Two friends were strolling around the park near their respective offices.  The subject of their conversation was seated on a low wall eating her lunch and chatting to a couple of other girls, both of whom seemed entranced by both her company and her conversation.
 

“Actually it’s Gloria Van Hoogstraten” replied Guy to his best chum, Jake. “She’s had all the guys eating out of her hand ever since she joined the firm. I don’t know what she does to justify her existence around here - apart from satisfy the insatiable lusts of our worthy Chairman - but she obviously does that incredibly well!”

“I can hardly credit it! That  I can possibly have been granted the luck to find myself so blessedly near such sheer physical perfection!” replied Jake, excitedly. “I solemnly tell you that I would be  willing to die - to be struck dead in an instant -  just for one heavenly  glimpse of that divine body without a stitch of clothing on it!”

“I bet!” replied Guy. “ It seems so wrong that Nature’s cunning handiwork should be hidden from our eyes. The Lord who designed that frame must surely have meant it to be seen in all its glory!”

“I know I want to see her in all her glory!” replied Jake. “In fact I will devote all my efforts to that end until I have gained my heart’s desire. Try to think of a way, Guy old fellow. You won‘t let me down, will you?  I mean, it‘s in your interests as well - the interests of all true red-blooded men every where!”

Time was pressing and the two friends parted to return to their respective places of work. Jake had to cross over the River to get to his office, but Guy - lucky fellow - worked in the City itself.  Guy soon caught up with Gloria and her friends.  He had opportunity to study her at some length as he fell into step behind the glamorous trio.

She was certainly a stunning girl. Long golden hair cascaded down her slim back over those sweet shoulders, bare in the summer heat. He noticed that she did not favour the navel displaying garb of her two friends, both of whose tanned midriffs gleamed with a light sweat as the trio hurried back to work. Another surprise was her legs, visible only from inches below the knee and clearly encased in tights, unlike the other two again - and also unlike almost one hundred per cent of the other business women on this warm summer day. Obviously our Gloria was no exhibitionist!  Either that, or she was a bit of a tease.

He could see quite clearly how Jake had become obsessed with removing those conservative clothes and seeing for himself just what delights they were hiding. He resolved to help his old friend, as much for his own sake as Jake‘s!

************************************************************************

Later that day, Jake's phone rang.

“Hi, Jake! Guy here! I’ve found out where Gloria lives! Aren’t you glad you have friends like me! She has a flat up in Highgate - very posh place in a mansion block right on the top of the hill, not far from where Coleridge once lived.”

“Who lived?”

“The poet. Never mind. That’s near where you hang out I think?”

“Right! The other side of the Heath. I often go over there for a drink. Some nice pubs in Highgate. Maybe I’ll wander over that way tonight. It’s a nice day, after all!”

Jake could scarcely contain his excitement for the rest of that day.  Ever since seeing that fair-haired lovely the previous Thursday, all his thoughts had been centred on the aim of removing her clothes and seeing the sweet silky skinned loveliness that lay beneath them. At night he fantasised about her firm and perfectly formed breasts and ripe young buttocks. It was only right and proper that all this goodness should be there for him to feast his eyes upon! What else were decorative bimbos such as the fair Gloria for?

As soon as he had finished his evening meal, cooked by himself and not to his satisfaction - cooking was not a man’s job!- he set off on a walk across Hampstead Heath to Highgate and his favourite watering hole in that salubrious hill town overlooking London’s immensity.

On his way he saw many marvellous young examples of womanhood lying on the grass trying to capture the rest of the sun’s rays and add to the richness of their tans before evening took the orb of Phoebus to warm and darken the skin of maidens in the Antipodes.  He saw a lot of luscious female flesh as he walked towards Highgate, but none of these recumbent beauties could even begin to take his mind off the lovely Gloria!

He reached the Bishop’s Palace at long last and ordered a pint of his favourite bitter. He took a sip and moved to his habitual seat at the rear. He had loved this place for a couple of years, even though the new manager had seen fit to discontinue the striptease act that had drawn him here in the first place. He had not been sitting there long when Bill, the assistant manager joined him.

