Josephine

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Robert marches off to war after loving Josephine.
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July 1916

I knew how much time I had left to enjoy before I went to France. I had what remained of this day, tomorrow and the two nights that separated the daylight hours. That was it and then I'd be off to God knew what. Feeling pensive I stood at the side of the track and looked down at the houses crammed together side by side, the town of my boyhood, the town where I was born. I looked down at the grey sided buildings, with the tiled roofs and myriad chimney pots and I thought back to summers gone by. I grinned despite the leaden feeling in my tummy and thought fondly about those summers past, those times without care or woe, how I wished for them now.

Nearly all my pals had gone off to the front before me; they'd beaten me to it and had sailed out on the crest of a joyous wave of patriotism, surrounded by flag waving and cheers. All except poor Samuel Bragg and he didn't count seeing as he wasn't a pal, he wasn't quite 'right'. Poor old Sammy couldn't even keep his britches on; showing his dick to the girls as simple minded as he was and was the butt of all the kids' jokes, but right then, right at that very moment I envied Sammy's life. At least he wasn't going off to probably get killed, to have his napper shot off by old Fritzy boy. Oh no, Sammy would more than likely be trotting round the town in his clogs and bare arse for the next sixty or seventy years – lucky bugger.

I shook off my cloak of glumness. I had to act happy at least, even if I did feel like the world was about to end; which was a very real possibility at least as far as my individual status within it was concerned. I sighed once and set off down the familiar old track towards home.

My boots clattered harshly on the cobbles as I walked up past the pub. I cussed at the damned things since I wanted only to be in amongst the familiar surroundings of our little terrace and the bloody noise of the segs and hobnails meant that I attracted attention from within the pub.

I was greeted by smiling faces, every one wishing me well, and all of them ruddy with the warmth of the day and the pints of ale they'd been supping.

'Ah lad, thah'll be off soon, eh lad?' the common greeting.

I nodded and smiled nervously, still trying to put on a brave face and taking several long pulls at the earthenware jug of tepid ale that had been thrust into my hand. I wasn't used to drink, being scarcely eighteen and I soon felt the effects of the stuff furring the edges of my consciousness.

As I drank I felt the sharp edge of fear and foreboding become blunted and as those anxieties lessened they were replaced in direct proportion by good feeling towards my friends in the bar. It was while I was in the grip of this fleeting good humour that I found the courage, albeit Dutch, to speak to Josephine, the landlord's daughter.

I'd known Josephine all my life. Apparently we'd been friendly as infants, not that I could recall of course, but in later years all throughout school I'd been tongue tied and awkward in her company. Each time our paths crossed and we had any reason to speak I would be overcome by a feeling of oafishness, then with the subsequent embarrassment that I felt since I was sure she must regard me as an idiot. Josephine was to me the embodiment of feminine beauty, a jewel amongst the muck, fair haired and apple cheeked. I'd thought she was lovely for as long as I could recall and the feminine curves that were only hinted at beneath her long skirts and bodice had the power to overwhelm me totally.

Until I was bolstered by the drink that is, until the penultimate day before I set off for war.

'I'm off soon,' was my opening gambit as Josephine passed by on some errand. 'To have a go at the Hun,' I added to impress.

'Aye,' the ambiguous reply from the angel in response to my callow boast. 'I can tell by the uniform an' all.' I was too bleary to see the glint of amusement in Josephine's eye as she teased me. 'But...' she continued in a low voice, 'you do look smart in it.'

I watched open mouthed with surprise as Josephine moved quickly away. I wasn't sure I'd heard right, and I was just as unsure about the quick flush of her cheeks as well. I wasn't allowed the luxury of deliberating too long before I was drawn back into the fog and the noise of the bar in general, with a return to the backslapping and toasting of my fellow townsmen.

I managed to dodge the next couple of drinks. It was my second to last night at home and I didn't want to waste it in an alcoholic haze. The men meant well, but they just didn't understand and I took the earliest opportunity to escape the smoky atmosphere and the din of the bar. I went out the back door and blinked at the sudden brightness of the late afternoon sunshine.

'So it got a little too much for you in there?'

I was startled by the unexpected voice; my temporary blindness in the bright face of the sun meant that Josephine's presence in the yard was a surprise to me.

'Aye,' I replied and my mind went suddenly blank as was usual in the company of Josephine.

