It Started at Sunset Cottage

by Bella Osborne

  “Pants,” she said.

  “What’s wrong? What’s pants?” Andy briefly pulled away to check Sarah was still happy with where this was heading.

  “Mine are still on,” they both glanced downwards.

  “Okay, let’s take them off together,” suggested Andy and they both quickly removed them and had a quick look at each other. Both sets of eyebrows raised in unison. What happened next was a bit of a blur but they remained kneeling and Andy set the rhythm – slow at first and then building pace. Sarah could hear someone half-shouting and half-screaming, but it was a good sound. Oh crap, she thought when at last she realised it was her doing the screaming. When it happened, she thought her whole body had sneezed, and when she thought she could take no more she felt Andy tense and she knew he was there too. She held onto him tight, sobbing uncontrollably.

  “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Andy was breathless, but the worry in his voice was clear.

  “Never better,” she spluttered through the sobs and the giggles that were now taking over. Andy’s strong and slightly sweaty arms were still holding her tightly.

  “Sarah, please tell me. What’s wrong?” Sarah wiped her face and caught a glimpse of her mascara-strewn face in the mirror. Oh God! He’ll think he’s shagged Alice Cooper.

  “Nothing is wrong,” she said at last, “everything is right. You’re a sex god with a magic penis!” she exclaimed, as she playfully thumped his shoulder.

  “Who knew?” he grinned. They lay there, arms and legs entwined, Sarah still feeling mini sneezes as she wrapped her legs around Andy’s thigh in a vice-like grip. “We used to have a poodle like you,” he laughed as he gently ran his fingers down her back.

  “Shut up or I’ll make you do it all over again.”

  “My pleasure,” Andy said pretending to sit up.

  “No, I need to sleep and dream about it,” she said, giving his leg another squeeze with her thighs.

  “Night, Sarah.” He kissed the top of her head.

  Chapter 27

  “Come on, Amy!” called Kate as she put on her sandals, “I’ve got a train to catch.”

  “Sorry, I just need to get…”

  “Time’s up,” Kate said as she gently steered Amy out of the front door, answering her phone as she went.

  “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty! I got your text. Thank goodness it wasn’t an email, it would have been impounded for crudeness!”

  “Are you taking Amy to school?” asked Sarah.

  “Yes, Ma’am, I’m on the way now. I’m dropping her in early as I need to get the train to Bath.”

  “Kate, I forgot. I’m so sorry!”

  “It’s not a problem. Well, maybe it’s a bit of a problem, but I love you and you owe me big-style.”

  “Talking of big-style, I must tell you about last night.”

  “Yes, but not now, I need to be driving,” she said, doing up her seatbelt with great difficulty. “I’m coming home tonight. I’m sick of hotels, so you can tell me then,” and she switched off the phone. Amy was a “Stepford child” and happily went into school to join the breakfast club without a word of protest, waving Kate off with a big smile. Kate was just pulling into the traffic as she saw Andy’s van go in the opposite direction. She waved and hooted, but he was looking quite grim and didn’t respond. That’s the effect of not having enough sleep, she thought.

  Bath was a bit grey, which Che was very unhappy about, but was stopping short of blaming anyone in particular. There was a mix of inside and outside scenes planned that week, but the weather said that today was indoors-only. Tim, wisely, was keeping out of Lumina’s way and had brought Didi with him for protection.

  Lumina did look every inch the tragic actress – she was not looking her sleek, slender self, but gaunt and scrawny, which was not a great look. She was wearing a belly top and leggings with heels, which only served to highlight the lack of meat on very prominent bones. Her face was sour, her lips narrow and her skin was so smooth it looked as if she’d been airbrushed. Kate thought her sunglasses were growing of their own accord, as these ones were bordering on the ridiculous; they covered half her forehead and most of her cheeks. Either that or her head was shrinking. Lumina avoided eye contact and stalked past.

  Didi, on the other hand, was wearing a comfy-looking pair of jeans with sensible but stylish white ballet pumps, a white t-shirt under an open, orange shirt. There was a little extra padding visible around her middle, but it suited her and for seventy she was looking trim. Didi had plenty of wrinkles around her eyes, but they were barely noticeable when her face lit up with her usual smile as she waved enthusiastically at the sight of Kate.