“Hi, Jake!” said Bill.

“Hi, Bill!” said Jake.

“It’s not the same since the strippers were taken off!” complained Bill. “It’s lost us a lot of trade.”

“Why did your new boss stop it?”

“It was getting a bit rowdy at times. The local Police were making threatening noises - though some of the most appreciative punters were from the local Nick!”

“Bloody hypocrites!” said Jake automatically. His thoughts were not on the bodies of the now unemployed ladies! He was thinking of Gloria! Then Gloria came in with a girl friend and his heart leapt  - so much so that he feared for his life and went pale. He placed his glass shakily on the table. Bill followed his gaze and whistled softly.

“Fuck me, Jake! Get an eyeful of that honey!”

“I know! She must be just about the most beautiful girl in the entire world. I know her name. She’s called Gloria and I have this thing about seeing her naked!”

“You and every red-blooded man in the entire Northern hemisphere!  If only we still ran our striptease show! We could ask her to come and do an act!”

“Don’t they need to members of Equity or something?”

“Maybe you’re right. Well, I must get on with my work. Nice talking to you, Jake.”

“And you, Bill!”

Jake sat looking in Gloria’s direction for some minutes. Then he forced himself to Act! He got up and walked boldly over to her table. He fixed the pair with what he fondly imagined to be a friendly grin, but was more a painful facial contortion.

“Hi! I think we have a mutual acquaintance! I mean Guy. He and I are great mates and we saw you and some friends in the City the other day.  Made my week, never mind day!”

“Yes, I saw you with Guy. He’s a nice fellow. Won’t you join us? I’m Gloria and this is Natalie.”

Jake could scarcely believe his good luck! He’d never had the nerve to do a thing like this before! Now that he had established relations with such ease he felt halfway to his goal already! The three conversed for maybe half an hour and Gloria got up to leave, saying how nice it had been to talk to Guy and how they must meet again soon.

“Maybe we could have a drink in the City sometime!” he managed to gasp.

“That would be lovely!” gushed Gloria, reddening  prettily.

“Tomorrow?” asked Jake, wondering if her were not pushing his luck just the teeniest little bit too far!

“Half-past twelve in the Lamb and Flag. See you!” and she was gone,  together with Natalie, leaving Jake in a state midway between the ecstatic and the thunderstruck.
“What the fuck did you agree to see that creep again for?” asked an astounded Natalie as they walked back to Gloria’s flat where Natalie was a guest.

“I don’t know, Nat. I just have a feeling about the fellow. Not a nice one either! The way he was undressing me with his eyes was so gross. It was just the same last Thursday when he and that pitiful friend Guy were following me and the others back to the office. I just feel like stringing him along for a bit. I suppose I’m bored and could use a bit of a diversion!”

“Well - I hope you know what you’re doing!”

“I always know what I’m doing, Natalie darling. You’re the one I worry about, sweetheart!”

“I’m fine, Gloria. It’s been a rough few months, but I’m fine now - honestly!”

Gloria looked sideways at her best friend, still pale and thin. It wasn’t the pallor that worried her, though. Something was wrong with dear old Natalie and the lovely blonde was glad she was staying with her where she could keep an eye on her.

Jake, meanwhile,  was on his way home, walking on a carpet of air. When he had set out earlier that evening he could never have imagined his expedition would have been so wildly successful. That night he dreamt of Gloria and of how he was removing layer after layer of clothing. Sadly, though, no matter how many layers he removed, there was always another underneath it. When he woke up in the morning, all the bedclothes  were in a tangled mass and he was lying on the bed totally uncovered.

**********************************************************************

“Hi, you two! Mind if I join you?” Guy had spotted Jake with Gloria and felt it incumbent upon him to spoil his mate’s little idyll! What, after all, are friends for!

“I see you two have got acquainted, then!  Jake took a real shine to you, Gloria, the other day. I think you’ve made a conquest!”

