Her grin was ear to ear. “Yes, thank you. We’ll be upstairs. Don’t come a knockin’.”
“What was that all about?” Scott asked when we heard their footsteps traipse up the stairs towards the bedrooms and disappear.
“Kate was complaining the other day about how we never kiss or anything when everyone else is around, that’s all.”
“Like they do, you mean? I think there’s a hell of a lot more going on with those two than they’re admitting.”
“I think you’re right. This is the first time I’ve seen Kate stay with someone for longer than a couple of weeks."
“I think Nathan’s pretty smitten. We hardly ever see him nowadays.” He pursed his lips. “Anyway, as far as you and I are concerned, I didn’t think you’d find it appropriate for me to kiss you in public, given the nature of our relationship. I don’t have a problem with it, though, if that’s what you think.” He pulled me closer to him and placed his soft lips on mine, our faces both damp from the steam and our lips salty from the resultant sweat. I closed my eyes as his mouth explored mine and imagined what it would be like if we were here in this romantically candlelit bathroom, in the warm, scented bubbles, as a real couple. Kate and Nathan wouldn’t be upstairs doing... well, it was easy to guess what they were doing. Scott and I would be dying to have sex—which was pretty much the case right now—but we wouldn’t be ‘having sex’; we’d be ‘making love’. He would whisper sweet words to me; perhaps even have brought me here to ask me to... STOP! Geez! What the hell was I doing? I pulled away from the kiss as gently as I could, despite the shock of letting my imagination go way, way too far. I guess I did like him more than I was willing to admit. At least I hadn't picked out names for our kids.
“Are you okay?” He looked concerned. I guess I didn’t break away gently enough.
“Yeah, just a little dizzy,” I lied. I didn’t look him in the eye as I reached for my glass of wine and took a sip as a means of both distracting myself from and covering up my embarrassment.
“Wow, I didn’t realise my kisses could do that,” Scott quipped. “Maybe we should get out. It is a bit hot in here. Can I get you some water? It would be better than alcohol.”
I nodded to keep up my pretense and told myself that a harmless little bit of fantasy never hurt anyone. It was his fault anyway for being so nice and sexy, and he wasn’t doing himself any favours now by being so sweet and caring. I blew out the candles as he went to fetch a glass of water. Wrapping a towel around myself, I wandered into the living room, which was softly lit by a single lamp and still warm due to the smouldering fireplace.
“Stay here, in front of the fire,” Scott instructed, handing me the glass of icy cold water. He then headed up the stairs. “I’ll be right back.”
When he returned, he carried two pillows, a blanket, and a doona from the spare bedroom. He laid them all down as a makeshift bed in front of the fire. “I thought it might be nice to stay down here tonight.” He lifted up a corner of the doona. I pulled off the remainder of my wet clothing and quickly wiped myself dry before diving in next to him.
“I brought something else with me.” He rummaged through his overnight bag and took out a couple of joints. “I'm not sure if you're interested, I'll only do it if you want to.”
I snuggled down next to him and took one out of his hand. “Let's share this,” I said as he presented a lighter. “You can go first.”
He brought the joint to his lips and then hesitated before carefully laying it beside him. He leaned over me and planted a kiss on my neck. “There's something I want to do first,” he murmured, running his hand along my bare stomach, "and we're already naked." I turned towards him, rolling onto my side, and he met my lips, his fingers trailing farther down. I held my breath, knowing what was about to come.
“I won't be any good to you if we smoke fir—, oh hello.” He exhaled sharply as he discovered the smooth skinned result of my recent brazilian wax.
***
“I can't believe it's been a week and a half since we were together last,” he muttered when we had broken apart and were lying back on our elbows, out of breath. “Let's not go that long again.” He lit up the joint, took a long drag, and handed it to me.
“Haven't you got a little black book you can consult in times of need, when you're Abby-less?” I heard Tanya in my head. ‘He’s got a smorgasbord!’
