The Second Time

by Jade Winters

  She was close, Madison could tell, the gripping heat inside herself rising in anticipation, her own breathing now heavy with desire, the desire to see the woman she loved in the throes of orgasm.

  Darcie’s moans reached a plateau, then soared again as Madison increased the force with which her fingers pleasured Darcie whilst her tongue pressed harder on Darcie’s clit. Madison tried to judge the rhythm perfectly in time with Darcie’s increasing excitement.

  The sudden arch of Darcie’s back, the drop of her head between her arms, her sodden hair hanging like a dripping curtain, and the staccato sound of her moans matching the waves of pleasure inside her, suggested Madison got it right.

  Her heart was warmed that she could bring so much pleasure, so much ecstasy to Darcie, she had her own desires but right then the feeling that she could share moments like this pricked sharp tears in her eyes. They were two, when for so long she had been just one.

  Madison reached up to turn the shower off. The sudden silence broken by drips and the sound of Darcie’s breathing slowly coming back to normal as she recovered her senses.

  Madison slid open the screen, the colder air of the bathroom a shock after the steam of the shower. She grabbed a towel each, wrapped herself in one, and handed one to Darcie as she finally managed to recover her senses.

  ‘Jesus,’ Darcie said, ‘it’s freezing in here.’

  ‘It’s warmer in bed,’ Madison said with a sly grin.

  ‘Well what are you waiting for?’ Darcie said as she wrapped herself up. ‘Oh, and what was that with the gel on my back? It was freezing! I will get my own back for that you know?’

  ‘You’ll have to catch me first.’ Madison shot off with a high-pitched giggle straight out of the bathroom door into the bedroom.

  When she looked over her shoulder Darcie was leaning in the door frame, a mock, stern look on her face. ‘You can run, young lady,’ she started walking slowly towards Madison, ‘but you are in big trouble now.’

  Madison’s inner core squeezed, and her heart pumped harder because she knew it was true; she was in trouble and she threw open her arms to embrace it.

  ***

  When the blare of her alarm woke her the following morning, Madison felt, for the first time since Bryan’s death, a sense of peace. She lay for a moment, listening to the sound of chirruping birds in the trees outside her window, bathing in the soft light that filtered through the translucent blinds. When she breathed in she could smell Darcie, her scent filled her senses as she closed her eyes and remembered the sensual night they had just spent together.

  Madison reached an arm around behind herself but all she could feel was the chill of linen sheets.

  She sat up on the side of the bed and looked over her shoulder at the wrinkled sheet, sure that she could see Darcie’s outline where her body had lain the night before.

  Then she saw the note on Darcie’s pillow.

  She smiled. This is becoming a habit.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Darcie looked at her phone. It was one of those godforsaken hours in the morning when right-minded people should still be asleep, tucked into crisp white linen and snuggled against the love of their lives. That was where she had been at 7 a.m. when she’d received the message from Emma to meet her at the coffee shop opposite their office as soon as she could get there, and to tell no one that she was coming.

  No one!

  Emma had been Darcie’s business partner and friend for years, and she had never known Emma to sink to the melodramatic. She was the solid one. The rock that Darcie’s free-thinking creativity washed against and they worked perfectly together, both in business and as friends.

  So, without waking Madison, she had risen, dressed, written a note, and slid silently out of the flat all within ten minutes of getting the message.

  She took the last few steps to the door of the coffee shop. Her coffee shop. The coffee shop. The place where her previously humdrum life had been catapulted into something exciting, confusing, thrilling, and baffling all at the same time.

  The place was strangely busy even at such an ungodly hour by Darcie’s standards.

  A fresh proper cup of coffee in hand, no sippy-cup today, she looked around to see where Emma was. She saw a woman from behind whose flash of blonde hair made her think of Madison, and the night they had spent together, luxuriating in the steamy shower, Darcie paying attention to every microscopic nook of Madison’s body as they washed and caressed each other at the same time, surrounded by the dreamlike mist as steam arose around them. Then they had retired to Madison’s room and she felt a tingle down below as she remembered their simultaneously rising passion getting the better of them and—

  ‘Darcie. Over here.’