  “Kate, my dear, you really must come and see my lovely new flat, it’s amazing!”

  “I’d love to Didi. We’ll have to work something out.”

  “I could cook my famous beef casserole for you and Tim; he only lives upstairs.”

  “Upstairs? I thought he lived in hotels.”

  “So did I, but apparently he owns the penthouse suite in the same block of flats.”

  “Block of flats?” Kate smiled to herself. She suspected that Didi’s description might be a little less glamorous than the reality, and most likely not the same way that the other residents referred to them.

  “Yes, it’s a big block. Much bigger than where I used to live, but the lifts are so fast they make your tummy tumble over. I rather like that feeling.”

  “Here you are,” Marcus said, looking out of puff. “There’s some dialogue I need you to look at for the bar scenes. Are you free now?”

  “Yes, no problem. Bye, Didi.”

  The day went by like so many others, in a whirl of scenes and conversations about scenes, changes, and changes back to how they were originally. Che shouted at Lumina, Lumina cried. Lumina shouted at Tim and Horse yapped. It was all a bit familiar. Thankfully, Kate was soon back in her own house, tired but happy and very keen to catch up on the gossip with Sarah.

  “So how was your day?”

  “Breakfast in bed, then minding the shop on my own, picking Amy up from school and taking her to Freya’s for a sleepover,” Sarah said in a rush. “Now can we talk about last night? The sex! Oh. My. God!”

  “First things first, tea or wine?” Kate pointed to the kettle and the wine rack in turn,

  “I had enough wine to drown a blue whale last night and this morning my mouth felt like I’d spent the evening licking the chalk off the white cliffs of Dover, so I’ll have a coffee please. Now, can I tell you?” Kate was tempted to make Sarah wait until she’d told her about her day first, but that would just be cruel and she didn’t have any excitement to impart anyway. Tim had gone all aloof again, so no change there.

  “When we’re sitting down in the living room.”

  “Okay,” Sarah said like a recalcitrant teenager. “It was quite frankly the laziest sex I’ve ever had. Not the usual wham, bam, fart, snore, which was Shaun, in case you were wondering. Sex is my new favourite pastime and, best of all, it’s completely free!”

  Kate carried the mugs through and they settled themselves at either end of the biggest sofa. Kate got herself comfortable as she expected this was going to take a while. Sarah started at the beginning and took her through the three-course meal in detail and then through the three courses of sex, in equally meticulous detail.

  “I still had my eyes closed, so then he said are you ready? And I said for what? And he said… Are you even listening to me?” Sarah’s tone startled Kate out of her trance. Her palms were damp and clammy and she felt almost faint as she gripped her tea, her knuckles white with the pressure. She looked at Sarah, whose face was alight and alive, radiating pure happiness.

  “Yes, I’m listening… dessert,” she said, meeting Sarah’s gaze.

  “Yes, dessert, good guess,” said Sarah.

  “Not a good guess, I know what comes next.”

  “Have you slept with Andy?” Sarah blurted out, almost in a shout.

  “No, I have not!
” Kate’s reply was equally vehement.

  “Then how? Read the same book? Seen the same film?” Sarah’s speech had speeded up. Kate paused to give them both a chance to catch their breath.

  “James,” Kate said, “I had sex with James. That was what we did. You’ve just described in meticulous detail,” Kate repeated the words for emphasis, “meticulous detail, what we used to do and exactly how we used to do it.”

  “Okay, so what happens next, then, if this is now your sex story?” said Sarah huffily, folding her arms. Kate sighed. If she wanted proof, then here it was.

  “Okay. Then you turned around, opened your eyes. You both took off your underwear. You kissed some more, then he took hold of your backside and lifted you onto his…”

  “Stop. I believe you.” Sarah waved her to stop.

  “Sorry,” Kate said quietly, before taking a sip of her now-cold tea. Sarah shrugged.

  “Bloody hell, you must miss sex if it was always like that.” She gave a brief smile, which disappeared quickly.

