Secret Lovers (Friendship Chronicles Book 1)

by Shelley Munro

  3. Spanking doesn’t require special tools—a hand or a hairbrush will work.

  4. It can bring a new buzz to a relationship.

  5. Most bottoms are well-padded and careful swats won’t do any damage.

  6. The closeness that comes after a spanking is magical.

  7. It’s great for foreplay and sex after a spanking is hot.

  8. It’s fun trying out various positions and scenarios.

  9. Role-playing and dress-up can be a lot of fun.

  10. An alpha man administering a spanking is plain sexy.

  Let me know if you think of other reasons to add to my list. I’m all about learning when it comes to spanking.

  An hour later, Maggie worked the bar during the regular barman’s break, smiled and joked with two male customers while keeping an eye on the rest of the customers. Just gone five, it was still quiet. Another hour and the place would rock. She wriggled her toes in her black flats. Thank goodness for comfortable shoes.

  A young couple walked up to the bar. Automatically, she scanned their faces and decided they were legal. She poured a vodka RTD, one of the popular ready-to-drink mixes, and a beer, taking their money with a smile.

  From the corner of her eye, she noted new arrivals, and when she’d finished, she turned. Her welcome smile died a rapid death as she came face-to-face with Susan and Christina.

  The pub doors opened, and Julia walked inside.

  Maggie’s heart stuttered before kicking into its normal beat. She forced her smile back to her lips. “Hello. What can I get you to drink?”

  “Maggie, I didn’t realize you worked here,” Julia said. “We thought we’d try a new pub. This one hasn’t been open for that long.”

  “I needed the money.” Wasn’t that obvious? Why else would she work every possible hour management offered her?

  Christina offered a quiet smile. “I was sorry about you losing your job.”

  “Ancient history,” Maggie said. “If you haven’t decided on what to drink do you mind if I serve those guys?” She turned away without waiting for their reply. Why did they have to pick this bar?

  When she turned back, the three women lined up at the bar like birds sitting on power lines and looked as if they’d roosted for the night.

  “We’ll take a bottle of the house Sauvignon Blanc,” Susan said.

  “And some peanuts,” Julia added. “I missed lunch.”

  Maggie nodded. “We have a bar menu. The snacks are tasty if you’d like something more substantial.” Her voice emerged stiff and robot-like. She drew a sharp breath and told herself to calm down. This job was important. Her new boss had emphasized customer service. She couldn’t afford to lose the job for scaring off customers.

  “How long have you been working here?” Christina asked.

  “I started yesterday. I have another job at a theme restaurant. You know the medieval one?”

  Julia chuckled, although it wasn’t with her normal gusto. Maggie thought she looked sad. “That’s the one with the wenches with big boobs.”

  “Yep.” Maggie handed over the opened bottle of wine, then gestured at her breasts. “I was perfectly qualified.”

  “Oh,” Susan said, wrinkling her nose. “Isn’t that degrading?”

  “I needed a job.” Nothing less than the truth. Jobs were in short supply if a person lacked references. “It’s not so bad if you keep your wits about you. I have a good reason to keep going to the gym.”

  Christina nodded, her eyes holding sympathy. “You look great. Have you lost weight?”

  “A bit.” Money shortages had a way of making a person focus on the important things in life. She realized she’d let go of her anger toward the three women. Secrets. They weren’t necessarily a good thing between friends. And lying. That was where she’d gone wrong. “I’m sorry I lied to you about Connor. It was wrong of me to break my promise.”

  Maggie walked away to serve more customers.

  The head barman returned from his break. “I want you to stay working this bar tonight,” he said. “You’re efficient and doing a great job.”

  “Thanks,” Maggie said, appreciating the kind words. It would keep her busy so she had an excuse to steer clear of the women. She’d missed them so much. Heck, she missed Connor. But things were different now. She couldn’t go back in time. All she could do was go forward. She’d apologized and meant it. She was sorry for lying to her friends, but it didn’t make things right.

  Susan waved her over. “We’ll take an order of fries, some spring rolls and—”

  “We need something healthy,” Christina interrupted.

