Without Question

by Pamela Christine

  We were due to fly home the next day. I had packed most of our things the night before, and so there wasn’t much to do. We had breakfast and James said he was going to check out how things were going with work. I couldn’t just sit around all day as I hated waiting to leave; it was the worst feeling in the world. We never seemed to get early flights, and they were always late. I guess that’s what made them cheaper.

  I told James I was going to have one last wander around the resort. I strolled down the main street, in and out of the many shops I had been in before. Before I knew it, I was heading for the beach, to the spot that I had met Maria, but there was no sign of her. She must have gone for lunch or something – or maybe she was giving another massage. I sat for a moment on the sun lounger where we had previously met. As I looked out to sea, I thought about my time with Maria, wondering what her life was really like. I guess that was something I’d never know.

  In a strange way, I felt disappointed that I was unable to say goodbye to her. I suppose I felt awkward having to leave the way I did. I hoped she would understand, my head was so mixed up, but I couldn’t hang around for much longer. James would be having a fit. I returned to the hotel and grabbed myself a coffee and a sun lounger to catch the last few rays of sun before I had to leave.

  I was left with that same gut feeling that I always had when it was home time: I wished I could stay. I was not looking forward to returning to work. My colleagues Lily and Susan would be sat at their desks busy dissecting everybody and everything. Research was so boring to me now. I did not get the same buzz out of it that I used to get. In fact, one thing this holiday had taught me was that I was not getting much of a buzz out of life at all.

  I must have dropped off to sleep because the next thing I remember is James calling me.

  "Come on, we need to grab the cases, the coach will be here soon."

  "Yes, I'm coming."

  I sat up, gathered myself together, slipped my sandals on and followed him back to the room. One last check of the room drawers, cupboards, etc., and a check of the balcony, which gave me a last look of the view. Nothing could beat it, and I would be back here at the first chance I could get.

  We made our way out the door, and just as I was making my way down the stairs, I heard the door close from the apartment above us. It was the Adonis and his Goddess. I needed to see what they looked like.

  I made an excuse to James that I needed to go back to the room to check something and as I turned to head back up the stairs I came face to face with the Adonis. He was wearing a Stetson, white socks and sandals, was quite stocky (some might say fat) and probably in his mid-sixties. The Goddess was directly behind him, of similar age and build, neither living up to the image I had in my mind. I managed a smile as I passed them and hurried back up to the apartment, giggling to myself as I went in.

  Well, life certainly isn't all you imagine it to be sometimes! I hurried back to James who was impatiently tapping his foot at the hotel foyer.

  "Come on, hurry up, the coach will be here soon."

  I handed the key to Anna the receptionist.

  "Thank you, Mrs Whelan, see you next time."

  "Thanks again, Anna. Yes, see you soon!" Just as we stepped out, the coach pulled up. "There you go, that was good timing," I called to James.

  "Huh? Only just made it, you mean."

  James was back on his laptop the minute we got on the coach. I think he was glued to it most of the time. There was only an hour transfer to the airport, but it felt like longer, and the numerous pickups and horrendous queues to check in made time drag even more. One good thing is that there were no delays with the flight, and eventually we were on the plane. I got as comfy as I could and fell asleep.

  We arrived back to an empty house around 10.30pm. The boys would be clubbing somewhere no doubt.

  "I at least thought they would have had a bit of a tidy."

  "Why? They never have before."

  James was right. I guess I would have thought something was wrong if they had. I carried my bag upstairs, had a quick shower and climbed into bed. I didn't hear James come up to bed, but I heard the boy's come in around 4am, and then I drifted back off to sleep.

  The Sunday papers arrived as usual the next day; I had ordered them to be delivered on our return. I sat in the conservatory with my coffee and copy of The Times, looking out onto the garden and wishing I was back in Skiathos with my much-preferred view of the mountains. My phone beeped; it was Sal.