Jake and Gloria both laughed in what Jake hoped was a casual way. Gloria was having  much more success in being casual than poor Jake! His face was turning a very unattractive shade of crimson. Could these two be in league together? NO! Guy was a friend from way back. It was just that he wanted a chance to ogle Gloria - and who could blame him?

The lunchtime drink came to an end, far too soon for Jake and Guy, but not a second too soon for Gloria. Guy hoped to walk back to the office with her, but she pleaded another engagement and left the two friends alone.

“You’re right, Jake!” said Guy. “We must get that chick’s clothes off her somehow! There’s GOT to be a legal way to do it! I wonder if she belongs to a Sun Club?”

“Doubt it!” said a doleful Jake. After his initial success in establishing contact he was getting nowhere! The two parted and Jake muddled his way through the remainder of the day somehow. Just before leaving for the night, his phone rang.

He was temped to ignore it. Too often he had answered a call just before going home and found himself trapped by some garrulous idiot who seemed to think Jake had no home of his own to go to! He was glad he had answered when he heard Gloria’s voice at the other end of the line!

“Hi, Jake! Sorry I had to dash off earlier on. How about if I come over to your side of the river tomorrow? There’s a nice little pub I know in the Borough Market. The Wheat Sheaf.  See you. Same time! Bye!”

An overjoyed Jake put the phone down after blurting out his promise to be there. It was a bit much the way this girl was making all the running, but he was not too inclined to resent this rebuff to his maleness! There would be plenty of time in future to correct this imbalance! She was obviously smitten with him and unable to act the passive female role. He would teach her in time!

On returning home he decided not to walk over to Highgate tonight. After almost poisoning himself with a more than normally atrociously cooked meal he went up to the Three Horseshoes and had a couple of pints of  Abbot Ale. Once again he dreamed of Gloria and once again there seemed to be no end to the layers of clothing to be stripped off her.

The meeting in Borough Market was a bit of a disappointment. Gloria apologised and said she had to leave early to do an errand for her boss. There was one good thing that came out of it, though!

Later that day, Jake once again finished off his evening meal and this time it was delicious! He had mentioned to Gloria that he was going to cook lamb that evening and she had scribbled down a few directions on the back of an envelope.  Not without difficulty he followed these directions to the letter. The result was out of this world!

Gloria might be a bird-brained blonde bimbo, but she sure as hell knew a thing or two about cooking! But she would, of course. Even air-heads can cook!
After finishing his delicious meal his thoughts turned again to Gloria. He had asked her if she would be in the “Bishops Palace” that evening but she had been non-committal. He decided to take a chance on it. Half-way across the Heath a thought struck him. How had she known his number. Come to that, how did she know his surname? Surely he had only introduced himself as Jake? She must have asked Guy, of course!

Gloria was not in the pub, but he saw her friend Natalie with a large young man who seemed to be paying her a great deal of attention.  His friend, the barman,  came and joined him.

“We are thinking about setting up a pub quiz evening, Jake. Interested in helping organise it?”

“I suppose so.” replied Jake, looking at Natalie and the stranger. He did not sound too interested, but Bill’s next words really made him sit up!

“We were thinking of having a Ladies Night to kick off with, with a stripping penalty for wrong answers. We had a licence for that sort of thing, as you know, and it’s still valid.  Any lady friends of yours that you could persuade to come along for a bit of a laugh would be more than welcome!”

And Jake saw the answer to all his problems! He’d somehow get Gloria to come along. He would volunteer to set the questions and make sure that the lovely airhead got all the most difficult ones! That sweet luscious flesh would be exposed for all to see in just a few brief and glorious minutes!

And then reality set in! She would never agree! It had been very warm these last few weeks and Gloria had made very few concessions to the heat. She had bare arms, it was true, but those long and well shaped legs were still only visible from about three inches below the knee. She relied on loose-fitting clothing  in this weather, and a large floppy hat to keep off the sun. It made her look lovely - Jake was forced to admit that - but how much lovelier she would be if she bared a bit of flesh like her friends!