  “And the vegetable crudités and hot spinach dip,” Susan finished. “Is that healthy enough for you?”

  “Gotta have the five plus vegetables a day,” Julia quipped. “They tell us all the time on television.”

  “Since when did you follow the rules?” Susan asked.

  Julia’s smile faded. “People change. Things don’t stay the same.”

  Maggie felt her pain and wondered at the secrets emblazoned across Julia’s face. Losing the baby had hurt her. It was funny because Julia was the last one out of all of them she’d expect to get pregnant or embrace motherhood. “I’ll take the order through to the kitchen. It won’t take long.”

  When she returned a group of young guys had joined them. Rugby players she discovered when she overheard them talking.

  Julia gestured for another bottle of wine, and Maggie hustled to serve both her and the new arrivals.

  “How are you doing, Julia?” she asked in an undertone.

  Julia shrugged. “Good days. Bad days. How about you?”

  Obviously Julia wasn’t willing to talk specifics yet. “About the same as you. I don’t think I’m relationship material. Every one of them finishes the same way, with me ending up alone. I think I’m doing okay, then things get mucked up and everything ends badly.” The words burst free, making Maggie realize how much she’d needed to talk.

  Julia gave a sharp bark of laughter, one that held little humor. “You and me both. What say we give up on men and have a raging affair with each other?”

  “Julia!” Christina said in clear shock. “Did you just proposition Maggie?”

  “Why not?” Julia winked at her, but made sure Christina didn’t see. “We’re both off men, but like sex. I’m sure I could spank you, Maggie. Let’s talk.”

  Susan spluttered, while one of the young rugby players picked up on a pertinent word.

  “Spanking?” he asked. “Which one of you is into spanking? There’s a great spanking blog that one of the other guys in my team put me on to. I thought it would be strange and kinky, but it’s interesting.”

  Susan blurted, “That’s Mag—”

  “That’s great,” Maggie cut through Susan’s words, shouting loudly, and her friend clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes full of apology. “You sound open-minded.” A pity he was too young for her.

  In that moment, she decided to meet with her cyber lover. He pushed every one of her buttons and already knew she liked spanking.

  “Where do you play rugby?” Christina asked, diverting the conversation.

  Susan wasn’t so easily diverted, her speculative gaze going from Maggie to Julia and back. Maggie felt Susan’s gaze follow her down the bar while she served several beers and mixed drinks. It was another hour before things calmed down enough for her to check on her friends.

  At least the initial stiffness had faded, although Maggie wasn’t fool enough to think their friendship would continue as if nothing had happened.

  “Susan thinks we’re interested in each other. Connor would have a good laugh about that. He’s always said two chicks together are hot,” Julia said.

  “Susan is gullible.” Maggie didn’t want to talk about Connor. She hadn’t seen him, not even at the gym. She hoped they didn’t mention she was working here. The last thing she wanted was to see him with his new blonde. She didn’t think she could cope with a sighting. T
he tight sensation behind her eyes told her she was far from over him.

  Betrayal hurt—from both sides, which made her want to work to repair the rift with her friends.

  “I’ve missed you. I haven’t been going out much. Just work and Susan and Christina dragged me out tonight. I’m sorry I didn’t make more of an effort to see you,” Julia said in a low voice. “I am sorry. You’re a good friend and you deserve better.”

  “It’s okay,” Maggie murmured.

  “It’s not, but thank you. Are you seeing anyone else?” Julia asked.

  “Not really. Sort of,” she amended. Cripes, she was having regular cybersex.

  “So, which is it?”

  “I’ve been having torrid cybersex with someone I met through my blog.”

  Julia’s eyes widened. “Really?”

  Maggie moved away to serve more customers, noting the crowd had thinned. Some had left for home while others had moved to the adjoining restaurant.

  When she returned to her friends, the rugby players had left. She gathered the glasses, stacked them into the glasses machine and switched it on to wash.

