The Summer of Aphrodite

by Viva Jones

  But still it wasn’t enough. To her astonishment, Anna discovered that James no longer served any purpose.

  The music outside suddenly stopped and there was a commotion from beyond the window. Richard pulled the curtain aside to see what was going on.

  Outside, Douglas, having showered and changed after his ride, was holding the stereo above his head and threatening to throw it into the pool.

  ‘Either you keep it off, or it drowns. Your choice,’ he said threateningly.

  What a commanding voice, Anna thought. And those muscles, how strong he was. And such confidence in himself, to tackle that appalling gang of yobs. Anna had always found him too full of himself, but at that moment she had only admiration.

  She carried on watching as Douglas said, ‘Right, you’ve made your decision,’ and with a triumphant cry, threw the machine into the pool with an enormous splash.

  ‘Oh my God,’ Anna cried breathlessly. ‘I can’t believe he did that.’

  ‘Neither can they,’ Richard said, touching her again.

  Before Anna knew it, Douglas was transported into the kitchen instead of James. He was hitching up her skirt and pulling her knickers aside, staring at her most intimate parts as if they were a painting he didn’t like much. Douglas! Oh God, Anna thought, why him? She tried to block him out of her mind, but then the feelings she’d been enjoying started to fade too. So instead, Douglas returned, his lips pressing against hers, his fingers tormenting her. Every now and then he’d pull back, as if to study her most private of places, and before she could understand what was happening Anna was writhing in orgasmic pleasure beneath her husband, which then brought him to a climax, and they lay there, panting, in a tangle of oily limbs and sweat-soaked sheets.

  ‘He got away with it,’ Richard said after a few minutes. ‘I thought they might turn on him, but I think he’s got away with it.’

  ‘Good for him,’ Anna said between breaths. She was still somewhat in shock. Douglas? What had she been thinking of? She felt humiliated, demeaned and dirty.

  And it was wonderful.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  ‘How could you?’ Ginnie snapped in exasperation. ‘How could you let those thugs rent that house out?’

  ‘I wasn’t to know what they’re like. And at the end of the day, it’s someone else who takes the bookings, not me, I’m just given a list of names and dates.’

  Tanya was driving Ginnie to Nicosia for their presentation.

  ‘Aren’t there any rules in this complex?’ Ginnie went on. ‘Most of us have paid for our houses, you know. We have a right to privacy and quiet. You can’t just let any old hoodlum in to wreck everything.’

  ‘Yes, I KNOW you’ve paid for your houses,’ Tanya snapped back. ‘Look, I’m sorry. We weren’t to know. You can’t anticipate people like that, basically, you can hardly vet them in advance, can you? What was I supposed to do, request photos and a list of their musical preferences?’

  When Ginnie said nothing, she went on. ‘Can’t we just focus on this meeting? It’s important to both of us, isn’t it?’

  Tanya was wound up enough as it was. In the cold light of day, having been eaten as a dessert didn’t seem so funny any more. What if she were to meet one of those men through her job? What if one were to give her away? She’d be tarnished for ever. It was one thing to shag a rich Arab, Tanya reasoned, but quite another to perform a sex act in front of a group of strangers.

  Ginnie sighed. ‘Look, we’ve run through it all before, and we both know what we’re going to say. We’ve answered the trickiest questions we could think of and our presentation’s been spell-checked and nicely bound. So there’s nothing to worry about.’

  Ginnie, who was actually very nervous, was pleased for the distraction of their row. ‘Tanya, I didn’t mean to blame you, but everyone’s been complaining. Douglas even threw their hi-fi into the pool, he was that angry. It’s been very fraught.’

  ‘I don’t know what I can do, at the end of the day. I spoke to them last night and told them they’d be barred if they didn’t behave. I don’t know what else I can do.’

  ‘I swear I heard two of them bonking last night,’ Ginnie added.

  Tanya turned to her. ‘You don’t expect me to tell them to stop that now, do you?’

  At that, they both burst into giggles.

  ***

  ‘Could I get more of that massage oil, if it’s not too much trouble?’ Anna asked Nathalie as they lay strewn across her bed.

