by A B Turner
“He went to the toilet a while ago, when he didn’t come back, I went to look for him,” she began, “For an intelligent man, he has no sense of direction, we went to a spa once and he ended up in some womans’ sauna by mistake, he said he thought it was me in there...” her voice trailed off as this memory clearly was filling her mind,
“...I don’t know how he could have thought that, she was much bigger up top than me and younger, but Reg said it was because of the steam, he was on top of her before he realised and then I walked in...it’s funny, isn’t it?” she paused, then looked up at me with so much sadness in her eyes,
“I could see in there quite clearly.”
For the second time in as many minutes, I didn’t know what to do or say and I felt woefully inadequate. We stood in silence until somehow Mrs Dunwoody seemed to snap herself out of what must have been a difficult memory and looked up at me.
“So, the thing is, it seems he’s locked himself in there, in the toilets.”
Fighting the urge to say something about leaving him in there because she would be so much better without him, I glanced around the room and saw Albert had resumed his place by the door. I had barely caught his eye when he nodded to me and swiftly negotiated his way to my side. I quickly explained the situation and he took Mrs Dunwoody’s arm,
“Please don’t worry, Madam, we will have your husband freed immediately, if you’d like to come with me?” I noticed her blush slightly at his courtesy, which was something she probably wasn’t used to with her husband. She thanked me and I watched Albert lead her carefully to a side door, which he opened and they disappeared from view.
I noticed several guests leaving through the French doors, while others had clearly decided to make the most of what was left of the champagne, even though they had already probably drunk more than enough.
Kat appeared at my shoulder,
“Come on, Carrie, time we weren’t here, we’ve done our job and if we hang around too long, at least one of them will decide we would round their evening off perfectly.”
At first, I thought she was joking, but when I looked at her, her dark eyes were showing none of their usual sparkle,
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” I asked, feeling almost immediately stupid for my question.
“Oh yes, honey, most of the people who come to these things are absolutely fine, but there are always a few who think having a bit of money brings with it some kind of entitlement, like they can have anything or anyone.”
I thought back to the earlier incident with the waiter,
“Yes, I’ve seen that, but can we just go? What about Diana?”
Kat’s serious expression changed to her more-familiar broad smile,
“Oh don’t you worry about her, as soon as that Victor left, she will have gone up to her room, so by now,” Kat paused to look up at the clock ,“she’ll be soaking in a huge bubble bath, thinking about all the money she made tonight.”
I returned her smile,
“Well, if that’s the case, let’s get out of here.”
I was about to move when I realised all the promotional material was still scattered across the room, not to mention the banner which we had earlier struggled to suspend from the vaulted ceiling.
“Are we supposed to clear up first”? I asked, Kat grinned and nodded in the direction of Jake and Louis,
“That’s their job tonight, sweetheart.”
I paused again,
“That doesn’t seem very fair,” I answered, wondering if Kat was somehow trying to sneak us out before the real end of the working day. At first, she said nothing, but looked across as the two men, who were now being shamelessly flirted with by several giggling, young women. I saw her smile knowingly before speaking,
“Oh they look like they’re coping sweetheart, don’t you think?’
I followed her gaze, one of the women was now clearly whispering in Jake’s ear, while another was draped over Louis,
“Yes,” I agreed, “they do seem to be managing without us.”
Kat chuckled, as we started to cross the room again, pausing only to step carefully over two pairs of legs which were sticking out from under one of the tables. One pair had trousers round the ankles while the other were bare except for the highly-polished stilletos which, despite the vigorous action, seemed unshakable.
Kat and I exchanged amused glances, as we kept walking, while trying to ignore the high-pitched moans of one of the couple. When we reached the reception, we quickly retrieved our belongings from the small room and headed for the large entrance doors, one of the doormen touched his cap,
“Mrs Golding ordered your cars earlier, they’re waiting in the drive.”
I thanked him and then turned to Kat, she answered the question I hadn’t actually asked, by explaining Diana always ensured all her staff arrived home safely. We quickly hugged before we went outside into the cold night air to the waiting cars,
“So honey, I will see you Monday, have a good weekend and give my love to Lainie when you speak to her,” Kat called as she got into one.
“I will, goodnight Kat and love to Matt,” I replied.
As soon as I was in the back of my cab, I kicked off my shoes and leant back into the leather seats, I suddenly felt exhausted and was happy to be going home. As the lights of the city blurred past the windows, I thought about the evening, for all the slight dramas, it had been, in many ways, an amazing night, completely unlike anything I had experienced before. Jacquie had been right, after all, maybe this new job was right for me. I nestled back and allowed the ever-changing view to pass by without further thoughts, now just relieved to be going home.