  “You can’t leave me hanging like that,” Julia said. “Spill.” She turned to the others and whispered, “Maggie’s having cybersex with some guy.”

  “Maggie!” Susan said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so critical. What I meant is that cybersex could be dangerous.”

  “I intend to be careful,” Maggie said.

  “For goodness sake, tell Maggie cybersex is dangerous,” Susan said.

  “Susan, you sound like my mother when she discovered I knew about the birds and the bees,” Julia said. “Maggie’s having safe sex. What’s wrong with that?”

  “There are weird people online,” Susan said. “You’re having sex with one? I don’t believe it. You know nothing about him. How do you even know it’s a him? It could be a woman.”

  “Or a horny underage teenager,” Christina added.

  Maggie thought about Kinky Lover’s posts. “No,” she drawled. “I don’t think it’s an underage male. This man knows his way around a woman’s body. He knows what makes us tick.”

  “He could be married,” Julia said.

  “See,” Susan said with concern. “Even Julia agrees. There has to be something wrong with him if he has to have cybersex. What’s wrong with the real thing? Why can’t he find a date like most men do? Aw, hell, I don’t mean to sound critical. It’s a safety issue.”

  “It’s not always so easy to meet people,” Maggie retorted. “I know. Heck, Susan. You know too. That’s why you’ve applied to a reality show.”

  Susan nodded with a wry smile. “Touché.”

  “We got in,” Christina said, bouncing up and down on her barstool.

  Maggie noticed a new arrival. “Hold that thought,” she ordered, moving down the bar to serve the elderly couple.

  When she returned, the three were in deep conversation. Maggie used the time to remove empty glasses and wipe down the bar. She chopped up a lemon and restocked the beer fridge.

  “You can take a break now,” the head barman said.

  “Is it okay if I sit with my friends while I’m on my break?”

  “Sure. Don’t be late back.”

  With a nod, she walked around the bar.

  “Are you on a break?” Christina asked. “Or are you finished for the night?”

  “I wish. My feet are sore from standing. No, it’s a break. I have another two hours for this shift.”

  “Let’s sit over there at the table,” Susan said.

  They moved over to the table, Maggie clearing it and taking the glasses to the bar before she rejoined her friends.

  Susan stood and hugged her. “I’m sorry I was such a bitch about Connor. I have no excuses, but I’ll try not to repeat it ever again,” she whispered fiercely.

  Christina embraced her, too, a tight squeeze that said more than words. Maggie blinked to control the surge of emotion gripping her chest. Pride said she should give them a tough time for their behavior, but the truth—she was just glad they were speaking again.

  “Don’t look at me,” Julia said with a wink. “I don’t want to hug you and spread rumors about our hot lesbian affair.”

  Maggie laughed and pulled out a chair. “So tell me about the reality show,” she said. “What happens next? Do you get filmed the entire time?”

  “Christina and I have to go to another elimination round in two months. We get to meet the farmers. From what they said, they allocate each farmer with a group of women. We get to talk to him together as a group and alone. The farmer whittles us down to his chosen eight.”

  “Sounds scary,” Maggie said. “What are you wearing?”

  “We can talk about that later,” Julia said. “I want to hear about the cybersex. Where does this guy live? How do you even know this guy is from New Zealand?”

  “That’s true,” Susan said. “You don’t know anything about this guy.”

  Christina smirked. “Apart from the fact he’s good at sex.”

  “Yeah, well,” Julia said. “You don’t even know that. He might talk the walk, but can he walk the talk?”

  “Huh?” Susan said. “What does that mean?”

  Maggie laughed. “It might mean he’s all mouth and no trousers.”

  Julia groaned.

  Susan’s confusion cleared. “Oh, you mean he might not be able to get it up. They have pills for that these days.”

  “Gullible,” Julia mouthed in Maggie’s direction and they both laughed. “Seriously, though,” Julia said when the laughter stopped. “Has he said where he lives or where he wants to meet? If you follow through and meet him, you need to be careful. Take safety precautions.”

