Acquired Tastes

by Simone Mondesir

  He backed nervously away. Alicia's eyes were burning.

  'Nobody can feel the way I do. When I think of all the times she's humiliated me. The poor little scholarship girl in the hand-me-down uniform, but now I'm going to do it to her,' she said vehemently, and pointing at Vijay added: 'and you're going to help me.'

  'Me?' asked Vijay. He was in danger of falling off the end of the chaise-longue again.

  'Yes, you,' Alicia gripped his arm. 'You're going to keep me informed about everything Vanessa does, every move she makes, every person she sees. I'll do the rest.'

  She released his arm. Vijay sat rubbing it.

  'But supposing Vanessa finds out?' he asked nervously.

  'Who's going to tell her?'

  'Look, I really don't think this is a very good idea,' Vijay said getting to his feet. He was sobering up fast.

  Alicia reached out for his hand, but this time her touch was a caress. She smiled up into his eyes. 'I need your help, Vijay, I really do.'

  She pulled him gently down beside her.

  'I'm asking you because I feel I can trust you.' Alicia's voice was husky. 'Will you help me, Vijay?'

  Vijay felt intoxicated again. He gazed into her eyes. 'I'll do anything for you,' he replied earnestly, 'anything …'

  Twenty-Three

  Jeremy unlocked the front door and stood listening in the hallway, his head on one side. There was silence. With a satisfied nod, he closed the door and tiptoed unsteadily past the bedroom. But as he fumbled in the dark to open the living room door, the plastic carrier bag full of Indian take-away he was carrying, fell to the floor with a dull thud.

  'Damn,' Jeremy swore loudly, and then giggled.

  He dropped clumsily on his hands and knees and felt around in the dark to see if anything had been spilt. His fingers came into contact with something warm and unpleasantly glutinous. Jeremy sniffed his fingers. It was probably the beef Biryani. He wiped his hands on his trousers and picked up the containers that were still intact. The clearing up could wait until morning. Still giggling softly to himself, he crept into the living room.

  'Hello,' Alicia said, looking up from the book she was reading. She was curled up on a pile of cushions beside the window, a small reading lamp for light.

  Jeremy looked startled, and then held up the dripping carrier bag. 'I've got an Indian take-away,' he announced.

  'So I can see by your trousers.'

  Still holding the bag in mid-air, Jeremy looked down.

  There were golden brown streaks all over his trouser legs. 'Damn,' he said again.

  'Stay there,' Alicia ordered, scrambling to her feet. She tore off some paper kitchen towels and thrust them into his hand. He held them under the bag and made for the kitchenette.

  Alicia retrieved her book and sat down again. Jeremy turned on a light and heaped the contents of the silver foil boxes on to a large plate until they formed a pungent mound. He then crowned the heap with a stuffed paratha, and stood back to admire his handiwork, a drunken grin on his face.

  Alicia watched him over the top of her book. The grin was replaced by a wrinkled brow as Jeremy seemed to be having a problem remembering something. Muttering impatiently to himself, he began rummaging through the kitchen cupboards.

  With a sigh, Alicia got to her feet again and opened the fridge. She wordlessly held up a jar of mango chutney.

  Jeremy took it from her and spooned half its contents on to the side of his plate, then licked the spoon clean. 'I didn't bring enough for two. I thought you'd be asleep by now.'

  'I'm not hungry,' said Alicia, although the aroma of cumin and coriander was making her nostrils twitch.

  Jeremy put his overfilled plate on the coffee table and sat down awkwardly on the chaise-longue, knocking the table and causing more sauce to spill down his trousers and slop on to the table.

  'Damn,' he said, angrily mopping himself. 'Why can't we get a decent sized table and chairs so that I can sit and eat like a civilised human being? This infernal thing gives me indigestion.'

  'I like it,' Alicia said firmly.

  Jeremy began to eat quickly. Alicia stood in front of the table watching him.

  'I had a very interesting talk with Vanessa's researcher,' she said after his first few mouthfuls.

  Jeremy grunted and continued to spoon food into his mouth.

  'Did you have a good evening?' she inquired.