  “We did other stuff,” Kate blushed at the memories, “but what you just described, so vividly, was what we called our ‘standard recipe’. We spent a lot of Sundays perfecting it.”

  “Sorry.” It was Sarah’s turn to feel bad, as if she’d stolen something and been found out.

  “So the question is…” Kate paused.

  “How the hell did Andy know about it in such detail? Did you ever film yourselves?”

  “Sod off! Of course we didn’t.”

  “Don’t be so alarmed, I quite like the idea,” winked Sarah. “So, are you going to tackle Andy or should I?”

  “Together,” said Kate, leaning forward to squeeze Sarah’s hand.

  “We could go over there now. He should be back from Cambridge by now.”

  “Cambridge?”

  “Yep, he left early. He’s been there all day.”

  “That’s odd. I saw him when I dropped Amy at school.”

  “But you couldn’t have. He wouldn’t have gone anywhere near there…” Sarah sat up “I think we have a few questions to ask Andy. Come on.” After a bit of a debate, which Kate eventually won, they decided to call Andy first rather than just storm over there. Andy answered on the first ring, but sounded agitated.

  “Sarah, is it urgent? Is something wrong?”

  “No, but Kate and I need to see you about something quite important,” she heard a muffled voice in the background. “Is there someone there?”

  “Yeah, they’re just leaving.”

  “Is it a woman?” Sarah hated herself, but she couldn’t help it. She had just found out that one of her best mates was shit-hot in bed, about to become her boyfriend, and now within 24 hours it was all starting to unravel.

  “Er, yes, but she’s just a friend.”

  “I thought it might be a customer about a quote,” Sarah voiced the straw she’d just clutched at and had had wrenched away. There was a pause whilst Andy most likely thought through that that would have been a far better line to go with. There was an almighty slam of a door, “I take it your friend’s gone now.”

  “Er, yeah, you can come over or shall I come to you? I need to go out in about an hour anyway.”

  “Okay, we’ll see you soon, then,” and she switched off the phone and ran upstairs to make herself look fabulous, because if she was going to have to dump him for being a two- timing dogging pervert, she wanted him to know what he was losing.

  As the song went, Andy was “A Whiter Shade Of Pale”. Fight-or-flight adrenalin had kicked in, but his brain couldn’t make a decision between the two, so he just stared at the two women, who in return where glaring back at him from the other side of the kitchen table.

  “Say something, Andy,” Kate said softly.

  “Yes, for Christ’s sake, say something!” added Sarah crossly.

  “We deserve an explanation. I like what you’ve done to your hair, by the way.”

  “It’s gel. Someone recommended it,” he said. Hair questions he could answer easily. Why having sex with him was exactly the same as sex with James was a bit trickier. “Where’s Amy?”

  “Sleepover,” Sarah said bluntly.

  “Just tell the truth, Andy,” urged Kate.

  He ran a shaky hand through his uncharacte‌ristically styled hair and it instantly reverted to his usual tousled look.

  “I’m rubbish with women, with sex actually. The whole thing: it bothers me. I worry about… you know, hurting people. I’m a big bloke,” his cheeks coloured and Sarah felt hers do the same.

  “But you’re not rubbish,” offered Sarah.

  “But I was until I asked for help.” There was a long pause, during which Andy sighed a lot, “I asked James for help.”

  “He would never have told you what we did,” Kate snapped. “That was way too personal. He just wouldn’t.”

  “Kate, I’m sorry. He was always saying how amazing it was for you two.” Andy looked down at the table, the embarrassment and guilt coming over him in waves, “I had to badger him before he’d tell me anything. Then one Sunday he came over.” Sarah and Kate exchanged knowing looks, but Andy was oblivious and carried on. “He turned up at my old place. He had no socks on, his hair was a mess and he had a grin that stretched to Scotland and he had this way about him. He looked like the happiest man alive.” Kate took a sharp intake of breath. She could picture James. Sarah reached out and put her arm around her shoulder.

  “Go on, carry on, I’m fine,” said Kate.

  “He just went on about how brilliant you were, and the sex, and I asked him why, what was so different? He said it was because you were in tune with each other and that he’d only tell me once and I must never breathe a word to another living soul.” Andy paused and looked upwards. “Sorry, James.”