And then Jake saw something odd about Natalie! He nudged Bill, who looked in her direction. Natalie was looking about her furtively. Her companion had removed his jacket and put it over the seat behind him. He got up and made for the toilets. The amazed pair saw Natalie lift the wallet from the man’s jacket and put it hurriedly in her own handbag, which she snapped shut hurriedly and with every appearance of guiltiness.

Soon the young man came back. Natalie kissed him on the forehead and rose to her feet and left, leaving the walletless young man to finish his drink. Before the pair could recover from their amazement, he had finished drinking and left.

Jake had an idea!

Next day Jake was again phoned by the lovely Gloria and they met at the same place. He asked her if she would like to take part in the quiz.

“Not on your life, Jake! That’s not my scene at all.”

“What - quizzing or stripping!”  joked Jake.

“Both!”

Jake let the matter drop for a few minutes. He changed the subject.

“I saw your friend in the “Bishop’s Palace” last night. Doing a bit of pick pocketing!”

Gloria went pale. “Are you sure about this, Jake?”

“Two of us saw her.”

“She’s been through such a bad time these last months.  She was kidnapped and kept in a tiny cupboard for weeks before the police finally rescued her. She was working in Spain at the time, so maybe you never got to read about it. The poor thing is still shattered. Please don’t say anything about this to anyone! I’ll talk to her and get it sorted out.  Whatever she took will be returned. I promise. I’ve been so worried about her. If she were to be reported to the police - I really think it could kill her!”

Later that night, Gloria and Natalie were having a chat. Gloria was holding Natalie’s handbag and Natalie looked close to tears.

“You’ve no right looking into my things like that. Give it back to me!”

Gloria ignored her and opened the bag, spilling its contents  on the table. She picked up the wallet - the sole item that was not Natalie’s - and looked into it. She handed it back to Natalie.

“Well. If it’s his, I suppose that’s something between the two of you. Although I have an interest too!  What were you playing at, darling?”

Natalie sniffed. “I don’t know, Gloria. I suppose I thought it was a bit silly of him leaving it where anyone could take it! I thought I’d teach him a lesson!”

Gloria looked relieved. But she was also angry.

“Thanks to you being seen by a couple of people, my love, I have agreed to take part in some nasty piece of  exhibitionist vulgarity on Friday of this week.” She explained how Jake had virtually blackmailed her into taking part.

“You can back out, Gloria. Now you know I’m not a kleptomaniac!”

“I gave a promise to that little tick. Funny thing about me, but I keep promises, however dubious the means of getting them out of me! You can come along and watch if you like! I’d value a bit of moral support!”

“OK, Gloria. How many clothes will you be starting off with?”

“I have a list here, sweetheart. Shoes, no stockings, a blouse, a bra, a skirt and panties. I get the idea that friend Jake is tossing himself off every night imagining me losing them all!”

“I suppose you’ll be bound to lose something, Gloria! But, so what? What have you got to be ashamed of?”

“Nothing, Natalie. I have a swell body! Just that I’m a bit discriminating about who gets to see it! My list of favoured people is very short. In fact, as far as the male sex is concerned, it consists of one person and one person alone! You know who THAT is!  But, never mind, sweetheart! Things will be fine, I don‘t doubt!”
Next day a parcel landed on Jake’s desk, courtesy of Special Delivery. He opened it and found two large tomes, each entitled “Quiz Questions”. There was a note from the manager of the “Bishop’s Palace” explaining how Jake was to set about his task.

“There will be four contestants, all female and all very lovely (especially your gorgeous nominee!). You will prepare a list of thirty questions for each lady and hand them to me before the quiz starts. If none of them have lost all their clothes by the time all questions have been asked, then you will not be too popular! Make sure you ask a few stinkers!  I think you can guess the one we all most want to see in the buff! Go for it, Jake!”