  “I suppose it would work if you met him for coffee somewhere or maybe a meal in a public place,” Christina said. “One thing you shouldn’t do is meet in a hotel room. Even though you know him online, you need to learn about him on a personal level.”

  Julia wrinkled her nose, the wine she’d drunk during the evening putting a flush in her cheeks. “Yeah, if he’s short with bad teeth and no hair, you need an escape route.”

  “So you think I should meet with him?” Maggie asked.

  Susan ran her finger around the rim of her wine glass. “I’m not convinced it’s a great idea, but you’re the best one to judge from the emails. I take it you don’t want to share?”

  “No,” Maggie blurted, unable to halt the race of color across her face.

  “Just out of interest, have you been emailing him back with suggestive replies?” Christina asked.

  “No,” Maggie said, but she couldn’t look at any of them. “Oh, okay,” she muttered. “I can’t lie to you guys. I have, and no, you’re not looking at my replies either.”

  “Why don’t you meet at a restaurant?” Julia asked. “Tell us the time and place and we’ll book a table there too. That way, we can check him out and give you our opinions. And if there’s any trouble, we’ll be right there with you. Your mystery man won’t even need to know we’re your friends. As far as he’s concerned, we’d be diners.”

  Susan nodded. “That’s not a bad idea.”

  “I’ll think about it,” Maggie said, after studying each of their faces. “I need to get back to work.”

  Julia grabbed her arm. “Don’t you dare meet this guy without telling us, Maggie. We care about you and don’t want to see anything happen to you.”

  With a knot of emotion blocking her throat, she nodded before hurrying off to the bar, feeling better than she had in days. While the old easy camaraderie remained elusive, she hoped they’d talk soon and drag out the monsters hiding in the closets. Like all people, they each had their hot buttons from the past. Maggie poured a beer and admitted to herself if she had her time over, she’d make most of the same decisions. Sometimes a person just had to follow their gut and hope for the best.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “What if she doesn’t come?” Connor asked.

&nb
sp; “Stop being such a wimp,” Julia said. “She’ll be here. You didn’t see her face when she was talking about her cyber lover.”

  Connor’s eyes narrowed as he entered the restaurant. “She didn’t tell you about the emails, what was in them?”

  “Relax,” Julia said. “She refused to tell us a thing.”

  “Other than general things,” Susan said. “I want to know why you didn’t just pick up a phone and call her.”

  “I called her. Constantly. I tried to see her in person, but she refused to answer her door.” Connor glanced at the door, struggling to hide his nerves. “She needed time. If I’d pushed her any harder, she would have run or at least reported me to the cops as a stalker. She doesn’t believe I want her.”

  “And maybe the blonde parade had something to do with that,” Julia said in a tart voice.

  “I haven’t dated a single blonde since I started seeing Maggie. I’m not interested in anyone other than her.”

  “That’s not what I heard,” Christina said. “Besides, I saw you with a blonde the other day. She was draped all over you.”

  Connor frowned. “Oh, you mean Sylvie. Believe it or not, Sylvie is my cousin, and she’s now dating one of my flatmates. She’s putting on a surprise birthday party for him. We were talking about the arrangements.”

  “Are you sure?” Christina asked. “Because from where I stood, it looked as if she was interested in you and would give your flatmate the flick without a second thought.”

  “When did you see me with her?”

  “Two weeks ago,” Christina said.

  “Did Maggie see you with her?” Julia asked. “Do you think that’s why she pushed you away?”

  “Yes, she saw us. That’s why we broke up.” Connor shrugged. “She didn’t believe me, and refused to discuss it. I never go out with two women at a time,” he said. “Never. It’s a rule. I never look at another woman while I’m dating someone else.”

  “Does Maggie know that?” Julia asked. “Because I didn’t realize.”

  “Hell.” Connor dragged his hand through his hair and glared at the women. “I can’t believe you’d think so little of me. Yes, I told Maggie our friends with benefits deal was open and we could see other people, but I never did. I didn’t look at another woman after Maggie and I hooked up. And I haven’t since,” he added. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you. I’m not interested in any woman apart from Maggie.”