Jenny couldn't get over how well she was getting on with George.

Their first date had been enjoyable and delicious, because he booked a table at a wonderful Cantonese restaurant in the city centre. George was a perfect gentleman from start to finish, and at the end of the evening, after he drove her home, he gave Jenny a quick peck on her cheek and thanked her for a wonderful evening. Although she was disappointed he didn't come in for a coffee, she was placated by the fact George asked if she fancied a walk on the shores of Loch Lomand the following day, claiming that both he and his dog needed the exercise. Jenny didn't hesitate before saying yes. Whilst it was nice to get dressed up to go out for dinner in a posh dress and high heels occasionally, Jenny was more of an outdoor type, and a walk wearing the wellies and quilted jacket she wore to take Katie out every day was her idea of heaven.

Their walk was just as enjoyable as dinner the night before. Brody, George's golden retriever, got on really well with Katie. In fact, she acted like a randy little hussy when she nuzzled into him after they'd both run after a stick George threw ahead of them as they walked.

     Their next date was the following Friday. This time George took Jenny to a bowling alley and, after a laughter filled couple of games, they munched on burgers and fries, George teasingly wiping the tomato sauce from Jenny's chin with his paper napkin when required.

     'He's such a nice guy!' Jenny enthused when she got back from work on Wednesday night to find Karen still logged onto the chat line at her house. Because Jenny had been out so much on her days off, she'd had difficulty doing her minimum quota of twenty hours a week, so Karen had agreed to spend the afternoon logged onto Jenny's chat line to help out.

     'He hasn't managed to say or do anything to piss me off yet. That has to be some kind of record!'

     Karen didn't doubt it. Jenny's caustic remarks concerning every man who'd come into her life since her divorce were legendary.

     'Well, long may it last,' Karen chuckled as she gathered her things together. 'Do you want me to put this stuff away before I go?' she asked as she went to pick up the toy chest full of their naughty props.

     Sadly, Jenny didn't have a choice but to carry on where Karen left off. She still had seven hours to catch up before Friday. 'No, leave them there. I'll get stuck in after I get changed into my PJs and I've had a cup of tea. As they say, no rest for the wicked!'

     After Karen left, Jenny went through to the kitchen and threw the switch on the kettle before making her way up to her bedroom to get changed. She was only half way up the stairs when the glare of car lights in the drive illuminated her unlit hallway, so Jenny went back down and checked through the living room window to see who it was. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry when she saw George getting out of his Land Rover.

     Jenny went into flat-panic mode. She threw the horse whip back into the toy chest and managed to get it into the under stairs cupboard, just before George rang the doorbell. With a quick comb through her hair with her fingers, she answered the door with a smile.

     'Surprise!' George announced with a bottle of wine in one hand and a poinsettia in the other. 'I've just been given these as a Christmas present by Mr McDonald, the farmer a couple of miles away, so I thought you might appreciate them.'

     Jenny was delighted. With very little money in the bank before she got her mid-December, chat line payment on Friday, she hadn't even bought her weekly bottle of scotch. Although George had assured her he could set up a payment plan for Katie's operation costs, Jenny was determined not to mix business with pleasure and get the bill paid in full as soon as possible.

     'Won't you come in?' she asked as she took the proffered gifts.

     George hesitated for a minute. 'Only if I'm not disturbing you,' he replied with a thankful smile.

     Jenny couldn't resist grinning back at him. There was something about his smile she had grown really fond of when they'd been out on their dates. It was always so spontaneous whether she said anything amusing, or not. She had started to fantasise about them kissing, something George hadn't tried to do. It was almost as though he thought Jenny might run a mile if he did anything other than peck her on the cheek at the end of their dates.

     'Not at all,' Jenny told him as she turned to let him follow her through to the living room. 'I'm just in from work, so a glass of wine would be...'

     There, in all his glory was Fred, the phallic shaped vibrater, standing to attention in the middle of the coffee table where she was about to place the poinsettia. Karen had a habit of putting him there when she was logged onto the chat line, claiming he 'inspired' her when she ran out of things to say to the punters.