  “So he just spilled his guts and gave you all the intimate details of their sex life and you did what, just memorised them?” Sarah was shaking her head.

  “I wrote it all down after he’d left and I kind of read it a lot, but I never used it before last night. I was waiting.”

  “For a publisher?” Sarah snapped.

  “For someone I truly loved, heart and soul.”

  “So that would be me?” Sarah’s tone softened. Andy nodded shyly, “It’s me! He loves me!” Sarah thumped Kate on the arm in her excitement and then saw her expression and tempered her enthusiasm.

  “I can’t believe James told you. Andy, it’s not your fault that he told you.”

  “I’m still sorry. I just never thought you would find out.”

  “Yeah ‘cause we never tell each other anything!” laughed Sarah. “I had the best time ever and my first…” Sarah whistled.

  “Seriously?” queried Kate.

  “Yep, first time ever.”

  “You know, I think I should be making tracks,” said Andy looking very uncomfortable, but at the same time a little proud. “You sure you’re okay, Kate?”

  “Yes, just make some amendments next time. You know, make up a new recipe, okay?”

  “Sounds like my sort of challenge,” Sarah said, going around to Andy’s side of the table.

  “And wherever it’s written down, please burn it!”

  “I will, I can remember every detail of last night, so I don’t need it any more,” he said, grinning down at Sarah and kissing her.

  “Get a room!” Kate said throwing a tea towel at them.

  “Sure you’re okay?” said Andy again.

  “Come on, Kate’s fine.” Sarah turned to Kate, “You knew James wasn’t completely perfect, right?” Andy flinched and shot a warning look at Sarah. Kate looked at the guilty-looking pair, but Sarah quickly bustled Andy out of the house.

  “I know he wasn’t perfect, but when someone dies young like James did, suddenly everyone thinks they were. And there is absolutely no way you can ever say anything a fraction derogatory about them,” said Kate, voicing how she’d felt for two years. “I just mean he was fallible, like the rest of us.” Sarah fidgeted
about and picked up her coat.

  “I think I’ll go after Andy.”

  “But you don’t know where he’s gone.”

  “No, but when he said the nice stuff, I forgot to ask about the bloody woman he had there. I need to know what that was all about. I’m sure it’s nothing, but I want to check,” and she left, too.

  Kate looked around the empty kitchen. It had been an odd day, thought Kate, finding out that the most private moments of your sex life had been shared. But hearing Sarah describe it perfectly, step by step, had Kate remembering what it had been like. It had been sensual, and so much fun, and she missed it. She pondered over whether she’d ever feel like that again. Possibly not, but perhaps there could be something similar, one day, with someone else.

  Kate opened a bottle of wine and sat and thought about those Sundays. She was pleased that she didn’t feel sad; they were good memories and she was grateful to James for them. She sat there after quite a while and thought to herself, So here I am lonely, slightly drunk and really quite horny – bugger! She thought through her options:

  Option 1 – a cold shower.

  Option 2 – drink self into oblivion and a deep sleep.

  Option 3 – As Sarah would say – a damn good shag.

  This made her laugh out loud as it was so unlikely. Marmalade sprang awake as if she’d just been electrocuted and, realising there was no danger, covered her eyes with her tail and went back to sleep. Kate took a sip of wine and thought over Option 3 again. It was an interesting thought. In her current situation, where would she go for Option 3 if she was so inclined? Not that she was saying she was, of course, it was just a bit of fun. Kate lay back on the sofa and closed her eyes to help her think.

  Who would be on her shortlist? It took a moment to conjure up Andy and then instantly dismiss him. Maybe before he and Sarah had got together he might have been an option. He had been such a good friend, he would probably have done it as a favour, but it would have been complicated and a little bit like incest.

  Okay, so who was kind and liked to do favours? Marcus sprang to mind and her face contorted. Definitely a “no”. That would be like sleeping with another relative and he was married, so definitely off the list. She thought of, and crossed off, another two married men. There was always the man at the corner shop, but she was fairly certain he was gay, so he was out too.