“At the moment, the only other person I'm with is my hand.” He traced little circles around my navel with his index finger.
“I’m sure.” I snorted, taking a drag and trying not to cough.
“I did I guess, especially after I broke up with Bianca.” He opened up a bit more when he was inebriated; I had to remember that.
“So you slept around a bit?”
“Not as much as your cousin, but yeah, a bit... but now, as I said, it’s you or my hand at the moment.” He stopped my further questioning with one of his own, “So, do you touch yourself when I'm not around?”
I giggled, partly from the dope, which was affecting me fairly quickly, and partly at my timidness to answer the question. ”I haven't needed to since I started sleeping with you.” That should have been a nice boost to his ego.
“But have you done it?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“Girls don't normally admit it.” He took another long drag and handed it back to me. Back and forth we went.
“Probably goes back to the idea that girls aren’t supposed to enjoy sex, so shouldn’t admit to things like that.”
“Who said that girls shouldn’t like sex?”
“I don’t know. Some stupid, patriarchal, controlling society. Religion maybe.” I wasn’t really sure, but it sounded like a reasonably intelligent answer.
“What about you?”
“Well, duh. What do you think? Of course I like it.” I motioned around me. “Why do you think I’m here, with you?”
“No, the original question, dumb head.”
“Dumb head? Is that the best you can do? Hang on...” The original question? This joint was really taking effect now. “What are we talking about again?”
He put his hands behind his head and lay back. “You know what? I don’t know.” The ensuing silence caused us both to double over in laughter.
“So... what's it like in a threesome?” His threesome admission, and something about sleeping around, were the only subjects still vaguely clear in my mind once I stopped cackling. Besides, he had just asked me a deeply personal question about sex. I only wished I could remember what it was.
“Busy. And stop hogging the joint.” He kept his answer short by taking a drag.
“Huh? How come?”
“Too much to concentrate on. It's a novelty, but I'm not keen to do it again.”
“Yeah, right.” I took the final drag and stubbed the butt out.
“No, seriously. It's much easier to concentrate on one girl at a time. Mind you, when they're both concentrating on me, that's a whole different matter.”
“Yeah, I bet.” I snorted. “When was it?”
“At Uni... Geez, I'm hungry.”
I was almost relieved at the knowledge that Tanya was not involved if it had been at university. I licked my lips at the thought of food. “Mmm, me, too... I know!” I bounced out of the bed, modesty—or was it drug induced paranoia?—making me wrap my towel around my nakedness, and into the kitchen. In the fridge was the turkey dinner, complete with potato bake and boiled vegetables, that I had cooked the previous evening. I wanted to keep things simple for the dinner the following night by allowing for most of it to just be reheated. I brought a turkey leg back to the fire, and we started to pick at it, each juicy morsel tasting better than the last. “Wait. At Uni? Did you go to uni? What did you study?”
“Um, music.”
“Oh, yeah. Stupid question.”
“Dumb head.”
“You’ve really got to think of a better insult.”
***
“What
the FUCK?”
Kate's outburst startled me out of my sleep the next morning. “What? What’s wrong?” I wiped my eyes, slowly focusing on Kate and Nathan sitting on the couch closest to us, as Scott stretched his arms out from where he was holding me close to him on the floor.
“Get the munchies, did we?” Kate held up the stubbed out butt and the remnants of the roast turkey. Somehow we had managed to devour the lot.
“Oh, shit. Sorry.” My guilt at prematurely eating the evening meal was overshadowed by the loud thumping in my head, followed by the hazy memory of getting stoned, and finally realising I was still naked. “Could you please pass me my towel?”
She threw it at me, her mood most likely due to not being invited to take part in last night’s smoking circle, rather than the fact that half our dinner options now had to be revised.
Scott seemed to sense what was wrong, too. “I’ve got another joint you guys can have tonight.” He picked it out of his bag and handed it to her in a peacemaking attempt.
“Thanks.” It did the trick, and she flashed us a smile as she took the dish into the kitchen. “Shower’s free. We’ll have breakfast ready when you come back down.”