  ‘You’ve finished it already?’ Nathalie rolled over onto her stomach, intrigued.

  ‘Richard’s clumsy, he keeps spilling it. But yes. We’ve been massaging each other, and it seems to be working wonders!’ She wanted Nathalie to feel jealous, she wanted to cause a stab of pain.

  ‘You’re having sex?’

  ‘God, yes. He seems to be getting the hang of it again.’

  ‘That’s wonderful! Of course I’ll make you some more.’

  ‘You’re sure it doesn’t bother you?’ Anna tried to make this sound casual.

  ‘Anna, we’ve had this conversation,’ Nathalie said, getting up and pulling on a robe. ‘We both agreed at the outset that you want your marriage to work. Of course it doesn’t bother me.’

  ‘I just hate to think of you alone while I’m having full bodily contact with my husband, that’s all.’

  Nathalie smiled. If she only knew. ‘I’ll go and mix those oils for you.’

  Minutes later Anna, wrapped in a sheet, joined her in the spare room, and began opening bottles and smelling their contents as Nathalie worked.

  ‘Has anyone ever had any strange reactions to your potions?’ she asked.

  ‘Reactions? Like allergies?’

  ‘No, more, you know, drifting off, into their imaginations, and then being surprised at what they discover.’

  Nathalie smiled curiously. ‘I don’t know about that, but your imagination is just that. It’s nothing harmful.’

  ‘But isn’t it terribly self-revealing? Doesn’t it say a lot about the person you are?’

  Nathalie shrugged. ‘Maybe.’ She inhaled the scent, checking the quantities she was adding. ‘So what fantasies have you been having then?’

  ‘Well, when Richard’s massaging me, I can hardly think about you, can I? The feeling’s all wrong, his hands are so different. So I turn to men. A client of mine, years ago, a complete bastard, a bit sadistic if you ask me, he popped into my head the other day. And I really got off on the idea of him fucking me, and sort of abusing me at the same time. It’s debasing, it goes against all my feminist principles, but God, it was such a turn-on.’

  Nathalie shook the oil bottle to combine the liquids. ‘It’s just a fantasy, I wouldn’t worry about it.’

  ‘And then the other day, when there was that big row outside, my imaginary figure turned into Douglas.’

  Nathalie burst out laughing. ‘You had sexual fantasies about Douglas?’

  ‘I know! I’m so ashamed.’ Anna laughed. ‘I don’t want to fuck him.’

  ‘I don’t think any of it matters. When you’re in the moment, anything can make sense. You do things you’d never think of doing ordinarily. That’s what sex is all about, getting carried away, escapism. Look at all the people who get off on role playing, or sado-masochism, or bondage. None of it makes any sense in the cold light of day. Your fantasies are pretty harmless in the big scheme of things.’ She held out the bottle for Anna to sniff.

  ‘That’s it, perfect. I’m getting addicted to that smell.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I’m glad you see things that way.’ She wondered how much to divulge. ‘I still fantasise about us, sometimes. You and me in a threesome with Richard.’

  ‘Do you now?’

  ‘He’s fucking you and I’m watching. I watch his cock slide in and out of you
. I watch you give him head. I watch him licking you. I suck his cock after it’s been inside you.’

  Nathalie handed her the bottle. ‘They’re just fantasies.’

  ‘They turn me on.’

  ‘That’s what fantasies are supposed to do. The reality, however, might be quite different.’ She stopped suddenly. ‘What was that?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I thought I heard a shout. It sounded like Richard.’

  ‘Oh, Christ no!’ Anna hid behind the curtain and peered out of the window to see her husband below, peering into the sitting room window, calling her name. ‘What’s he doing back so early?’

  ‘Get dressed and open the door to him and give me that bottle. That’s what you came round for, remember?’

  Anna did as she suggested, rushing down the stairs and out of Nathalie’s house, where Richard was hovering. ‘Richard? You’re back early.’