  Jeremy nodded. 'Caught up with some old chums at my club. Thought it was about time I showed I was still in the land of the living, drop the odd word in the right ear and all that, just to show willing. I might be tempted back to the City if the offer was good enough.' His voice was full of drunken self-importance.

  Alicia crossed her arms. Jeremy had obviously forgotten that it was her idea that he go to his club. 'I'm pleased you're doing something positive.'

  Jeremy paused between mouthfuls and wiped a dribble of sauce from his chin. There was something about the way Alicia had said 'something' that rang a warning bell, but he decided it was safer to ignore it and ate another mouthful.

  'Jolly good stuff, this, for mopping up a bottle or two of claret,' he said cheerfully.

  'Jeremy … ' Alicia spoke slowly.

  The warning bell went off even louder.

  Alicia sat down next to him on the chaise-longue. I think it's about time we discussed our relationship.'

  'Relationship?' repeated Jeremy defensively.

  'Yes, relationship,' said Alicia firmly. 'If we are going to have a relationship - and I presume that is what we are doing although nothing much has happened - I think we ought to discuss it properly.'

  Jeremy reluctantly put his spoon down. 'Now steady on old girl, let's not rush things. Look what a cock-up I made the first time around.' He smiled weakly.

  'I'm not talking about marriage,' said Alicia.

  Jeremy looked relieved and speared an onion bhajee.

  'I'm talking about sex,' said Alicia.

  Jeremy choked and pushed his plate away. 'Couldn't you have waited until after I'd finished eating?' he asked peevishly. 'After all, it's not quite the done thing to bring it up while one's eating one's dinner. It's taking unfair advantage of a chap to surprise him like this.'

  Alicia pushed his plate to the other end of the table and then took both his hands in hers, imbued with a new sense of purpose. She wasn’t sure why. She had read somewhere that actors were often shy, introverted people until they dressed up in character, then they became the person they were portraying. Perhaps the same thing had happened to her. By masking her face with make-up and dressing up in clothes that were way out of character, she had become someone else - someone who felt giddy with her sense of power.

  That power had made Vijay adore her and agree to spy on Vanessa even though it could put his career at risk. Now she intended to use that same power on Jeremy. For too long his way of dealing with problems was to avoid them in the hope that they would go away, so she would have to take the lead if she wanted things to change and she did.

  'Look Jeremy, I'm sorry if I've ruined your dinner, but the longer we put off talking about our relationship, the harder it becomes.'

  Jeremy refused to meet her gaze. 'I really can't understand this vogue for endlessly talking about relationships. I'm sure my mother and father never talked about such things and they jogged along quite happily. Least said soonest mended, that's what my old nanny used to say.'

  Alicia suddenly had the urge to grab Jeremy by the shoulders and give him a good hard shake. He seemed to have put back on the old attitudes that went with the tweed jacket and cavalry twill trousers he had put on to go back to his club.

  Stifling the urge to shake him, she instead tightened her grip on his hands, and willed him to return to the present. For all his weaknesses, she wanted the new Jeremy, the one she had met a couple of weeks ago, not the one who had married Vanessa. She looked into his eyes.

  'Would you like to make love to me?'

  Jeremy stared at her open-mouthed. H
e did want Alicia. Very much. How many times had he imagined touching the curve of her ample buttocks? Lying between the softness of her plump thighs? Kissing her creamy, swelling breasts? But they were only fantasies, and his dreams had a habit of turning into nightmares. He swallowed hard.

  'You're very pretty, and I like your… erm,' he nodded at Alicia's breasts. 'But it's just that I've never been too hot on the sex thing and I, well…' His voice trailed hopelessly off.

  He could see by the expression on Alicia's face that he wasn't doing very well. Why was it always so difficult to say what he meant? He looked down at Alicia's hands which were still holding his.

  'Yes please, yes I would, very much, but…'

  Alicia gently placed a finger on his lips. 'I want you to go to the bedroom and wait for me there.'

  Jeremy nodded his head still down.

  Alicia leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips.

