Changing Perspectives

by Jen Silver

  †

  Deborah carried the two bags of groceries into the house. If Chris were home, she would enlist her help to bring in the bottles from the car. These were the supplies for her birthday barbecue, after all. Ever since her examination of their recent phone bill had revealed numerous calls to Camila’s home number, Deborah’s resentment about holding this party had been growing. Another number she didn’t know had appeared several times as well. With a quick check in the Yellow Pages, she found it belonged to Redmond, Camila’s employer.

  Chris put the phone down as Deborah reached the hallway.

  “Who was that?”

  “No one.”

  Deborah knew she’d caught her out in a lie from the way Chris’s eyes shifted away from the phone. Controlling the turmoil in her chest, she said calmly, “Good. Could you bring the drinks in from the car?”

  As she started to unpack the bags in the kitchen, her anger rose to the surface. What did she have to lose, after all, by asking the question?

  Chris placed the box of beer on the table and turned to go back out.

  “What’s going on, Chris?”

  “What do you mean?” Chris’s face was red and Deborah knew it wasn’t from the exertion of carrying a heavy box from the car.

  “I think, as I pay the phone bill, I have a right to know why you’ve been making so many calls to Camila. Is she your latest squeeze?” Deborah decided to keep up the pretense of not knowing about their earlier fling. Something to have in reserve.

  “I…no, of course not.”

  “So why all the calls? You’ll be seeing her on Friday.”

  “Well, I just wanted to know who she was bringing. She didn’t say, did she?”

  “No, she didn’t.” Deborah busied herself, sorting out the items that needed to go in the fridge from the ones she would store in the cupboard. She didn’t want Chris to see she was wound up. “Anyway, it’s about time she found someone else.” Plastering on a fake smile, she turned away from the sink to face her lover. “I’m pleased for her, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah, I am. Um, do you want the beer in the fridge now?”

  “I’ll sort it. But you could check to make sure we have enough charcoal for the barbecue. If we need more, I’ll pick some up after work tomorrow.”

  Chris nodded and hurried out of the room. Deborah let out the breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding and released her grip on the package of buns, now squashed out of shape. She could get through the next few days. But after the party, they would talk properly. Something had to give in their relationship. And so far she was the one doing all the giving.

  Why hadn’t she said something when she first figured out Chris had slept with Camila? Chris had told her it was someone she’d met at a bar, but Deborah recognised Camila’s brand of perfume lingering in Chris’s hair when she arrived home late that evening. She’d agreed to go along with an open relationship in the beginning, and the only rules she insisted on were very simple: no threesomes, no men, and no friends. No doubt Chris would wriggle out of that last one by saying Allison had been more of a friend, as Camila always faded into the background at dinner parties.

  Deborah had soon discovered that the life of a swinger wasn’t for her. Flirting with other women was fine, but she always balked at taking it any further. Was her own insecurity what kept her from telling Chris she wasn’t happy with the way things were? She had willingly believed Chris’s insistence that she loved her. That whatever she had with anyone else was only sex.

  She swiped away at her tears with a dishtowel. No point crying about it. Camila was bringing someone to the party. That would put an end to Chris’s obsession with the woman.

  †

  Camila was glad Carl was with her when they visited the shop. She would never have been able to make the purchase without his help.

  Settling back in her seat as the plane taxied out to the runway, she closed her eyes, thinking of the look on Dani’s face when she’d unveil this outfit.

  “Doesn’t take much imagination to know what you’re thinking.” Carl interrupted her vision.

  “Doesn’t it?”

  “Just remember, you need to have the attitude to go with it.”

  During the ride to the airport, Carl had outlined various scenes he and Eric played out. “Take a firm line with her,” he advised. “She will love it.”

  Now she turned to him and said, “How did I not know about you and Eric? Being gay, I mean. Not the other thing.”

  “We have had years of practice playing the part.”

  “Yes. I always thought you were involved with that woman you’ve brought to a few functions. What’s her name, Lisa, isn’t it?” Camila recalled a small woman with delicate features.

  “Ah, yes. Lisa. She has provided cover for me on occasion.”

  “I didn’t think she was your type when I met her.”

  “Oh, she’s my type all right. Sometimes does me favours of another kind when Eric’s away for any length of time. Something else Dani and I have in common.”

  Camila stared at him, absorbing the information. She recalled the cut on Dani’s cheek. What was it she had told her? A woman had hit her because she was thinking of Camila and wouldn’t do what she wanted the woman to do.

  “This Lisa…” She lowered her voice. “She’s a…?” Camila couldn’t bring herself to say the word.

  Carl smiled at her, the conspiratorial smile she was getting to know. “A Miss Whiplash, yes. But she generally only does women,” he said calmly.

  The cabin crew had returned to their seats, and the plane started its acceleration along the runway. As the wheels left the ground, Camila rested her head against the back of the seat and wondered at the revelations of the last few days. Her well-ordered life seemed like a distant memory.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Dani had managed to do some grocery shopping on her way home, stocking up on bread and milk. They could at least have coffee and toast in the morning. She also bought eggs in case Camila wanted something more substantial. Jan had also made the delivery she’d asked for earlier in the day. So she was fully stocked up with beer as well as tonics for Camila’s favourite drink.