Chapter 8
When I awoke the next day, I could already hear the sounds of the world happening outside my open window, I yawned, stretched and looked idly at my alarm clock which, was resting, for once, in silence. After a few minutes, I slid out of bed and allowed my bare toes to luxuriate in the deep pile of my bedroom carpet. Almost immediately, I could feel the tension from last night, pulling at my calves, which was hardly surprising as I had been on my feet for most of the day. I looked back at my bed, almost able to imagine the warmth of the covers, but I knew the only real cure for my aches and pains was a hot shower. So reluctantly, I tided the bed and wandered into the bathroom, hoping I would feel slightly more alive when I emerged. I was about to switch on the shower, when an ornate box caught my eye on the top shelf of the bathroom cabinet. I reached up and carefully lifted it down from its resting place, I sat on the edge of the bath and read the label, before easing open the lid. As soon as I did, the most luxuriant aroma was released, within the box were a range of neat packages and small bottles containing a whole range of gels and creams. For a moment, owing to the remains of sleep still clouding my mind, I struggled to remember where this scented treasure chest had come from, but as I continued to examine the contents, I guessed it must have been one of the leaving gifts from my old job. I took one of the bottles, unscrewed the cap and breathed in the smell, for some unknown reason, it made me feel warm and almost sensual. Without any more thought, I switched on the water,
“OK Carrie, time for a little pampering.”
After almost half an hour, I stepped out of the shower and spent more time, slowly massaging the cream into every inch of my damp body. The sensation was so intoxicating, I could barely stand the idea of stopping, it was nothing really sexual, just deeply satisfying and when I had finally finished, I felt nothing less than beautiful. I wandered naked back into my bedroom, at first, unwilling to get dressed, as I had no desire for this feeling to become lost under unwelcome clothes. But as the warmth of the shower started to cool, I slipped into an over-sized white cotton shirt and rested back on my bed, trying to convince myself I should now do something purposeful. But even though I could list a number of household tasks which undoubtedly needed my attention, I had no real motivation to achieve anything, so I lazily reached over to my bedside table,
“I will just
check on Facebook, just to see if Lainie has left me a message,” I said aloud, as if trying to convince myself this was a genuinely worthwhile use of my time. As the phone came to life, I pulled a blanket over my exposed legs, rearranged the pillows and settled back. Almost as soon as the app opened, there was a picture of Lainie and Damon, holding each other close and beaming at each other. Under the picture she had written, they were enjoying their weekend in Florence. I smiled, she looked so happy and relaxed, he was gazing at her and the love in his eyes was so obvious. There was such a clear, genuine connection between them and as I flipped through the other pictures, I was silently thankful, young as she was, she had met someone who was so right for her. After carefully saving every picture, I turned my attention to the rest of my timeline, as it was pretty obvious, Lainie would be unlikely to be in touch again until they were back in Rome. I wasn’t surprised to find nothing from Kat yet, it was still early for her and, I imagined, she would be curled up in Matt’s arms, or maybe enjoying a late breakfast in bed. I felt the tiniest hint of jealousy, but I quickly focused back on how good I was still feeling after my shower. Thankfully, other friends had posted pictures of gorgeous half-naked people, and the sight of these beautiful images rapidly restored the pleasurable sensations my own body was enjoying as the cream seemed to be slowly seeping into every welcoming pore. I glanced down, the cool shirt brushed against my nipples as I moved even slightly, sending a slight shiver through me. I could feel myself wanting to give into it, but I knew, I wasn’t entirely ready, so I continued to scroll through the newsfeed and gently revel in the glorious anticipation of the inevitable. I was still in this semi-dreamlike state, when I suddenly saw a notification appear at the top of the page. Even though I was unwilling to tear my gaze away from the steady stream of visual pleasure, I clicked on the icon and found myself reading a post by a guy, Mason, who was writing about preparing lethal-sounding cocktails for a party later that day. As I read down through the comments, most of which were by people wishing they were there with him, one caught my eye because the name was unfamiliar, Skylar Hill. I adjusted my position so I could look closer, just from their exchange, it was clear he knew Mason, as he was Australian, it seemed safe to think he must be too. I briefly thought about checking out his profile picture, but before I had a chance, Mason mentioned me again. As so often before, his comments were laced with more than a hint of flirtation, although as he was undeniably happy with his wife, it was always nothing more than harmless banter. After one comment about being ‘satisfied’, I just couldn’t resist responding,
‘oh you know me, Mason, I do enjoy a tasty mouthful.’
Before he obviously had a chance to reply, Skylar commented,
‘I know exactly what you mean, Carrie.’