'The fresh air should help.' Josephine laughed at my expression; no doubt I was looking a little fuddled with the combination of her presence, the sunshine, and the ale sloshing in my belly.

I finally focussed on the lovely lass when my eyes grew used to the outdoor glare and I felt my breath catch in my throat. I don't know if it was the beer, but Josephine looked even sweeter than she normally did. I'd never seen her looking so beautiful and although I knew I wanted to say something to her, I just couldn't find the words. She laughed again, unfazed by my gormless face and dull wit and I felt myself redden with the embarrassment of appearing so thick yet again.

'When do you leave?' Josephine asked abruptly serious.

'Day after tomorrow,' I replied as her reminder swept the alcohol induced cheerfulness away.

Josephine must have read something in my face because akin with my own feeling of foreboding I saw her smiling face darken. The corners of her oh-so-kissable mouth dipped and some of the earlier mischievous brightness faded from her eyes.

'Are you... scared?' she asked and reached out and placed her palm against the rough khaki serge of my tunic.

Scared? Scared isn't the word that best described what I felt. In truth I didn't really know what the heavy feeling was myself. What I did know was that I felt the hot sting of the tears that threatened when I thought of the possibilities lying before me. My stomach felt like a weight was lodged inside as though it were some sort of balloon filled with a heavy gas, nothing solid or even definable, just a sense of dread coiled in my guts.

Josephine's blue eyes moved as though she was examining my face. Her expression was one of concern and her flawless brow furrowed with concern.

'If you like...' she faltered. 'If you like, I could write to you.'

A blush coloured her cheeks and decorated the softness of them with a glow that fascinated me. The longer I spent in the girl's company the stronger the attraction of her became. The blush on her cheeks and the shy way with which Josephine bowed her head slightly with embarrassment caused my chest to tighten. From far away I thought I could hear a roar like the sound of the waves breaking on the beaches away over on the Solway and it took me a moment or two to realise that the rush of sound was inside my own head. Josephine was offering to write to me! My heart hammered at the realisation of such a prize and all immediate thoughts of war were banished.

'Don't you want me to write to you,' Josephine asked in response to the protracted silence from me. 'I shan't if you don't want me to.' Her expression changed to huffy at my clueless quiet and I saw the prize being pulled from my fingertips.

'Yes,' I blurted as the realisation eventually dawned. 'Yes, that'd be grand, champion.'

She looked at me a little uncertainly and I was stung by the hurt in her clear eyes.

'Are you sure?' she asked, her face still questioning at my imagined affront.

'Aye, absolutely.' I smiled weakly in an effort to convince Josephine of my sincerity, the weakness of the smile due to the close call I'd just had when Josephine almost withdrew the offer.

Then with an unexpected shift of mood, which I was beginning to see was characteristic of Josephine, she asked me outright if I'd like to go for a walk with her.

'Just along the lane,' she clarified. 'It's a shame to waste the sunshine,' and then with a sideways look at me, 'and you're away day after tomorrow.'

So a few minutes later I was walking alongside Josephine along the very track I'd so recently trodden alone. This time I was walking in the opposite direction and it appeared that my fortune had taken an equal turn. What a changed man I was, where I'd walked so glumly earlier that afternoon I was now as happy as I could be. I was in the company of the coveted Josephine; a prize I had thought was beyond my awkward grasp and the hours I had left at home suddenly brightened with promise.

We walked up to the spinney and Josephine led the way over the drystone wall via the stile and eventually settled her skirts and sat down.

'Sit here,' she said and patted the grass next to her. 'Come and talk to me, you never talk to me.' I reddened at the reminder of my awkwardness around the girl/woman but I sat next to her nonetheless. 'Why?' Josephine asked once I was sat with enforced stiffness caused by my khaki suit.

'Why what?' I asked disingenuously.

'Why don't you talk to me?' Josephine asked perplexed at my apparent stupidity.

I mumbled and shuffled my backside uncomfortable at her directness.

'What?' Josephine persisted.

'I... I... I don't know,' I managed feebly. My face burned with my chagrin, how could I tell her that I found her beauty daunting? I wasn't any Lord Byron; I couldn't flatter her with prose or sweep her off her feet. Until I joined up I was a farm labourer, a hired man, what did I have to offer a delicate girl like her? She wasn't brought up to a life of robust work such as a farm wife endured, she was worth more in my limited view, much more and I just didn't have the wherewithal to provide the comfort Josephine would need.