  Hi, are you home? Are you even up? When can we meet? Xx

  Hi Sal, yes, we’re home, not sure when really – maybe tomorrow night after work? X

  Oh, hell Alex, you’re gonna make me wait that long!? X

  Sorry, it’s the only free time I’ve got, and I’m shattered today. See you tomorrow about 8pm at The Wine Cellar on Main Street xxx

  Ok, see you then. Hope you are ok xxx

  The rest of the day passed pretty quickly. The boys didn't rise till mid-afternoon, and I had done most of the holiday washing by then. I sorted my outfit for work the next day and ironed a shirt for James, settling down with a glass of wine and an hour in front of the TV before I retired to bed.

  I was busy at work the next day trying to catch up and hardly had chance to recall my experience on holiday.

  "Did you have a good holiday, Alex?" Lily called out as I passed her desk.

  "Yes, thanks, it was lovely, didn't want to come home."

  "Oh, you never do."

  Which was true. I glanced back at Lily just in time to catch her giving Susan that knowing look.

  “So, did you do anything exciting?” Lily asked.

  “No, not really,” I replied, hoping I could hide my blushes.

  “Well, I could do with a week away myself, couldn’t you. Susan?”

  Susan nodded in agreement and continued to type. I couldn’t do for anymore digs from Lily, so I decided to go and make myself a cup of coffee.

  When I returned to my desk, I began to daydream about the day I met Maria. It all seemed surreal, so much so I couldn't believe it had happened. I was interrupted by my phone as a message came through.

  Hi Alex, are we still on for tonight? x

  Yep still on! See you at 8! X

  That got me thinking, how was I going to explain to Sal about all this? Sal was a broad-minded soul with a colourful life, married twice, now divorced and currently living the high life. But this was something she would never expect to hear from me.

  The day passed by relatively quickly which I was pleased about, I always hated my first day back at work. I was able to get showered and changed into something more casual at work and caught a taxi on to Main Street. I arrived at The Wine Cellar about 7:50pm. Sal was already there, with a chilled bottle of wine and two glasses at the ready. She frantically waved across the room at me, dressed to kill as usual with not a single long, blonde hair out of place.

  "So, spill the beans," Sal begged.

  "God, Sal let me get my coat off!"

  I had known Sal a long time, after meeting on a bus we used to share to work. It started by saying morning to one another and then we ended up sharing our life stories, meeting for coffee and nights out. She always managed to turn heads. She and James shared the same sense of humour and enjoyed some cheeky banter whenever their paths crossed. I didn’t mind; it was all harmless fun.

  "So, what's happened, Al? What was so bad you couldn't text it to me?"

  I began to tell her about my day on the beach with Maria, her jaw dropping wider and wider the longer I continued. It was quite funny, really, as she wasn't easily shocked.

  "Oh my god, Alex, what the hell! That's not like you! Was she good?" She fired a barrage of questions at me, which, in all honesty, most of them I couldn't answer. "So, what brought this on, had you and James been arguing?"

  "No, not really. I don't know why it happened, I really don’t. I was just as shocked as you are."

  "So, are you going to see her again?"

  �
��Hell, no, Sal, it was… well, just a one off."

  We spent the night going over and over it, laughing at some of it and how I was in disbelief at it happening. Then Sal said, "I don't know why you’re getting so wound up about it. I've done it."

  "You haven't!"

  "Of course, and on more than one occasion too."

  "What! Well, when?"

  "Well, the first time was at sixth form. I had a sleepover at a girlfriend’s, her parents were away. We had a few glasses of wine and scared ourselves silly with horror movies. By the end of the night we decided we would share her parents’ double bed, and it kind of just happened. We were just in our bra and knickers, got into bed, and she hugged me saying she had enjoyed the night. Then out of the blue, she kissed me. I just froze and didn’t know what to do. She must have seen this in me and asked me, ‘Do you fancy some strawberries and cream?’