  ‘I know, I sloped off, pretending to have an appointment. Your car was here but you weren’t at home. I guessed you might be here. I’ve got some fantastic news.’ He took her by the arm and led her to the doorway of their own house. ‘I just got an phone call from one of the directors. They want to discuss a move to Singapore. A promotion, pay rise. A more exciting place to live. We’re going to speak again tomorrow, but I get the impression it’s pretty much decided.’

  ‘Singapore? Oh, God, Richard, that’s amazing.’

  ‘A proper city, proper expat life for you, and of course it’s terribly child-friendly. We could have that baby. Those babies. What do you think?’

  ‘I don’t know what to say. It’s amazing!’

  ‘I thought we might celebrate. I know it’s a bit early as nothing’s really been settled, but why don’t we go out tonight? Have something decent?’

  ‘I’d love that.’

  As Nathalie appeared, Anna threw her arms around her husband’s neck, fighting back the tears that were both of joy and fear.

  ‘Everything OK? I made up the oil you asked for, here it is.’

  ‘Thanks. I don’t know if we can tell anyone yet.’ She turned to Richard.

  ‘A possible transfer. Nothing fixed yet, so please keep it entre nous.’

  ‘Of course, and congratulations. How exciting! I’ll miss you both, though.’

  Anna looked at her lover, and felt utterly torn. She turned to her husband, who suddenly seemed taller and more confident, and gave him a hug.

  ‘Think I’ll go for a swim,’ Richard said. ‘Why don’t you join me?’

  ‘I’d love to,’ Anna told him.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  ‘Come on, come on Gracie, you know I’m a friend, come on girl, have some supper.’ It had taken a while, but gradually Ginnie was winning over the pregnant - but in Ginnie’s eyes graceful nevertheless - cat over. She would come up to the door now, and Ginnie could actually stroke her as she ate.

  The box stood, upended, behind the door. Ginnie felt like an action hero, waiting to choose her moment. She’d let the girl finish eating, of course, but at some point during the post-meal cleaning session she’d have to pounce. She’d hung on for too long in the past, and Gracie had dashed off, as if sensing her potential entrapment. Ginnie braced herself. She was in a lose-lose situation. Get it wrong, and she’d lose the cat’s trust and have to work even harder to win it back; get it right, and she’d only feel guilty about the poor love being trapped inside a box all night. But do it she must, and then in the morning she’d take her round to Tiggles.

  Her pulse racing, Ginnie manoeuvred herself into position and pounced, her soothing stroke becoming a lunge as she grabbed at the cat’s scruff. Grace resisted at first but then went as limp as a kitten in its mother’s mouth, and swiftly Ginnie carried her to the waiting box and deposited her inside. She closed it and gently turned it the right way up, saying soothing things as she did so: ‘It’s for your own good, love. The vet will give you the once-over, you’ll be able to have your kittens in peace and then we’ll find nice homes for them all. And then you’ll have a little op and never have kittens again. We’ll find you a nice home, oh yes we will, and you’ll be very happy there.’

  ‘First sign of madness.’

  Ginnie turned to find Tanya standing there

  ‘Tanya, meet Grace. I’ve been trying to get hold of her for ages.’

  The cat started complaining, a terrible wailing sound that seemed to come straight from its stomach.

  ‘She’s a bit tubby, isn’t she?’

  ‘Pregnant. And she’s barely a kitten herself.’

  Tanya tried to look interested but was too full of her own good news. It was news that vindicated her, news that confirmed that no-one she knew had been at that party. ‘I’ve come to tell you something,’ she started excitedly. ‘Odyssey! They went for it!’

  Ginnie got up from beside the cat, a look of excitement and disbelief on her face. ‘What?’

  ‘They went for it! They think it’s a brilliant idea! They’ve got a charity budget, though they normally break it up into different events. But they can see this as being a great PR opportunity. Apparently the big boss has got loads of strays where he lives, and basically he thinks they’re a right pain.’

  ‘So they’re going to do everything, the vets’ fees, the poster campaign, everything?’

  ‘Everything. And in September they’re holding this big party at Odyssey Villas for the laying of the first foundation stone. Very prestigious, VIPs only, that sort of thing. So that’s where they want to announce the partnership!’

  ‘Oh my God,’ shrieked Ginnie. ‘We did it! We did it!’