***
“So how’s it all going? Not as scary as you expected, huh?” Kate and I were sitting on the couch, sipping hot chocolate. Scott and Nathan had been snowboarding all morning, giving us the opportunity to talk about the two of them.
“No, it’s been good actually,” I admitted. “We’re getting along really well.”
“So are we,” she smiled smugly. “Nathan asked me out properly last night.” The look of elation on her face confirmed that, for now at least, she had succumbed to the idea of a proper, mature, monogamous relationship.
“Oh my God, that’s fantastic.” We put our mugs down so I could give her an excited hug. I was genuinely happy for Kate. I really liked Nathan, and they were great together. He had a way of calming her highly excitable nature. Behind Kate’s bloodshot, exhausted eyes was an excitement I had never seen before. She was happy with something she never thought she could be happy with; she was in love. I suddenly understood why our relationships had always seemed so different— because they were different.
“Listen, Abs. I want to apologise for the stupid questions I was asking you and Scott last night in the spa. I was drunk and, as things are going so well with Nathan and me, I guess…” She paused, biting her lip, “I guess I was hoping something would work out for you, too.”
“That’s okay. They were embarrassing at the time, but I’m over it now. Scott didn’t seem to mind anyway, and the thing is I’m not really interested—”
“I just wanted to see what Scott’s reaction would be so I could gauge how he felt about you,” she interrupted.
Now I was curious. “So what do you think?” I asked innocently.
“It’s hard to tell. I don’t think he’s pining over anyone. And when I asked you about Josh, he wasn’t looking at you, but he didn’t look particularly worried either, so he’s not easy to read.” She paused and seemed to be choosing her next words carefully. “But I can read you.”
“What?”
“You just said weren't interested, but I can tell you like him more than you’re letting on.”
I didn’t want to hear any more and got defensive. “No I don’t. Scott and I are just having sex. That’s it. It’s helping me get over Josh, but that’s all our relationship is. I don’t even know if we’d be friends after this. He’s great, and he’s hot, but long term? I said it was time for a change, and that’s what I’m doing.”
“So you would like it to be more?” She was seeing straight through me and ignoring everything I was saying out loud.
“I’m happy with the way things are,” I said defiantly and avoided looking at her. “I’m not ready for another relationship yet, besides I kind of lied when you asked about Josh. I didn’t think it was right to say I’m still in love with my ex-boyfriend when the guy I’m bonking is sitting right next to me.”
“Do you realise your voice goes up an octave when you lie?" She didn’t believe me, which was fair enough considering I wasn’t even sure I believed myself. "Don’t worry; your secret is safe with me.”
There was no point in pretending then. “Does Nathan know?” I had a horrible vision of Nathan making fun of my little crush as they trudged the snowy streets outside and Scott shaking his head and saying “Poor girl, definitely not my type but such an easy lay” as he eyed off some tall, slim, blonde ski-bunny and thought, “Damn, I wish Abby wasn’t here so I could be with other chicks.” My own head was doing more damage to my self-esteem than real life events.
She scoffed. “Nathan wouldn’t know if his head was on fire. And don’t worry, Scott’s oblivious, too. It must be a guy thing. The question is, are you going to do anything about it?”
That was a good question. At least I was rescued from having to answer it as the front door slammed and heavy footsteps announced the boys’ return. They walked in with a case of beer and another cask of wine, along with a bag of groceries to replenish our, ahem, dinner supplies. I jumped up and took the bag, which included a small turkey ready roast, from Nathan’s arms and joined Scott in the kitchen where he was filling the fridge with the bottles of beer. “It must be cold out there; your cheeks are all red,” I observed, touching the side of his cold face with the back of my hand. To my surprise, he held my hand there and kissed it lightly. “Do you want a beer?” he asked, promptly dropping my hand and reaching into the fridge.
“Yeah, yeah thanks.” I turned away before he could see my own reddening cheeks and unpacked the bag.