The next three days dragged for Jake and Guy! Each night both of them dreamt of a naked Gloria, resplendent in all her golden skinned and fair haired ravishment. Jake still found that the dream Gloria never seemed to lose her clothes, but Friday was the night of destiny! At long last, it arrived.

Guy sat next to Jake at the front of the large function room. On the stage, once graced by a succession of strippers, stood four girls. Three were dark-haired and nice to look at. One was fair haired and a wonder of wonders to behold! The manager, full of self-importance, explained the rules.

“This is a stripping quiz, ladies and gentleman. And I am sure you’d all like to expend a warm welcome to our four contestants tonight. I’m sure we all hope to see more of them in the future!”

There was some laughter and a few cheers at this pathetic sally. Three of the girls giggled, as though they were enjoying themselves already. Gloria smiled sweetly, but a close observer might have noticed that there was no smile in her eyes, which were hard and cold as ice.

The Question Master continued.

“Each girl will be asked a question in turn. A wrong answer will mean the loss of a garment, in a certain order, beginning with shoes and ending with panties. If the girl wants to pass, then she will not lose any clothes. However, if one of the other girls can answer her question then she will lose a garment. No girl can lose anything if she gives a wrong answer to another girl’s question. Simple enough to understand, girls?”

“I bet Gloria’s having trouble digesting all that!” sneered Guy behind his hand to Jake, who nodded his agreement. But if Gloria was puzzled, it was not obvious, and she merely continued to smile her toothpaste false smile.

QUESTION ONE! Yours, Gloria! What is the capital of the State of New Jersey?”

“Could you repeat that, please?” asked Gloria.

“Nice one, Jake! She’s fallen at the first fence!” chuckled Guy.

The question was repeated and Gloria screwed up her eyes, seemingly racking her brains.

“Trenton!” said Gloria in a matter of fact voice. Jake jerked in surprise. Hell! Who on earth knew something like that? Maybe she had relatives there, or something.

“Correct!”

QUESTION TWO! Yours, Francine! What is the capital city of  France?”

“Paris, of course. Take me for an idiot or something!” There was laughter and the question master glared at Jake. He could see the fellow’s point, of course. Everyone wanted to see Gloria’s body unveiled as quickly as possible, but there should be some attempt to maintain even-handedness. This was so blatant it was unbelievable.

QUESTION THREE. Yours, Marlene! “What is the highest mountain in the Himalayas?”

“Fucking Everest. Everyone knows that. You’ll have to do better than that, mate! Do you boys want to see my tits or don‘t you?”

“Correct!  And would contestants please confine themselves to answering the questions? We can do without your observations, thank you!”

Jake was anxiously waiting for Gloria’s turn to come around again. First of all, though was….

“QUESTION FOUR. Yours, Dolores! “How many pounds are there to a hundredweight?”

“Pass!” said the sad Dolores. She did NOT wish to be the first to lose something! Let one of the others open the batting!

“I pass the question to the others, starting with Gloria.”

“One hundred and twelve!” said Gloria. Was there just the hint of a malicious grin in the look she darted at her would-be tormentor?

And so Dolores was the first to lose something. Jake looked at her feet and wished he hadn’t! No doubt her other features would repay a second glance, but these were far from the most pretty feet he had seen. Very far indeed!

And now, Gloria’s Second Question! This should fix her!

“QUESTION FIVE. Yours, Gloria! What is latent heat?

“ The heat released or absorbed per unit mass by a system in a reversible isobaric-isothermal change of phase.” answered Gloria contemptuously.

“That’s not quite what I have here” answered the Question Master. There was a cough from the rear of the room and a thin elderly man raised his hand.

“I am a Physics Master at Highgate School. The young lady is correct.”

“Well. It’s not what I have here. Could you explain what you said, please,  my dear?”

“Yes. It’s the heat needed to turn  ice at zero degrees into water without raising the temperature. Happy now?”

“Quite happy, thank you, Gloria!”

Jake was in despair. He had gravely under-estimated this girl, who was clearly some kind of genius!