Josephine sighed and shook her head. 'Are you frightened of me?' I heard her laugh, a huge laugh of delight and humour that caught me completely unawares. 'You are, aren't you?' She shifted her position so she was looking right into my face. Her eyes studied me intently but I could still see the smirk of amusement on her lips.

'No!' I almost shouted and then added in a calmer voice, 'Not frightened, I just... I just...' I struggled briefly and then just blurted it out – sod it. 'I think you're beautiful.'

Immediately the words were out I regretted what I'd said. Idiot, I thought. Why tell her that?

'Really, Robert, do you really think that?' Josephine's expression was swiftly serious.

I nodded. I had no inkling of what that revelation would bring, I fact, I'm sure that what did follow was probably the last thing I would have catalogued if I'd been given a pencil and told to write my list.

The kiss was sweetly undemanding. Josephine simply leaned forwards slightly into me and placed her lips against mine. She lingered briefly and then the butterfly winged brush of her lips was gone.

I was stunned by Josephine's boldness. She'd kissed me, kissed me on the lips! If I hadn't been smitten before I was now and I looked into her bright, mischievous eyes as Josephine gauged my reaction.

'Well,' she asked audaciously, 'aren't you going to kiss me now?'

Without really giving me the chance to recover and indeed even begin contemplating kissing her in return, Josephine pushed her body up against me deliberately and kissed me again. This time there was more urgency in the pressure of her lips upon mine, Josephine's mouth pressed against me with a vitality that was well beyond my very, very, limited experience, but a greater shock was still to come. As she kissed me, Josephine's mouth opened and I felt her tongue wriggle between my lips and then squirm inside my mouth.

The shock was huge and immediate, my mind was a whirl of emotion, and the confusion I felt was increased by the sudden, powerful and insistent throb of my cock when it grew stiff under Josephine's offensive.

The unfamiliar, hot surge of lust that coursed through my body caused me to moan. My vocal reaction to her kiss must have given Josephine some kind of signal because her immediate reaction was to take hold of my flushed cheeks in her palms and kiss me harder still. As she kissed me, Josephine began to make tiny mewling noises in the back of her throat. She was becoming more demanding and insistent and was beginning to cause me some concern.

Remember, I had no experience of women, my attraction for Josephine and my shyness around her in the past meant that this was the first time I'd ever kissed a woman outside of the chaste kisses of female relatives, and of course this was definitely not a chaste kiss.

Suddenly, I found myself on my back with Josephine fully in control. I had recovered a little and was beginning to use my hands against the ripeness of Josephine's curves. The feel of a woman under my hands gave me a sudden power and I managed to lever Josephine over and roll her onto her back. Now I was in the dominant position and after taking a brief moment to study Josephine's animated face I bent to her and kissed her.

'Robert...' Josephine gasped, her face flushed and her hair awry. 'I'm so sorry,' she sighed and looked up at me from below. 'I shouldn't have gotten carried away like that... what you must think of me, but...' Josephine obviously had something on her mind but was struggling to find the words. 'Oh God, Robert,' she whispered and pushed me from on top of her body. 'I don't want you to go... I like you so much...' I was shocked to see Josephine's eyes brimming with tears. 'Why didn't you ever kiss me?' she asked, suddenly vehement. 'You stupid boy...' The fat tears rolled slowly along Josephine's cheek and splattered unheeded onto her bodice. 'Why did you never try?' The question was delivered with a sigh and a soft shake of her head

The tears appalled me; I had no idea how to respond. I could only sit woodenly as Josephine rose quickly to her feet and almost ran to the stile. Before I realised what was happening, Josephine was over the wall and away leaving me staring open mouthed at her as she hurried down the lane towards home.

Bewildered by what had happened I stood up and wiped my hands on the backs of my legs to get rid of the loose grass. I stood there confused and disorientated as though I had just woken from a slumber; I looked up through the trees to find the sun and noticed that the afternoon was just giving way to evening, there were about four hours of daylight left, according to my estimate; time I was going home. I followed in Josephine's hurried footsteps, albeit at a less hasty pace and tried to make sense of what had just occurred. Of course at my age I had no idea whatsoever why Josephine had run off. What had she meant about me having never tried to kiss her? She said she liked me, I remembered that bit, but why run away? With my head full to busting with the quirks of the fairer sex, I trudged home.