  Emma. Wearing a headscarf and large sunglasses. In November. In a coffee shop.

  ‘Why are you dressed like someone from an old spy movie?’

  ‘Because … actually, I have no idea. It was all such a rush and I think I got a bit carried away with all the cloak and dagger stuff and I saw the scarf and the sunglasses and after I messaged you…’ Her words tumbled over one another at the speed of lightning. ‘Then I had to get here, and I didn’t want anyone else to know …’

  ‘Emma. Stop.’ Emma stopped. ‘Take that ridiculous scarf off and those sunglasses. I can’t talk to you dressed like that. You’re rambling on and I have no idea what you’re talking about.’

  Emma unwound the scarf and shoved it, unfolded, into her pocket then slid the glasses off and left them on the table. She spent a few moments smoothing down her hair then, when she was finished, linked her fingers in her lap and looked over at Darcie with a bashful smile.

  ‘Sorry. I think I was letting myself get carried away.’

  ‘Well don’t. You’re supposed to be the logical, sensible one of the two of us. If you start going off on one, we might as well all pack up and go home now. So, what is it that has got you so worked up that you drag me over here at this hour of the morning?’

  Emma did a double-look, one each way, left and right. Darcie assumed she was making sure nobody was eavesdropping, but the nearest people were twenty feet away so maybe she was still role-playing, Darcie didn’t know and didn’t care to get into all that again. She was hungry and tired. Not a great combination in Darcie’s eyes.

  ‘OK, you know that last night I’d been invited to the opening of that new bar on Richmond Street?’ Darcie nodded although she had no idea which bar, or for that matter where Richmond Street was. She wanted Emma to get to the point and staying silent for now would hopefully help.

  ‘So, I was sitting in there, sipping a glass of champagne, it was lovely too, dry, just the right amount of bubbles. I think it was a—’

  ‘Emma.’ The sharpness of Darcie’s tone seemed to take Emma by surprise. She had jumped just a little, rattling the cups on the table. ‘Get on with it.’

  ‘Sorry. Anyway, I was sitting there at the bar, talking to this very attractive woman …’ Emma quickly looked up to see Darcie’s frowning face. ‘Anyway, as I sat there, who should come wandering in, but a large crowd from Gaze.’ At this, Darcie sat straighter in her chair. ‘There they were, all laughing and joking at the bar, talking about how they were sure to win the Clover contract now.’

  ‘Were Laura or Bette there?’

  ‘No, I didn’t see them. I recognised one or two of the people, so I waited until they had disappeared and got talking to a couple of the youngest people there. It took a while but, in the end, I asked why they had been so boisterous when they all came in?’

  ‘And? Come on, don’t keep me in suspense.’

  ‘Well, the two of them went all hush-hush then, leaning over to whisper so no one would hear them. It turns out that they were celebrating because Bette had turned in a brilliant proposal.’

  Darcie frowned. ‘So what? Jesus, Em, is that why you’ve dragged me down here. They’re bound to think the sun shines out of Bette’s arse, aren’t they? They work together.’

&nbs
p; ‘Darce, it’s not as simple as that. If it was I would have told you over the phone, I’m not stupid.’ Emma rolled her eyes. ‘From what I could manage to squeeze out of them—some of their ideas sounded pretty much like your own.’

  ‘Which ones?’

  ‘Your tag lines and that employees will have to sign non-disclosure agreements which means they can’t talk to the press about their working hours—’

  Darcie took a sharp intake of breath. She felt like she’d been punched in the gut. ‘Fuck! Have we got a mole in our office?’

  ‘How else could they have found out? Unless Bette’s reason for coming round yesterday was to plant a bug—’

  ‘Let’s not get too carried away now.’

  ‘It’s just a thought.’

  A frigid wind blew across them as a customer left the premises leaving the door open behind them. Darcie shuddered, but it wasn’t the breeze that chilled her.