  It was a beautiful sunlit evening; she considered taking her bike out for a run down to Kew and back, but she wasn’t sure when Camila would be arriving. As it was, she didn’t have long to wait. She was only on her first beer when the doorbell went.

  She smiled at the vision from her dreams who looked to be wearing just a mid-thigh Burberry coat and black stockings. A strange combination for a summer’s evening. Camila’s greeting knocked her back mentally, but it was the push on her chest that propelled her into the hallway.

  “You have a lot of explaining to do.”

  “Um, well….”

  “I’ve learned a lot over the weekend. About you and Carl and Eric…and Lisa.” She placed extra emphasis on the last name. “You are in a lot of trouble,” Camila continued, the stern look unwavering. “I want you to go to your room, remove your clothes, and lie face down on the bed.”

  Hardly daring to believe her dreams were coming true, Dani gulped and said, “Yes, ma’am.” She raced up the stairs, taking two at a time.

  †

  Taking in a few deep breaths, Camila dropped her overnight bag on the floor, removed her coat, and studied herself in the hall mirror. She certainly looked the part. With Carl’s help, she had found the perfect outfit with a tight-fitting bodice, laced at the front. She hadn’t worn a suspender belt since her late teens when her mother introduced her to wearing stockings. Getting into the costume had taken a bit of time as she tried to remember how it had looked on the mannequin in the shop. She had to think of it as a costume. Carl had told her this was role play. For it to work she had to be convincing.

  She had a few drinks on the plane and another stiff gin and tonic when she got home. Camila was trying hard to convince herself she could play this part.

  Dani was lying on the bed as instru
cted and had laid a cane by her side. Camila’s resolve faltered as she gazed at her lover’s long legs, leading to her perfect buttocks. Carl’s final words of advice came back to her. “You know what she wants, but think about what you want.”

  For Dani this was the ultimate turn-on. But was it going to do anything for her? There was only one way to find out.

  Picking up the cane, she marvelled at how thin it was. It flexed easily when she moved it through the air. Dani’s body twitched with the sound it made.

  Camila looked down at her again, at her tensed shoulders, arms wrapped around her pillow. “Is this what you really want?”

  “Yes, yes, please.” Dani’s voice was muffled by the pillow but there was no mistaking the raw need in her tone.

  Camila raised the cane to shoulder height and brought it down gently, laying a soft stroke across Dani’s butt. A slight twitch and a moan came from the bed.

  “Harder, please!”

  Camila took a deep breath. She could do this. If she couldn’t, Dani would go running back to that Lisa woman. But Dani wanted her to do this. Hadn’t she said she was thinking of Camila when Lisa was beating her? She raised the cane again and brought it down harder this time. She managed two more strokes before dropping to her knees by the bed. The cane slid out of her hand.

  “God, Dani. I can’t bear to hurt you like this.”

  Dani rolled onto her side and gazed at Camila. Tears were running down her face, but she looked stunning. Hard to believe this was the same prim woman she had first seen in a boardroom setting only a few weeks ago.

  “That was brilliant! Come here.” Dani scooted over to make room.

  Camila climbed onto the bed and lay down awkwardly next to her. Dani held her for a few minutes, feeling her breathing calm before saying, “Put your hand between my legs?” She smiled as her lover complied.

  “You’re so wet!”

  “I told you it turns me on. I was wet before you came upstairs. That outfit is amazing, by the way.” She kissed Camila softly on the lips, salty-tasting from the tears. “I’m so thrilled. You did this for me. Now, what can I do for you?” She kissed her again, with more forceful intent this time.

  After fumbling unsuccessfully with the laces on the front of the bodice, Dani gave up. “How do you get out of this thing?”

  Camila laughed. “With great difficulty. It took me twenty minutes to get it fastened properly.”

  “Roll onto your back.” Camila complied and Dani straddled her, sitting back to study the lacing. “Okay, I think I’ve got it.”

  With Camila’s torso finally free of the constraints of the garment, Dani bent down and took one of her breasts in her mouth, teasing the nipple with her tongue. She knew Camila loved this. The other nipple peaked to hardness under her probing fingers.

  †

  Dani watched Camila’s sleeping form as the first light of dawn crept into the room. Their lovemaking had reached another level of intensity, and a surge of happiness flooded through her with the memory of the caning. The strokes burned across her buttocks, and her body responded to the warmth of the woman’s breath on her shoulder.

  Camila’s eyes fluttered open and she grabbed hold of Dani’s arm.

  “I need you, inside me, now!”

  Dani quickly moved her hand between Camila’s legs. She was soaking wet.

  “Not just your fingers, something more.”

  “Okay. Don’t move.” Dani leapt off the bed and groped around in the top drawer of her dresser. She quickly strapped on the dildo and positioned herself between Camila’s legs. Guiding the tip of the dildo into the welcoming opening, Dani relished the pain rippling across her backside and gave herself to giving her lover what she so plainly desired.