  Unable to contain themselves, the two women leapt in the air, hugging each other. As Tanya laughed, the tears came out too, and she let them flow, imagining that this was her shame leaving her. She’d been a bit stupid and a bit greedy, she realised, but she’d just accomplished something that really mattered, and because of this, could now put her acts of the recent past behind her, and start again.

  ***

  ‘Had any ideas for your birthday?’ Anna asked Richard that night. She’d spent a futile day rereading much of her work, and finding it about as gripping as a cereal packet. For all her early enthusiasm, nothing seemed to work. The characters didn’t feel real, the pace was stagnant and she’d found little incentive to turn from one page to another. So she’d concentrated on Richard’s birthday party instead, co-ordinating travel arrangements and accommodation with his friends.

  ‘My birthday? Oh, God, no. Let’s do something quiet, eh? Just the two of us,’ Richard said. He never did like a fuss, though Anna was sure he’d secretly be thrilled at all the attention he was going to get. And as for Anna, she suddenly needed to have people around her. She was almost afraid to be alone with him, to make love with him, and afraid of the depths to which her sub-conscious might sink again. Douglas? What had she been thinking? She couldn’t stand the man. And yet there he was, everything her husband wasn’t, haunting her from somewhere deep inside.

  ‘Just the two of us,’ Richard repeated, kissing the nape of her neck. ‘Making babies the whole time.’

  She let his mouth brush against her and then swept her head back to meet him for a kiss. She did love her husband, Anna kept telling herself. She really did. And they would have a baby, and it would be a beautiful and happy event and it would bring them even closer together. But still she felt so guilty. When she wasn’t fantasising about a threesome, she fantasised about Douglas? Douglas? Why him, of all people?

  ‘How about a massage,’ Richard suggested, tearing off his shirt. ‘You look a bit tense.’

  ‘I’m just tired,’ Anna told him. ‘I’ve got to a point in the book where I no longer know where it’s going or what I’m doing it for. I’m not a writer, Richard. I want to be, but I’m just not.’

  ‘There, there,’ her hus
band said, pulling off her top. ‘So forget about writing, there’s no money in it, anyway. Concentrate on being a yummy mummy instead.’

  Anna let him remove all her clothes, and then groaned with pleasure as the oil trickled across her back, and he started massaging, deep into her tissue, soothing her.

  ‘We’re not going to be here forever, you know,’ he whispered. ‘I know the wait’s hard to deal with, these things take time I suppose, but I’m pretty sure that Singapore will come through.’

  ‘Oh Richard.’ Anna tried not to cry. Where was all this emotion coming from? Perhaps it was her cycle; perhaps today was the day she’d actually conceive? She let him stroke her all over, arching her back a little to encourage him to go further. But as he did, she felt nothing. She tried to think of love and babies and kisses and squeaky toys - but they were hardly sexy. She tried to think of luxurious beds in extravagant apartments the world over, but found they were just a distraction. And she tried to think of Nathalie joining them, stealing her husband’s attention, pulling Richard in for a kiss while one hand groped for his stiffening cock. She watched as Nathalie sucked his cock, but still she felt nothing. There was only one way her body wanted her mind to go.

  So eventually Douglas appeared, examining her in that demeaning way of his. Now he was an artist, painting her in the nude. ‘Open your legs wider’ he barked at her at her while frowning at his palette, before throwing it down in exasperation and positioning her, roughly, as he wanted. Then he bent down to press his lips against hers, tickling her clit with his tongue and thrusting two fingers in her cunt, and the second he did so, Anna felt that warm rush from deep within, coming suddenly, holding on to her husband tight.

  Panting heavily, Richard came and collapsed beside her, feeling an overwhelming sense of contentment. They’d had their ups and downs - more downs than ups, if he was honest with himself - but they were over them, and could look ahead. Theirs was a bright future - Singapore, travel, lovely kids, a happy life. Now that even that memory was receding he could enjoy their love-making again. He turned to watch Anna slumber in her post-orgasmic haze. They were over the worst, and stronger than ever. And one thing was certain, he thought happily. He knew how to satisfy his wife.