  ‘Let’s think seriously about this. How could they have found out?’ Darcie’s brain was working overtime. ‘That proposal never left my sight while we were in Thailand. Not for a second. When we went out we put our belongings in the safe.’

  ‘Is this the brief you couldn’t find yesterday?’

  ‘Yes. Madison had picked it up when she packed her stuff to leave the hotel.’

  ‘So, the only person who has seen it apart from us is Madison?’

  It was then that all of Darcie’s insecurities broke out to the surface of her mind, bobbing about like buoys in the raging tempest that had blown up in her head.

  Madison was the only person who knew about the details of the proposal. Was it possible that Madison and Bette … no, it was unthinkable … what would be the point? Why would Madison work with Bette for Gaze to win the contract. She owned the company now—she could just hire her end of story. But what other explanation was there?

  After the time they had spent together in Thailand and the passion the night before, was Madison taking her for a fool, playing her along in some nefarious scheme to humiliate her, put her out of business, and see her thrown on the scrap heap?

  That was how it looked at that moment. The woman she had once loved, and who she admitted to herself now, had always loved, and had fallen in love with again, had betrayed her in the most vicious, heart-wrenching way possible.

  ‘Darcie, are you OK? You’re crying.’

  Darcie reached up to wipe the hot tears from her face. Her mind was reeling, unable to think straight.

  ‘I can’t believe it,’ she said, so quietly that it was almost a whisper.

  ‘Well you know what cut-throat bunch they are over at Gaze. Nothing should surprise us about …’

  ‘No, no, not that. The proposal I had with me in Thailand was just me trying to get into Mr. Willis’ and Gaze’s mindset. It was the one I showed you before I left. I put together what I thought would be the kind of proposal that might appeal to Mr. Willis, so I could counter all their ideas with better ideas of my own. If Bette adopted it so quickly it must have been a good guess. Our real proposal is on my laptop at the office.’

  Emma heaved a huge sigh, ‘Well, that’s a relief, at least. So why the tears?’

  Darcie looked up through tear-filled eyes at her friend who was looking visibly happier then. ‘Because Bette could have only got hold of my brief from Madison.’

  ‘What? Don’t be silly. Where’s the sense in that?’

  ‘Em, I need to go home. I have a lot to think about. Can you man the decks for the day? I promise I’ll be back in tomorrow. I just need some time, you know?’

  ‘Of course I can. Take whatever time you need.’

  ‘Tomorrow. I promise.’

  ‘You sure you’re OK?’

  Darcie stared fixedly at the spot on the floor of the café where she had helped Madison pick up the scattered contents of her handbag. She had viewed that moment as a positive changing point in her life, until then. Was that all a set-up? Had this whole thing been a lie since the very start?

  She drank down her coffee and slowly headed out of the door, a gnawing feeling of emptiness and hopelessness slowly spreading through her, threatening to engulf her in a tsunami of doubt and confusion.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  ‘Madison?’ The shout and the knock on the door woke her up with a start, her heart pounding against her ribs in momentary panic. ‘Do you want some breakfast? I’m just about to make scrambled eggs.’

  When panic subsided and sense reasserted itself, she realised it was Kay, calling out her name.

  ‘I’ll be out in a minute,’ she managed to croak.

  ‘I’m starting them now, so they’ll be ready in five minutes.’

  ‘OK,’ Madison called out, her voice clearer now.

  She pushed herself into a sitting position, swung her legs over the side of the bed and slipped her feet into her favourite pair of slippers that she remembered Kay saying looked like something an elderly lady would wear. She didn’t care. Cold feet were something she hated. She stood, grabbed her cotton dressing gown from the back of a chair and slipped it on, then headed out of the door. It was still damp from after the shower she and Darcie had shared.

  A quick bathroom trip later and she was seated at the modern, square-legged dining table which doubled as her home office. She slid piles of paper and her laptop to one end as Kay laid out two places, and stood salt, pepper and an almost empty Mayonnaise bottle in the centre.

  ‘Good night last night?’ Kay asked as she did her impression of a domestic goddess.

  ‘When did you get back? I didn’t hear you come in.’