For some reason, I found myself cheekily replying back, whether it was still the effects of the shower or because I had felt aroused only moments earlier, I was genuinely enjoying the moment with this unknown man. After exchanging ever more flirtatious comments, a further notification appeared, he had sent me a friend request which I quickly accepted and went to his own page. For a brief moment, I was slightly taken aback, the picture was of three people, a man, an older woman and a young boy. Could it be he was married? But as I looked closer, I guessed the woman was his mother, although there was no obvious resemblance, there did seem some vague similarity between them. But that meant, if that was his mother, the young boy must be his son, I checked the picture again to make sure there was no-one else, but it soon became clear, it was definitely, just them. As one last precaution, I quickly checked his profile, there definitely no mention of a husband or a partner, which made me sigh with relief. I had seen too often, people pretending to be single, or childless, whereas the truth was, they had been married for years and had a houseful of children. Apart from anything else, after being routinely cheated on by my ex-husband, Steve, I had sworn a long time ago, I would never be someone’s other woman and I had no desire to break that vow. But now, as I was reasonably sure I knew the facts, I expanded the picture until only Skylar’s face filled the screen. I rested back again on my pillows, he was undeniably attractive, but it was his eyes I kept coming back too, there seemed to be so much emotion there, some sadness maybe, but more than that, they were so expressive, I could hardly bring myself to look away until suddenly I remembered Mason’s post, I quickly returned, he had left another comment,
‘I don’t think we should continue this publicly, Carrie.’
I rushed to reply, but almost immediately realised, he was no longer online, for a moment, I was stunned, I checked my previous comments, had I gone too far? Said too much? Did he have a partner after all and been called away? It didn’t seem to make any sense, other than maybe like Mason, it was nothing more than banter. I left one more comment to him, wishing him a good day and returned to the news feed, feeling disappointed he had left so quickly. But our brief conversation had seemingly brought every nerve ending in my body to life. I leaned back and slowly scrolled through more of the gorgeous pictures. Once again, I found myself becoming steadily more aroused but now I imagined Sky’s beautiful eyes watching me, as I got more and more turned on with each passing image. Just as I felt myself starting to allow the deep, tingling feeling to begin to take over my body, my attention was drawn by the tiny message icon flashing,
“Oh Kat, great timing..now you decide to wake up?” I muttered aloud, “Well it had better be...”
I didn’t finish the sentence, as I could see it wasn’t Kat, but Skylar, I read his message,
‘Hello again, I wanted to talk to you.’
I felt myself bite my lip as I started to type, I knew I had to write something which would make it impossible for him to leave again, there was just something about this man. As I hit ‘send’ I hoped I had said enough to gain his attention.
‘Is there something I can do for you?’
I waited impatiently for him to answer, at the very back of my mind, there was a small voice desperately urging caution, but I had no problem ignoring it.
Finally, I could see the sign he was typing,
‘I was starting to think there were a lot of things you could do for me, but maybe I’m a little concerned I shouldn’t say them.’
So, he was interested in me, before I really thought, I typed,
‘You can tell me, I only want to make you feel good.’
Almost as soon as I had clicked ‘send’, I looked again, I could hardly believe it had been me writing, but the combination of how good I was feeling and this enigmatic man, was simply overwhelming. It felt like an age before I could see he was typing again, when I saw him answer, I could barely breathe,
‘How can I just come out and say it?’
I wanted to think carefully before answering, but before I had a chance to do anything, I saw he was typing again,
‘Perhaps I should just say, I want to feel your tongue on my lips.’
I read the message again, the thought momentarily crossed my mind, perhaps I was being set up in some way, perhaps by Mason, but it quickly faded. If I was, what did it really matter? All I was sure of now, was I wanted to keep talking to him, I started to type, conscious my breathing had suddenly quickened.
‘I would love that, only slowly, so I can taste all of you.’
As I waited for him to answer, I closed my eyes and, almost without thinking, I started to undo the buttons of my shirt so I could touch the soft flesh beneath. I was so lost in the feeling, I almost forgot to open my eyes again to read, when I did, I caught my breath,
‘I want to stroke your warm breasts, feel your nipples grow with my fingers.’
I slipped my hand over my exposed breasts, they felt so soft, pliable, but as my fingertips strayed over my nipples, they were full aching to be touched, so I closed my eyes again and imagined him there. Those amazing eyes, looking up at me, as his mouth took my nipples before his tongue circled and flicked lightly over me, I could hardly breathe, the sensation was so intense. E
ven though I was now struggling to maintain any kind of thought, I was driven to answer,
‘Feeling you push into me, all of you, feeling you wet and warm on my body.’
Almost as soon I had typed the last word, my hand slipped down between my open thighs, as my fingers touched the quivering, wet lips I felt a deep shudder ripple through my whole body. I wanted him here, right here and now. Before he had a chance to answer, I typed again,
‘Fuck I am so wet for you right now.”
He replied immediately,
‘So hot now, pushing deep into you, feeling you arch up into me, make me feel you.’
I laid back slightly, opened my thighs and slid my fingers inside, I instantly felt the deep, wet, warmth of my body close around them. Somehow I balanced my phone, making it just possible to type, while grinding harder against my hand, but it wasn’t me, it was him. I knew it was him, I could almost feel his body around me. Through half-closed eyes, I could just see his message, it was short but exactly what I wanted to see,