  “Of course, I said yes. She asked me to wait there and, in no time, she was back upstairs with a large bowl of strawberries and a tin of squirty cream. We were both giggling. I went to grab a strawberry from the bowl. ‘Oh no you don’t, you have to take it from me.’ She popped the strawberry into her mouth, just biting the edge of it. I bent forward and bit a piece of strawberry. ‘No, like this,’ she said, placing the strawberry between my teeth. She went to bite the strawberry from me, ate it, and continued to explore my mouth with her tongue. I was so turned on it felt amazing, I lay down and she was on top of me, clamping her mouth over my breast. She reached for the cream and covered her nipples on each breast with it.

  “‘Do you want some?’ She pushed her breast towards my face; I didn’t know what to do, I just laughed at her. ‘Come on… try it’

  “I looked up at her and slowly, gently licked around the areola of the breast. Working my way towards her nipple, my lips folded around her breasts. She pushed me down onto the bed and covered me in cream, adding strawberries and then spent the next few minutes eating them off me. You can imagine where she ran her tongue over my body. We were sliding together all over on the bed, and it was amazing.”

  "Christ, stop it, Sal, you’re turning me on."

  Sal laughed. "That's just the tip of the iceberg. I could make your hair curl."

  "Bloody hell, what else have you done?"

  We sat and chatted for hours, and Sal told me about some of her sexual experiences. I was fascinated; suddenly my experience wasn't so unusual. I arranged to have a night out with her a couple of weeks later and made my way home.

  Chapter Six

  The following weekend, Jack and Sarah came around for a drink. James wanted to tell Jack about how his job was safe and the new ideas he had.

  "Looking good, Alex."

  "Thanks, Jack," I answered, blushing as usual.

  "Did you two have a good time?" Sarah asked.

  "Yes, thanks, Sarah. It was lovely." I wandered into the kitchen to fix the drinks and she followed me through.

  "So, what did you get up to, anything good?"

  "No, not really. Well, we just did our usual, just chilled out."

  "Huh, at least you got away. I think Jack has gone off holidays. All he's interested in is work and his secretary."

  "Aww, I'm sure that's not the case," I replied back to Sarah, knowing full well it would be.

  "Well, I guess Jack is just Jack. I'll never change him." We grabbed the drinks and made our way back to the lounge. James was still droning on about work; Jack was used to him and took it in his stride.

  Later that night, I headed into the kitchen to pour some drinks and Jack followed me in. “Did you miss me then, Al?”

  “Didn’t really have time to, Jack.” The wine had relaxed me, and I gave him a cheeky wink and a smile.

  “Liar, you know you have.” Jack moved towards me in the kitchen. “You know it’s only a matter of time before it happens, Al.”

  “And what’s that, Jack?”

  “I think you should think carefully about it.”

  Just then, Sarah walked in. “Think carefully about what, Jack?”

  “About moving house. I think it’s about time they had a change. They’ve been here since they had the boys.”

  “God, Jack, I can’t believe you are touting for business from our friends.”

  “Well, you know me, always on the prowl.” Jack glanced across at me, grabbed his and James’s drink, and headed back into the lounge.

  “Hmmm, don’t I just,” Sarah mumbled. I quickly made my way over to the fridge to grab another bottle of wine and pretended I hadn’t heard her.

  “So, how’s work going, Sarah?”

  “Oh, not bad I guess, could be better.”

  “Well, we all think that, don’t we? I’d be quite happy not to work at all.”

  “What, so you can move to Greece?”

  “Yes, I’d go tomorrow if I could.”

  And I meant it. I would if only I got the chance.

  The following Monday, Sal rang me and asked if I fancied a night out on Friday. "Yeah, why not, where do you fancy?"

  "Not bothered really, anywhere."

  "Ok then, Sal, let’s go into town."

  We met up on the Friday, and in no time, we were back on the usual subject. "So, what are these stories to make my hair curl?"