“QUESTION SIX . Marlene, what is the largest island in the Japanese archipelago?

“Okinawa?”

“Wrong.”

At least Marlene had extremely pretty feet! The evening wasn’t a total disaster, after all!

At the end of the second round, all of the girls except Gloria were standing barefoot, their shoes taken away to be returned to them later. Much later!

“ROUND THREE. Your question, Gloria. Who was the last King of France?”

Gloria looked a little uncertain. She hesitated, and Jake’s heart leapt!

“Charles the Tenth. He was the last King to be styled King of France.”

“Wrong, Gloria. The answer I have is Louis Philippe!”

“OK,” Gloria blushed deep red and kicked off her shoes. Jake was in a seventh Heaven of delight. What feet that girl had! Sweet delicate little toes, all perfectly formed and like little bits of pink coral. Did any foot in the world arch as sexily as the feet of the lovely Gloria?  Then there was another interruption.

This time it was a lanky man with a beard and dressed in jeans and a sweater, which must be much too hot in this weather!

“Excuse me. I’m Fothergill. Professor  Aloysius Horatio  Fothergill of University College. I specialise in French History. The lady is strictly correct.  Louis Philippe was called “King of the French” and not King of France. The lady is quite correct.”

“What are all these schoolmasters and professors doing here, Guy?” whispered Jake. “Dirty old men!”

The question master knew in his heart that Gloria was about to be handed back her shoes, but he did not give in right away. Jake was sent upstairs to the living quarters to fetch the relevant volume of Britannica. The volume was consulted and the question master sighed sadly. He, too, had been entranced by the sight of those naked feet. Soon Gloria was shod again and shod she remained for the rest of the evening.

The rest of Round two saw Dolores lose her blouse. The other two survived.

In the third round, Marlene and Francine lost their blouses and Dolores passed on her question, only to have Gloria answer it correctly for her. The audience were becoming more and more enthusiastic but all the gradually displayed flesh in the world was not enough to make up for the disappointment of seeing Gloria stay fully clothed right up to the bitter end when Francine stood naked, with Dolores and Marlene clad in a brief and tiny thong apiece.

Both the “runners up” removed their own surviving garments and waved them happily over their heads at the cheering audience. Gloria accepted the winner’s prize with a mirthless smile. The question master made a (for him) witty speech about not all blondes being dumb and Gloria started to move to the exit.

She paused near Jake and Guy. “Hi, you two! Care to buy a girl a drink?”

The trio went into the other bar, where it was more quiet. Gloria accepted her gin and bitter lemon with a pretty smile and her thanks,  delivered in her sexiest voice.

“I’d no idea anyone could be as clever as you, Gloria. I feel a right pillock, if you must know!” said a rueful Jake. “How do you come to know everything about everything?”

“I went up to Oxford when I was ten.” replied Gloria. I was famous at the time, but people soon forget. I got a First in Pure Maths after a year and a First in Astrophysics after two and my last year was spent getting a First in Oriental Languages. I was still far too young,  at thirteen,  to get a job so I just kept on studying this and that until I was eighteen and came to work for Uncle. It’s nice to get away from all those academics and do something in the real world for a change!”

“What exactly do you do for your Uncle, Gloria?” asked Jake. Guy nodded. He would like to know what this girl got up to!

“I’m working on a new IT system part of the time. And the regional structure needs rationalising. Then Uncle wants me to set up a Pharmaceutical Division. With all the advances being made, it’s a great way to diversify. I have a degree in biochemistry, so I can be some use there!”

“Is there anything you don’t have a degree in?” asked Jake.

“Lots of things! No one knows everything! Only the Almighty knows all!” Gloria laughed a silvery laugh which had heads turning and Guy and Jake more in thrall than ever!

They sat chatting for a while and Gloria got to her feet. She took off her shoes and handed them to Jake.

“I must get along home. You’d not refuse to walk me home, would you, boys?”