  Instead of returning her kiss, Jeremy gently pulled his hands free and ran his fingers slowly through her hair. Alicia held her breath, waiting for his kiss. But, Jeremy suddenly grasped her tightly and buried his head between her breasts, like a child seeking comfort. Then he leapt to his feet and sprinted from the room.

  From the bathroom came the sound of teeth being vigorously brushed, then a loud gargle. After a moment's silence, there was a second gargle. Jeremy was taking no chances with the Indian takeaway. It was followed by the sound of water being frantically splashed about in the wash basin. Then Alicia heard the bathroom door opening and Jeremy crossing the hall into the bedroom. She sat quite motionless for a moment or two more then she stood up and slowly undressed, dropping Zelda's clothes in a heap on the floor.

  She had asked Vijay about some of the fantasies that people had been writing in about. Scarlet-faced he had recounted a few of them and one had really tickled her tastebuds.

  She padded naked across to the kitchenette and took an aerosol can of whipped double cream out of the fridge. Then she stood on tiptoe and reached up for a bottle of dark chocolate syrup and a jar of Morello cherries. After a moment's indecision, she reached for a bottle of butterscotch sauce and squirted a stream of satisfyingly sweet sauce into her mouth. She added it to her assembly of ingredients. Then she searched around for a tray which she placed on the edge of the work top. Alicia reached for the whipped cream. It was perfect.

  In the bedroom, Jeremy sat irresolutely on the edge of the bed. He had twice put his pyjamas on and twice removed them, and was now wondering whether he should have taken a shower. He sniffed under one arm. Perhaps a shower would have been a good idea. He stood up, but his resolve first wavered and then collapsed.

  What was the point? It was all wrong. He'd drunk far too much claret. He wouldn't be able to do a thing.

  He gave a despairing groan and fell back on the bed, covering his face with his hands, trying to block out the memory of all those times Vanessa had taunted him with his impotence, gloating over him as he had shrivelled away to nothing.

  'Happy Birthday, Jeremy.' It was Alicia's voice.

  He opened one eye and peered through his fingers. Alicia was standing beside the bed, her face lit by the soft glow of a candle which stood on the tray she held in front of her.

  'But it's not my birthday,' Jeremy's voice was muffled by his hands.

  'We can celebrate anything you want, only you have to blow out the candle and make a wish.'

  There was something in Alicia's voice which made Jeremy take his hands away from his face. She appeared to be carrying some sort of cake. He levered himself on to one elbow and then sat up. On the tray which she held close in front of her were two large mounds of whipped cream laced with whorls of chocolate and butterscotch sauce, glistening in the candlelight. At the tip of each creamy mound was a large, plump cherry.

  Momentarily dazzled by the candle, Jeremy blinked, then he suddenly realised Alicia was naked and that the cakes she was offering him were her breasts. His eyes held hers for a moment, and then he blew out the candle. He gently took a cherry between his teeth. He swallowed hard and then did the same thing again before leaning forward and licking and sucking until his face was covered with cream.

  Grinning like a small boy at a birthday party, Jeremy wiped his hand across his face before slowly smearing cream down his body to his already hardening erection.

  Twenty-Four

  'Come on,' murmured Fergus, his hot breath on Vanessa's cheek and his hand on her thigh, 'just a little grope.'

  'No.' Vanessa slapped his hand away and retreated to the other side of the lift.

  'What happened to the woman who claimed she wanted to explore the outer boundaries of sexuality with me?' Fergus grumbled as the lift doors opened and a man stepped in.

  Vanessa gave Fergus a warning look as the man pushed the lift button to go up four floors. The doors closed and the man stood staring fixedly ahead.

  'Last night you couldn't get enough of me. You were begging me to do anything I wanted, anywhere, anytime any place,' Fergus continued relentlessly.

  The man whistled silently and pretended to look at something on the mirrored steel walls so that he could steal a glance at Vanessa. She glared at him, and he turned hastily back to his study of the lift doors.

  Vanessa felt herself growing hot. The thought of anyone, even this horrible little stranger, knowing that she slept with Fergus, made her shudder. She had only been doing it so that he would sign the contract and now that he had, she could stop.

