He would be pleased to oversee that, in the role of an experienced 'elder', solely with their interests at heart.

They came to the conclusion that, before Mari joined Aimi as planned, it might be wise for Aimi to experience Simon's cock as it was meant to be experienced. Perhaps once that hurdle was overcome, she could return to her devoted service of Mari, who would be joining her in only a month or so.

So they agreed a date when they would fully consummate their relationship for the first, and last, time.

They met again, in Simon's apartment, because Aimi did not want any memories to inhabit her own apartment when Mari joined her.

She arrived in a loose silk gown, this time, reminiscent of a kimono, and her glossy black hair was piled high upon her head. She looked stunningly beautiful to Simon.

He led her to his bedroom, this time, because there was only one purpose to this evening, and they both knew it. Simon was already hard in anticipation of Aimi's arrival, and she was already dripping wet in anticipation of his arrival inside her. There was certainly no need for extended preparations!

They stood together at the end of his bed and hugged tight, face-to-face. She could feel his erection rubbing against her belly, and the memories of their last encounter aroused her even more.

Those memories raised a certain anxiety though, because she now knew how big Simon's cock was, and she was a little concerned about accommodating it in her virgin pussy. She was especially concerned about his girth stretching her beyond reason, but the urge to be filled was overwhelming, not only with his cock itself, but also with the copious floods of cum she had seen him emit.

She expressed these concerns to Simon, but he said he completely understood, and would be gentle and cautious with her. He would not fuck her roughly, but make his way slowly, knowing that she had never had a hard cock inside her before.

For that reason, he suggested they take the simplest 'missionary' position, and he asked her to slip off her gown, knowing that she wore nothing beneath, and to lie back with her arms and legs spread wide. She was happy to comply, but felt her body trembling as she showed her nakedness... even though she trusted Simon completely, she still felt rather vulnerable.

Simon stood erect over her, between her legs, and admired her beautiful body yet again. She was clearly prepared for him, and her pussy lips gaped wet and open, almost demanding to be fucked.

Aimi raised her arms towards him in welcome and he lay down on top of her, the head of his cock nudging against her pussy lips, slightly pressing them open, but not yet entering. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed their bodies together; he could feel the hard bullets of her nipples pressing into his chest.

He raised himself slightly and smiled at her. “Don't worry, Aimi,” he said, “it will all happen naturally if you let it. Don't think about the mechanics, just let your body follow its instincts. That is what I will do.”

As they squirmed against each other, relishing the feelings of skin on skin, they kissed passionately and their tongues danced with each other, flickering, tasting and teasing.

Their bodies seemed to melt into each other, until Aimi suddenly let out a gasp. Simon's cock had introduced itself to her pussy, and the head had locked tightly inside her vaginal opening.

She was indeed quite tight, but Simon did not force the issue. He focused on their kissing mouths for a while, then raised himself to play with her hard nipples; he could suck on her small breasts and tease her nipples, while his cock was only just engaged inside her. As he licked and kissed his way back up to her mouth, his cock forced slowly inside her, and when his kisses reached her forehead, he was halfway embedded in her cunt.

He lifted to ask her if she was comfortable, and she nodded, smiling up at him.

“I can feel you inside me, Simon. It is the most wonderful feeling, but I don't think I have it all yet, do I!” said Aimi.

Simon pressed further, and Aimi gasped as the thick root spread her wide, and his body pressed against her exposed hard clit. He stayed fully embedded for a moment or two, moving only very subtly and feeling the head of his cock kissing her cervix.

“I think I have you all now, Simon, don't I?” whispered Aimi, as she lay pinned to the bed beneath him. “Will you fuck me properly now? Fuck me hard, Simon!”

Simon began to move steadily in and out of Aimi, withdrawing the full length, almost to the point of slipping out of her, then back fully, deeply inside her, until he could go no further. This he did at a slow pace to begin with, and Aimi relished the feeling of each inch as it glided smoothly back and forth, each stroke stretching her open wide as the thick root pressed against her clit.

She began to respond with her own hip action, encouraging him to stroke faster and faster. He complied and the force of each stroke gradually increased, along with the speed, until there was a distinct hard and simultaneous clash against her cervix and her clit, which drew loud gasps from Aimi.

She was holding him tighter and tighter with her arms and with her cunt, as he moved harder, deeper and faster inside her again and again. Their breathing coordinated until they were both gasping together with their efforts, and Simon could tell from the tremors squeezing his cock that Aimi's climax was imminent. Indeed it was.

“Fuck me, Simon, fuck me!” she shouted, again and again, while her hips moved frantically against him, squeezing every possible ounce of pleasure from the meeting between cock and cunt.

Simon waited until Aimi screamed and froze still beneath him, while her pussy contracted rhythmically around his hard cock, trying to suck him further inside her. At that moment, he relaxed and allowed his cum to shoot up deep inside her; she squealed as she felt the throbbing of cum through his cock and the forceful squirts inside her. She pictured what she had witnessed on their last occasion, when he had literally covered her with cum, and felt her body almost dissolve into a trembling, jellified mass.

They lay together, both exhausted, sweating with the exertion of their coupling, and wet with their joint emissions of cum and pussy juices; it was possible too, that Aimi had involuntarily squirted over Simon when they both came. It was a delightful cocktail of wetness, aromas and tastes, as they kissed again.

Eventually, they rolled apart, and Simon's soft cock emerged from Aimi's tight wet pussy with an audible 'pop', like a cork from a bottle. A flow of cum followed.

They slept long and deeply that evening.

In the morning, they showered, enjoying that process again, then sat for breakfast together and to discuss their future. Aimi said how much she had enjoyed the evening, and her very first experience of full hetero sex, but now she couldn't imagine doing it with any man other than Simon.

She really wanted to re-establish her relationship with Mari and create that long-term partnership they both craved, and to that end, she had invited Mari to join her and share the apartment with her. She would be arriving soon now.

What Mari really wanted, it seemed, apart from the sexual attentions of Aimi, was a stable 'family' environment, which sounded rather like a very old-fashioned marriage to Simon, where Aimi played the male role of 'provider' for a home-bound 'wife'. He did not want to criticise that, though his own wife would have cringed at that traditional convention- she had been a very independent woman, with her own business and income, and had been a genuine equal to him.

Simon said her life was her own, and he fully understood her devotion to Mari. He said Aimi had no obligations to him; he was simply a friendly neighbour, and would never reveal their true relationship to anyone. It had been a delightful interlude for him.

Aimi said she hoped they would remain friends and neighbours for many years, but she needed to focus on Mari when she arrived. She would introduce her to Simon, of course, but simply as a helpful neighbour who had been very supportive of her.

As she left, Aimi said, “Of course, we won't be able to have sex again, Simon, much as I would like to! That would be cheating on Mari. But perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad thing if I occasionally gave a neighbour a 'helping hand' when he needed one?”

Simon smiled and nodded. “You will always be welcome here, Aimi! Keep in touch!”