Guy was late already returning to his South London home and cried off. In any case, there was something about the look in Gloria’s eye he didn’t like. If Jake wanted to play with fire, on his head be it!
Guy left his friend at the door and went off to get the bus. He looked around and saw Gloria, barefoot, walking away with Jake, who was thinking that perhaps the evening wasn’t such a total flop after all!

“I’ve never seen you take your shoes off in public before.” said Jake.

“Well - you’ve seen my feet already, so I’m not letting you see anything you haven’t seen before, and these shoes are new and still hurt a bit. It’s not far to my home and the pavements are nice and smooth!”

They quite rapidly reached Gloria’s block,  she ushered Jake into the lift and soon they were entering her flat. Jake was surprised to see Natalie and her young man were sitting in the lounge. He had noticed Natalie at the quiz, but she must have hurried back alone.

“May I introduce you all?” said Gloria. Her voice had lost its sexy sweetness all of a sudden.

“This is Terence, my fiancé and this is Natalie, my dearest,  loveliest friend and future sister-in-law!  Terence, here, is very upset about you threatening to make trouble for his sister and so am I. She went through enough at the hands of some rotten swine without you adding to her troubles. You bastard!  I don‘t mind you trying to get the clothes off me if that‘s the kind of idiot subterfuge that appeals to your tiny warped mind, but I draw the line at Natalie!”

Jake swallowed hard. He saw at once how silly he had been, but it was a bit late for apologies now! Nevertheless he did feel genuinely sorry. He looked at Natalie, obviously far from well, and felt nothing but shame. She was a nice looking girl, not as pretty as Gloria, but still attractive. If only she had a bit more weight on her and some colour in her cheeks she would be very nice to look at.

Gloria was finishing off her words to the errant Jake.

“I think you and my beloved have things to do, Jake! Male, macho, manly things - like fight each other! There’s a place at the back which is very secluded! Lovely place for a bit of fisticuffs! Off you go, you two men! I won’t join you. We silly fluttery little things - we women - can’t stand the sight of blood!”

Jake found himself being guided downstairs by the large and powerful Terence. He looked at the man who was about to change the shape of his face (permanently!) and tried an ingratiating smile.

“I don’t suppose it matters if I say I really am sorry? No, I thought not. Well, I won’t fight you ! You can just hit a man who won’t hit back. Somehow I doubt that appeals to you!”

“As a rule, it doesn’t!” replied Terence shortly. “But I’m about to make an exception in your case.” Jake groaned inwardly, anticipating the pain to come.

He was surprised to find himself in the street outside rather than the area behind the block. He and Terence stood for a few minutes, looking at each other.

“Gloria’s going to flay me for letting you go unscathed. When she loses her temper - boy, does she ever lose it!  I don‘t suppose you‘d like to return the favour?”

“If I can.  What do want me to do?”

“It might sound crazy after the way you threatened my sister, but I’d be grateful if you asked her out. She’s been so withdrawn since what happened to her and never gets out and about. You’re no Adonis and I don’t think she’s too struck with you, but I reckon the two of you might find you’ve a few things in common. It couldn’t do any harm if you took her out for a meal or something once in a while. I think I’d trust you with her, you seem to have learnt your lesson!”

“OK, Terence! As a matter of fact I was only thinking how nice looking she is. If only she ate a bit and got out and about, she’d be fine. But I doubt she’s be interested in me! Not after the awful way I behaved.”

Jake did ask Natalie out a few days later and was surprised when she accepted. Of course, there was never any romance between them, but Jake was able to see the traumatised girl make great strides during their few months of seeing each other. So something good came out of his silly ambition to strip the artful Gloria, who had seen through his plans right from the start!

A year or so after all this, he and Guy bumped into the two girls who had been with Gloria on the fateful summer’s day that Jake had first seen the golden haired siren. The two men asked the two girls out  and were amazed to be accepted. Romance flourished! Neither girl was as lovely as Gloria, (or as clever!) but a bird in the hand and all that!  And they made wonderful wives to our two “heroes”!

THE END