  Kay smiled then let out a giggle. ‘I’m not surprised, with the racket you two were making.’

  She turned her back to Darcie and wrapped her arms around herself doing a passable impression of the smooching noises and groaning Madison could remember from the night before.

  Madison couldn’t help but smile. It had certainly been a memorable night.

  ‘Toast’s burning,’ Madison said while Kay continued having her fun.

  Kay dropped her arms and dashed for the toaster, swearing loudly.

  ‘I need some juice,’ Madison said, standing from the table, and stepping over to the cupboard to grab a couple of glasses, then to the fridge for the bottle of fresh orange juice. While she walked she could hear Kay scraping butter onto toast, and the smell of cooking eggs wafted across to her, making her stomach growl.

  As Madison sat, Kay arrived with the frying pan filled with a steaming mound of creamy yellow eggs, which she deposited in front of Madison, then taking her own seat opposite her.

  She sprinkled salt and pepper on, then as Madison watched, squirted mayonnaise liberally all over the pile of eggs, having to vigorously shake the bottle a couple of times when the supply ran dry and the bottle made a revolting diarrhoea sound.

  ‘What?’ Kay said, seeing Madison’s look of distaste.

  ‘How long have we lived together?’

  ‘Coming up five years, why?’ Kay said then forked a pile of eggs into her mouth, chewing a couple of times and swallowing.

  ‘Your choice in food combos are disgusting, do you know that?’ Madison said, shaking her head. ‘You ever thought that might be why you can never hang on to a girlfriend?’

  ‘You can talk.’ Kay threw back her head, flicking her hair from side to side, running her tongue across her lips. ‘Oh, Darcie, there, there, yes, ohhhhhhh.’

  Madison smiled although she could feel her cheeks heating up slightly. ‘You heard that?’

  ‘That and much, much more.’

  ‘Oh God, that is so embarrassing.’

  Kay looked up from her eggs. ‘Don’t worry. I don’t suppose it’s any worse than stuff you’ve heard, and once I put my headphones on, all I could hear was Mozart,’ she said with a smile.

  For a while they both concentrated on eating, forking eggs, and chewing on edge-blackened toast.

  ‘So, you and Darcie? You two a thing now?’ Kay said before taking a mouth
ful of her juice and pulling a face.

  ‘Sorry, I could only get the juice with bits in,’ Madison said apologetically.

  ‘That’s all right. I’ll let you off, just this once, but I’m back to doing the shopping this week, OK?’

  Madison nodded. ‘You know how much I hate shopping. It’s not one of my skillsets I’m afraid.’

  She offered Kay a weak smile. With everything that was going on, her side of the chores chart that was held down by a magnet on the front of the fridge, was devoid of the necessary crayon ticks Kay had insisted on when, in a fit of pique at having to do so many chores, she had insisted, in line with her hyper-organised personality, that a fair rota be set up.

  She had never followed through except during their biannual discussions on the subject when Madison would promise to try to do her bit, and Kay would nod, knowing it wasn’t going to happen.

  Kay tutted and flicked up her head at the same time as rolling her eyes.

  ‘It’s hardly rocket science, Madison. Make a list, go to the shop, buy what’s on the list, pay, and come home.’

  ‘I know, I know. There’s just something about supermarkets that sets me off. Too many people. Too many choices. Too many decisions one after the other.’

  ‘I’ve never known you be indecisive. You hopped off to Thailand with just a couple of days’ notice.’

  ‘That was work. Work’s different.’

  ‘Uh huh.’ Kay hummed with a mouthful of toast.

  They fell into silence that was only interrupted by the sounds of people making their way to work outside.

  ‘So?’

  ‘So, what?’ Madison swallowed the last of her juice and wiped her mouth with the piece of kitchen roll they used as napkins.

  ‘You and Darcie.’

  ‘What about us?’

  ‘You changed the subject and thought I hadn’t noticed.’ A small piece of egg dropped off the end of the fork Kay jabbed at, bouncing a couple of times before coming to rest. Kay picked it up and popped the morsel into her mouth.