Progressive Lust

By rese

He couldn't tear his eyes away from her. All she was doing was chores but he couldn't look away. Not when his wife entered the room and not when Jo's husband put down his book. She bent and he watched, she rubbed her back and he watched, she heaved a basket onto her side and by Jupiter he watched.

"Laurie dear, what colour would you say this is?" He answered Amy without looking, "blue." Amy only seemed to wear blue. Jo however… Laurie admired the deep green checkered with various yellows, amazed the way such simple material caught the light and made its wearer glow.

Amy sighed in frustration. "Laurie, you didn't even look. See?" Laurie wondered why he suddenly equated his wife to a pestilent child. "Oh sorry," he held his hand out grasping for the material in the direction he guessed Amy to be. Why couldn't he look away?

Finally taking the material in his hand he found he could've looked at Amy for it, as Jo walked out to hang the washing. "Well," he forced himself to look at the cloth and not follow his sister-in-law outside. "It's blue anyway!" Laurie looked at his wife confused at the fuss she'd made. She clucked her tongue at him, "honestly! You men can't tell. It's clearly a baby blue." Amy rubbed her larger belly when she said baby and Laurie saw the action. Guilt and shame filled him instantly. What on earth was he doing!?

Amy became concerned when her husband rubbed his eyes and scruffed his hair vigourously. "What's wrong Laurie?" He had done it more and more frequently and she had put it down to stress with the business and her pregnancy. It certainly made her stressed, but she didn't seem to lose focus and daydream to the extent her husband had lately. But, she supposed everyone dealt with stress differently.

"Oh nothing Amy, don't worry, you'll only upset yourself. I've just got some itch I can't seem to scratch." And Laurie really did look like he had ants crawling about, irritating his skin and posture. The Professor who had been watching the Laurences suddenly offered, "I belief Jo has some lotion that would solf your sores."

"Believe." Laurie corrected, taking pleasure in correcting the man's pronunciation. Well, if he was offering his wife as a solution, who was Laurie to complain? "Thank you Mr. Bhaer." Laurie was sincere as he shot out of his chair, patting the professor on the shoulder and briefly waving to his wife before he practically jumped out of the room.

…

"Jo," he called in a singsong voice, "oh Jo!" spying her by the line he crept up. "Hullo there!" he scared her as he greeted, planting his hands on her waist from behind.

"Theodore Laurence!" Jo turned around, her hand over her heart, "you scared me half to death you wicked boy!" She smiled at the twinkle in her friends eye that had been absent for too long. He used to be so merry and mischievous and Jo worried that married life had swallowed up the friend she loved dearly. Didn't he understand that she needed him to be as imperfect as her?

"Well now Jo, I'm a man remember?" he smiled proudly down at her, estimating that she was only a head shorter than he and kissing her wouldn't involve too much bending. Unknowing of her brother-in-law's thoughts, Jo's own were more philosophical. Her friend had grown up too much for her liking but she was so incredibly proud of him anyway. He was a very good man, why would she ask for anything more? She held his face, her thumb stroking his cheek fondly, "Yes Teddy, but you'll always be 'my boy'."

It was so tempting for him to just lean in but he knew the look Jo gave him. It was friendly. Very friendly but definitely not amorous and she wouldn't look at him again if he pressed now. So he settled for a smile that couldn't hold itself. He wanted so much more but she was the same Jo as always. The same Jo that never wanted Laurie in the way he wanted her.

"What's wrong?" it was uncanny the way she could feel his mood change, Laurie thought. Not even his wife was so perceptive but then she too joked that no one knew him the way Jo did. His thoughts making him increasingly more miserable he just shrugged in answer.

Jo's mouth was open slightly and she was looking at him like he was one great mystery. Or just a very stubborn man. At any rate, Laurie was so incredibly attuned to her body and its subtle movements he didn't want her to lose her touch. Not after he spent the whole afternoon observing and not participating. The whole afternoon wretched with frustration and now she was here. With him.

"Jo," he breathed, maybe she would let him, just this once press his willing lips to her inviting mouth that hung in front of him oh so temptingly. But Jo misread his look and stepped closer; pulling him into a supportive hug thinking he was upset by her question rather than consumed by her presence.

So Laurie wrapped as much of himself as he could around her, sucking the embrace out of Jo realizing that one major disadvantage of a hug was missing the other person's face. If he'd kissed her he'd have seen her face for sure. But Laurie was resigned to enjoy the more-than-friendly hug as much as humanly possible, the salve excuse he had meant to mention long gone from memory but the itch lingering.

…

Laurie made sure that Amy would be out of the house the next time he scheduled a lesson with Jo. So it was with great confidence when Laurie began, "do you love me Jo?"

She looked up with a speed her neck must've complained about. She quickly looked away though, analyzing the innocent tone of his voice. "Well," she 'coughed' a bit, "what a silly question! Of course I love you; you're my dearest friend aside from Fritz and my brother-in-law." Proud with her safe reasoning, Jo took her hands off the keys and folded them calmly.

But Laurie shuffled closer, ignoring the small dutiful part that screamed at him. "But how much do you love me?" he asked, his eyes hooded and arm casually slung onto the top of the piano but heart racing. Jo looked up again, who was this man beside her?

As she struggled to answer she finally placed the tone and look. Laurie the boy was sitting there, waiting for Jo to break his rebuilt heart again. "Oh no, Teddy that's not fair. How can I answer that without hurting someone?" Jo's word choice ignited his hope and he leaned in further, crowding her space in attempt to procure the answer he desperately wanted.

"How much?" Laurie's mouth hovered near hers and she found herself immobile. What was he doing? Both pairs of eyes were concentrated on their mouths and they sat like that until Laurie gave in. He closed the small distance and Jo felt the unfamiliar hot lips stop on her own. She let him kiss her!

Jo pushed him away, her eyes wide and hands on her mouth, "What are you doing?" she looked at the man who hardly seemed guilty but oddly satiated and she gasped, "What are we doing?" Her fingers ran along her mouth in mild panic, it tingled and she was shocked to find how perfectly right it had felt. And she wanted it again. But it was wrong! How could she let this happen?

He held her elbows, moving his hands up her forearm, never removing his gaze from her uncertain eyes but knowing all the same her skin was bristling under his touch. Jo let him pull her hands away from her mouth and silently watched him lean in and kiss her again. Why wasn't she stopping him? Her eyes fluttered shut, the sensation was unlike anything she had experience, the pressure full of longing yet able to be removed and replaced increasing its appeal again and again and again.

Jo had lost hold of herself. Theodore Laurence was kissing her like she'd never been kissed before and she was enjoying it.