Later that evening I ended up visiting the pub again in the vague hope of seeing Josephine. Against the rules I went up in civvies. I was sick of the uniform, especially the bloody boots, spit and polish – my arse, and I doubted that there would be any red faced corporals or sergeants up there to give me an ear bashing.

I didn't have to wait long and my stomach lurched with apprehension when I saw Josephine in the parlour. She looked at me levelly and then calmly walked to me.

'Robert,' she began with her eyes downcast. 'I'm... I'm sorry... I shouldn't have done that, run away I mean, not the kissing, I liked the kissing.'

Her face was beet red at this admission and I felt my face grow hot and flushed as well. What a pair we were.

'Josephine...' I began, but realised I didn't have a clue what to say.

'Let's go for a walk,' she interrupted. 'I promise I won't run off this time.'

So for the second time in the space of just a few hours I found myself being led up the path by Josephine. I hoped that this time it wasn't the proverbial garden path though. Inevitably we arrived at the stile and once more climbed it and entered the woods beyond.

Fortunately, the weather was kind and the evening had turned out to be balmy and pleasant. Josephine paused just beyond the treeline. I thought she was just letting her eyes grow used to the dim light inside the wood, but she caught me by surprise, yet again by kissing me tenderly on the mouth. There was no urgency about that kiss; it was just a light brush of affection but the scent of Josephine caused a reaction within me.

The worm turned and I took hold of Josephine's waist in my hands and pulled her deliberately against me. She uttered a cry of surprise, which was abruptly cut short as I kissed her. There was a tension through Josephine's body before she relaxed and began to return my kiss enthusiastically.

We stayed in that position for a few minutes, kissing each other with a rising passion. Once more my cock was big and hard, I was sure that Josephine must be aware of my high state of arousal with the bloody thing pressing against her body, trapped between us in the tight clench of our embrace.

'Robert...' Josephine whispered during a lull in the battle. 'Robert... Come on, come further in.'

She took my hand and we went deeper into the shadows. The summer's night was a short time away. It was creeping in benignly as it does at that time of year, but Josephine and myself were far too engrossed in each other to notice. Josephine sat and almost pulled me down on top of her. As soon as I was next to her she reached for me with a hunger that caught me completely off guard. Before I knew it I was on my back and Josephine's tongue was twisting insistently in my mouth. She ran the palm of her hand along the front of my britches and gasped with astonishment when she felt my hardness.

'Oh my, Robert,' I heard her whisper. 'May I?'

Without waiting for any reply from me Josephine unbuttoned the front of my keks and had my old fella out in the warm air.

'Josie...' was all I managed before the sensation of her fingers tightening around my girth overwhelmed my senses. Never before had I felt such bliss, a woman's hand on my cock... I didn't realise just how magic it would feel.

'It's so stiff,' her voice was soft. 'It's lovely... it feels so powerful.'

I could only groan as Josephine's fist moved up and down. I didn't know how much experience Josephine had with men, but at that time the thought didn't even cross my mind, I was too far gone to consider the why's and wherefores as she pumped at me quite expertly.

'Josie, please...' I called out as my lust burst from me. Josephine gave another small cry of alarm when she felt the goo splash against her bare forearm, but that cry turned to a murmur of delight when she realised what had just happened.

'I did that to you...' there was wonder in her tone as she spoke. Josephine must have realised the power she had, she could have me almost helpless and begging in her hand if she'd wanted and I think the full realisation hit her in that covert that night.

I lay there on the grass with my cock jutting skyward and my ardour staining the front of my britches. Josephine kissed me again and I could feel her body positively thrumming with her own pent up excitement.

'Feel me,' she offered and shifted her position.

Of course I didn't have much of a clue as to what she meant, but Josephine, guessing I was a novice took my arm and guided my fingers to the spot. The heat and wetness of that place shook me completely. The deep groan from Josephine's throat when I felt the centre of her body shocked me with its primal need when Josephine lifted her hips up to press her wetness against my fingers. I probed inexpertly but found the opening to Josephine's body and was rewarded by her moan of appreciation as my fingers tentatively explored her intimate places.

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