  †

  As they showered together, Camila realised what she had done.

  “Dani! I’m so sorry, I didn’t think….”

  “What?”

  “The straps on the harness. That must have hurt even more.”

  “It did. And I loved it.” Dani pressed her against the wall and kissed her, letting the water cascade over her head and shoulders. “By the way, didn’t Eric say you could have the day off?”

  “Yes, but I’ve got too much to do.”

  “You could do it here. Set up your laptop.”

  “You don’t have a modem for an Internet connection, plus you would be too much of a distraction.”

  “Am I just a distraction?”

  “You’re a whole lot more, and you know it. Now I think you promised me breakfast.”

  †

  “Do you still want to go to the barbecue on Friday? I can cancel,” Camila said, watching Dani as she stood by the kitchen counter eating toast.

  “Yes, of course I want to go.”

  “I just thought you might be, you know…a bit sore.”

  “It will wear off. And at the moment it feels good.”

  “Does it really feel good?”

  Dani put her toast down. “Yes, I’m high as a kite. It’s better than any drug.”

  Camila came closer and gripped Dani’s waist firmly. “I don’t know if I can do that for you again.”

  “It doesn’t matter. What you did last night was amazing.” Dani put her arms around her and breathed in the intoxicating smell of her hair.

  “I’ve got to go.” Camila pulled back. “I’ll see you this evening. Unless you have other plans.”

  “No plans. Just you.”

  †

  After Camila left, Dani returned to the bedroom to get ready for work. She would be walking and taking the Tube. Sitting down for any length of time wasn’t really an option.

  She found a faded Pet Shop Boys T-shirt that smelt clean although she hadn’t worn it for some time. As it was shaping up to be a hot day, she located a pair of cutoffs that were long enough not to be too disreputable, although Gordon wouldn’t approve of them. But it didn’t matter what Gordon thought anymore, did it?

  Or did it? He wouldn’t be happy if he knew about her DBS work. What had started out as doing a few favours for a mate, turned into a lucrative little earner. Initially she figured what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. But if she came clean now, he would be more than a little upset.

  When she reached the street near the office, she decided to surprise the boys with coffee and bacon sandwiches. Declan was sitting at his desk when she arrived, but Gary’s chair was vacant.

  “Wow, thanks, boss.” Declan wrapped an eager hand around his sandwich.

  “You haven’t already had a full English?”

  “Nope. Only thing left this morning was a manky Weetabix that could be used as roadfill.” He shared a flat with two other young men, and their catering skills were about on a level with Dani’s.

  “So where is Gary?”

  Declan smirked. “Sniffing around Mr McKenzie’s new PA, I think.”

  “What? He’s hired another bimbo already?”

  “No. I mean, yes. He’s hired someone. But not a girl.”

  “Not a girl.” Dani leaned against the wall by Gary’s desk and took the lid off her coffee container. “So what is it?”

  “It’s a boy.”

  “Don’t make me smack you.”

  “Seriously. His name is Jeremy and he has a beard. Well, a goatee really, sort of. A bit of fuzz on his chin.”

  “Don’t take up copywriting, Declan.”

  “Oh, yeah, speaking of copywriting, Penny wants to see you.”

  “Fine, tell her to come along whenever she’s ready.”

  †

  Penny sighed inwardly when she saw Dani, knowing any audible sign of disapproval would only annoy her. But how could she disapprove? Dani was glowing, radiating happiness. There were the remains of a bacon roll on her desk and she was humming to herself standing at her drawing board, sketching what looked like a large dildo. As she closed the gap between them, she realised it was a tube of toothpaste.

  “You know what that looks like, don’t you?”

 
Dani turned towards her, beaming. “Good morning to you too.” She glanced back down at the board. “Yes, I see what you mean. Subliminal message.”

  “I don’t think anyone finds toothpaste remotely erotic.”

  “Why not? You put it in your mouth….”

  “And then you spit it out.”

  “Hey, catchy. That could work for your jingle.”

  “I’m not writing that!”

  “So what’s this? Social call?”

  Penny moved over to the window. Dani had the same view as she did from her office. Uninspiring.

  “Not really. There are a lot of rumours flying around. After Maria’s sudden exit on Monday, everyone’s on tenterhooks. But now Gordon’s hired someone else. And people just want to know what is happening.”

  “Maria had it coming. She was the worst PA I’ve ever seen. And everyone knows why she lasted this long.”

  “Dani! A straight answer would be nice.”

  “You want a straight answer from me?” Her teasing tone matched her sunny mood. Dressed in a grungy old T-shirt and faded cutoffs, Dani exuded sheer sexiness. It looked like something had happened with the mystery woman.

  “Yes.” Penny waited while Dani rearranged the pencils on the board.

  “The answer is nothing.”

  “Nothing?”

  “Nothing I can tell you. It’s in the hands of the solicitors at the moment.”

  “That’s not going to satisfy people who are going on holiday now. They will wonder if they have jobs to come back to.”

  “Are you the union rep?”

  “No, I’m only letting you know what they’re saying.”