  'Women are all the same, don't you think?' said Fergus companionably, enjoying Vanessa's obvious embarrassment.

  The man turned and looked at Fergus, sensing the remark was directed at him. He started to nod, but it turned into a contorted twitch as he caught Vanessa's eye again. He clutched his briefcase close to his chest and looked down at the floor.

  'Sex is okay as long as it's kept in its place: in the bed and in the dark,' continued Fergus blithely.

  Vanessa looked murderously at him. Bed was the one place in which they had not had sex the night before, and her body had the bruises to prove it. Their sexual odyssey had begun on the cold, tiled bathroom floor, continued to the granite-topped island in the kitchen where she had scalded her left buttock on a cup of hot coffee, before they had careened, still locked together, into the living room where she had done contortions over the back of her leather sofa, causing Fergus to reach the heights of orgasmic passion. But it had been worth it. Much to her surprise, when she performed her morning ritual of putting the contract in front of Fergus, he wordlessly signed it and handed it back to her. She had been so surprised that for once she could find nothing to say, causing Fergus to look so smug that she had been gripped with the urge to pick up a knife and plunge it into his chest.

  The lift reached their fellow passenger's floor and the doors opened. He hesitated and reached for the 'close' button but Vanessa's long finger reached the 'open' button first, and she kept her finger on it. With a sheepish look at Fergus, the man stepped out. Vanessa stabbed the button marked 'close' and then put her finger on the top floor button and kept it there.

  Unfortunately, it left her vulnerable to Fergus, who now had her trapped in a corner. He moved in, sliding his hand under her short skirt and between her thighs, using his knee to force her legs apart.

  Vanessa made an ineffectual effort to push him away.

  'Don't, not here,' she pleaded.

  Fergus grinned evilly as he thrust himself up against her. 'Go on, admit it, you like it.'

  Vanessa shook her head. She would rather die than admit she wanted Fergus. But as the now familiar musty animal smell of his body filled her nostrils, she closed her eyes and buried both her hands into his hair, pulling and twisting as her body arched.

  'Christ woman, you don't have to scalp me,' protested Fergus. 'Those talons of yours can do a man lethal damage when you get carried away like that.'

  Vanessa opened her eyes and pulled her hands away, hastily smoothing her dress down.

  T
he lift jerked to a halt and the door slid open. Vanessa stepped out and marched swiftly ahead of Fergus. There was only one door at the end of the corridor. Vanessa stopped and fished in her handbag for her compact, flipping it open to check her make-up and hair.

  'Promise me you'll behave this afternoon,' she spoke in a brisk, business-like tone, as though nothing had happened in the lift. 'This friend of Hugo's we've come to see is one of the hottest stylists around. Most people would kill to have a session with him.'

  Fergus snorted contemptuously. 'It's all appearances with you media lot, isn't it? Substance just doesn't count.'

  Having retouched her lipstick, Vanessa turned to face him. 'Since you signed that contract this morning you are now one of the media lot you feign to despise, so you'd better get used to it.' She pressed the door bell. A buzzer sounded and the door clicked open.

  Inside, a slender young black girl in a wispy short summer dress and four-inch high platform soled boots greeted them.

  'Damien is expecting you, Miss Swift,' she said crisply, and pressed a button on her desk.

  Double doors on the other side of the room clicked to reveal a large, open-plan room, one corner of which was set up as a photographic studio with lights and screens. In another corner was a work station, complete with a computer terminal and several drawing boards covered with sketches and photographs and draped with swatches of material. The centre of the room was lit from above by large skylights, beneath which three chrome and black leather sofas were grouped around a giant television screen. In front of the television was a glass-topped table whose base was the sculpture of a kneeling man, naked except for a bow tie. The table was littered with videos and glossy magazines. To one side was another sculpture of a naked man, this time standing and holding a tray that served as a mini-bar. Someone had tied a large pink bow around his erect penis.

  Hugo and a bald-headed man were sitting on one of the sofas with their backs to the door as Vanessa and Fergus walked in. Hugo glanced around and then leant towards his companion.