     '...lovely,' she stuttered, as she put the bottle of wine on the table and grabbed Fred before shoving him up the front of her sweater.

     'Eh, are you sure you shut the door properly behind you, George? Jenny asked over her shoulder. 'It's been sticking a bit recently, and I wouldn't like to let the cold in.'

     George dutifully turned on his heel to check. After a furtive glance around the room while he did, Jenny threw Fred under one of the scatter cushions on the sofa, and plonked the plant where he'd proudly stood five seconds before.

     'No, it seems to have closed okay.' George informed her when he came back into the living room. 'Do you want me to have a look at it before I go? I'm sure it'll be something straight forward. Maybe there's some dirt caught in the threshold, it happens to my front door all the time because of the amount of mud I get on my shoes when I've been to a farm.'

     'Yes... I'm sure that's what it is,' Jenny told him. 'Don't worry about it just now, I'll check it out during the day when I'm off on Saturday. I don't want to freeze tonight,' she added with a nervous giggle. 'Why don't you sit down?' she asked, her hand indicating towards the armchair opposite the sofa. 'I'll go and open this wine and we can have a glass now.'

     George shook his hand in the air. 'Not for me thanks. The new drink/driving law has made me paranoid about drinking anything at all. A coffee would be nice though.'

     Satisfied that George was seated as far away from Fred as he could be, Jenny went through to the kitchen and threw the switch on the recently boiled kettle. She then reached up for a wine glass but nearly dropped it when she heard the phone ring. 'SHIT!' she gasped. In her haste to tidy away the toy chest, she'd forgotten to check if Karen had logged off the chat line before she left.

     George's head appeared around the edge of the kitchen door with the phone clutched in his hand.

     'Do you not want to answer it?' he asked as he held it out for her to take.

     Jenny grabbed the granulated coffee as she shook her head. 'No...' she stuttered. 'It'll only be one of those nuisance, company calls. I get them all the time...'

     'Yes, me too,' George admitted. 'You know you can ask them to remove your number from their records if it's an unsolicited call though, don't you? I don't get half so many nuisance calls since I started doing that.'

     Fortunately the phone stopped ringing before Jenny was forced to put George's theory to the test. 'Really? I didn't know that. I'll try doing that the next time they call.' she told him as she handed him his coffee and reached for the wine. She just hoped he wouldn't see how much her hands were shaking as she poured it into the glass she'd nearly dropped before.

     When she followed George back into the Lounge, Jenny let out an involuntary groan for two reasons. Not only had George plonked himself down on the sofa in front of the cushion where she'd hidden Fred, but the phone, which was still in George's left hand, started to ring again.

     'I'll show you how it's done,' he told her with a confident smile, before he pressed the answer button.

     Show over, now you really are screwed! Jenny thought as she stood in the middle of the living room and felt her body start to tremble. She could see George frowning before he put his hand over the mouth piece.

     'Eh... it's a guy called John who wants you to describe your panties.' he told her. 'Is that the pervert your friend Karen told me about... the one on the oil rig?'

     Jenny just nodded her head with her jaw dropped open.

     'Look here,' he said assertively as soon as he took his hand away from the mouth piece. 'If you don't stop pestering this poor woman to talk dirty to you on the phone, she'll have no choice but to report you to the police! Do you understand?'

     The answer must have been affirmative because George pressed the disconnect button before putting the phone back down on the coffee table with a satisfied grin.

     'That should sort the bugger out,' he told her. 'I hope you don't mind me putting him straight, but you shouldn't have to put up with that sort of thing. In fact,' he said as he looked around the room for the telephone socket. 'Why don't you just work off your mobile for a couple of nights until the sod gets the message?'

     Jenny nodded, then sighed with relief when he pulled the jack plug out of the socket.

     'Perhaps we can enjoy our drinks in peace now,' he said. 'I don't know about you, but it would be nice to relax for a bit without any more distractions.'

     Crisis over, Jenny was just about to do exactly that, until George sat back down on the sofa and, feeling something hard sticking into his back, lifted the cushion to expose Fred in all his glory.

     For the second time since she'd painted the cheeky face on the bulbous end of Fred's shaft, Jenny could swear he winked at her...