I needed to get this sorted out. Okay, I liked him, I'd admitted that, but the whole point was to enjoy myself and just let it be what it is. He wasn’t looking for a relationship. The best thing was to keep telling myself ‘this is just some fun,’ get over Josh, and keep looking elsewhere.
Scott placed a couple of bottles on the bench in front of me and took a couple more into the living room for Nathan and Kate. “Jesus, get a room!” I heard him holler before he came into the kitchen again. “Want a hand with dinner? Those two are about as entertaining as... soft core porn.”
“That might be what you would get if you stayed out there.” I said, winking. “A hand here would be great.” I picked up the beer meant for me. “Except to do this properly, I’ll have to wait until later for this. I need to concentrate. I don’t cook very well when I’m drunk.”
“Okay, I’ll do the same then.” He put the beers back in the fridge and pulled a face as he took the decidedly un-turkey shaped meat out of the box. “I think we got the good one last night.“
***
When dinner was over, Kate leaned back and patted her frustratingly still flat stomach. “That was sensational. You should cook like that more often, Abby.” She looked slyly from Scott to me. “You two make a good team.”
“Thanks.” I ignored her teasing and started clearing the table.
“Just leave it stacked in the kitchen. Kate and I will wash up in the morning.” Nathan put his arm around his now-girlfriend.
As I stacked the dishes in the sink, I felt Scott’s hands move around my waist and his soft lips on my neck. “Dinner was beautiful. That’s gonna make my spag bol look pretty amateur.”
“You helped.” I spun around and kissed his mouth. “It wouldn’t have been the same if it was just me.”
“We’re going to hop in the spa,” Kate yelled out from the dining table.
“Young love, hey,” Scott mused. “Did you hear about those two? Making it official?”
“Yeah, good on them,” I said casually, letting myself out of Scott’s embrace and putting on the kettle. “Coffee?”
He pushed me gently towards the living room. “I’ll do the coffee. You sit and relax.”
“Mmm, I could get used to this.” I stretched out on the couch and picked up my book, which I had spent most of the day lazily reading. Muffled giggles drifted fro
m the downstairs bathroom before they were drowned out by the water jets. Lucky them, I thought again, discreetly studying Scott’s muscular arms as he placed the cups on the table in front of me. I wondered how much longer I would be feeling those arms around me, and more uncomfortably, how many other women they might have been wrapped around recently. I wasn’t sure I fully believed what he had said the night before.
“You’re not planning on reading all night, are you?” He looked at my well-thumbed paperback, which I hastily put aside. “Can you remember what we were talking about last night?
“I can remember the spa, but not a lot since we were smoking.”
We heard giggles from the bathroom again. “Think it’s serious?” He nodded towards the noise.
I shrugged. “Who knows? By all accounts they’re as hopeless as each other,” I sounded blasé, but their announcement had now changed the tone of the weekend and made me feel a little uneasy, like we were intruding on their romantic getaway. Inconsiderate bastards.
Scott walked to the window and switched on the outside light. “Hey, it’s snowing. Finish up and get your coat on.”
***
“Why are we out here again?” I held out my gloved hands and, by the lamplight, watched the flakes melt on the leather.
“Something different for this time of night.” Scott started rolling up a large ball of snow.
“You don’t say.” I picked up my own ball and rolled it on the ground. “Your creativity kicks in at odd times.” I gazed wistfully through the window at the roaring fire, wishing I was there, hardly believing we were out in the cold, late in the evening, making snow sculptures. “Shouldn’t you be inside with your guitar, channelling Kurt Cobain or something?” He didn’t answer so I stacked a second ball of snow on top of my first, then noticed my snowman didn’t have the more common, rounded build; it had taken on a cylindrical shape. Scott hummed to himself as he moulded a pair of enormous breasts onto his snow woman. “Do you feel a bit like we’re intruding now?” I asked, wondering whether to leave my cylinder as was or round it out.
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