  Sal laughed and replied, “I wondered when you would ask. I'm not sure you would be impressed."

  "Well, I don't know about that, but I am intrigued."

  Sal began to tell me about a club she visited on a regular basis called Secret Dreams, a place open to everyone married or single, something I would probably call a pleasure house. "What the hell, Sal, where is this place based?"

  "It's about thirty minutes away."

  "Really!"

  "Yeah, it's a large house, members only."

  "And you are actually a member, Sal?"

  "Of course, fully paid up." She grinned.

  "So, what goes on there?"

  "All sorts, bondage, swapping, and voyeurism – you name it, it happens."

  "You’re having me on. Are you really a member?"

  "Yeah, why not?"

  "So, how long have you been going?"

  "Around six months."

  "What, every week?"

  "No, I don’t go every week. It’s every other Friday."

  "And is it full on sex or what?"

  "Sometimes, yeah. It depends what you fancy and who you meet. There are all walks of life there. Lawyers, doctors, solicitors, judges, etc."

  "What about health risks?"

  "Oh, trust you, Alex!"

  "Well, I can't help it. It's the first thing that entered my head, and don’t you ever worry about it?"

  "Well, yes, but that's part of the club thing. It's all about ensuring that you are safe."

  "But surely, Sal, there are no guarantees."

  "Hey, there's no guarantees in life at all."

  "True, but I think I would be concerned about the risks."

  "Well, that's as may be, but I’m quite comfortable with everything the way it is."

  We sat chatting about Sal's club meetings till the early hours, and I learnt a lot about my friend. "Why don't you come with me, Alex?"

  I stared back at Sal in disbelief. "What, me!?"

  "Why not? I can introduce you to it and see what you think, and it’s free the first time. If you like it, you pay three hundred pounds for the membership and then twenty-five pounds every time you go."

  "Hmmm, so it's not cheap then."

  "Of course not, it’s an exclusive club."

  "I don't know, Sal, I'm not sure it's really me. I would have to think about it. The wildest thing I've ever done only just happened in Skiathos."

  "I know, Alex, and nobody's twisting your arm. All I'm saying is give it a go. It's exciting and you can just watch. There's no pressure."

  "I'll think about it."

  That night I hardly slept at all. I couldn't believe Sal was going to a place like that. I really couldn't get my head round it. I was horrified a
nd yet intrigued at the same time.

  The next day I called Sal and asked her when the next night at Secret Dreams was being held. "It's a week on Friday." I then asked if there was any dress code. "No, just sexy but tasteful. Are you coming then, Alex?"

  "Possibly," I replied.

  "Ooooh, get you."

  I laughed down the phone. "I've still got nearly two weeks to change my mind."

  "If you do, you'll be sorry! I’ve got to go anyway. I’m a bit busy at the mo. Speak soon, bye," and with that she was gone.

  I spent every spare minute of the next few days looking for something tasteful yet sexy. It drove me mad. Too big, too small, tarty, you name it, I called myself it as I tried on an abundance of outfits. I had given up and had decided to just wear my little black dress, which always seemed to be a hit with Jack. Then again, I suppose anything was a hit with him.

  I left work at 3.30 on the Friday and headed for the park-and-ride to collect my car, apprehensive about what the night would hold for me.

  As I hurried along, something caught my eye in a shop window. Red, fitted, and very sexy, just plain, but I was sure I could finish it off with accessories. In the changing room, I slipped straight into the dress. It was like it was made for me. I couldn't believe my luck. It made me feel sexy and confident, and suddenly I was excited about the whole thing.

  I arrived home around 5:30 and prepared tea. Wouldn't it be nice if I came home and it was all done for me – that was never going to happen.

  We all sat down together, something I liked to make sure we did at least once a week so we could all catch up and talk to each other. Most of the time the boys were in their rooms on games consoles and James was with his best friend, the laptop.

  "Mum, could you give us a lift into town tonight?" Josh asked.