Be With Us: An Urban Foursome Love Story (Erotic Swingers Book 1)

by Brianna Skylark

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘We talked,’ she looked down at his chest. ‘And we kissed.’

  ‘Oh,’ he said, still holding her.

  ‘Are you angry?’

  ‘No, not at all. What’s wrong though? You look upset.’

  ‘She left after we kissed. She was confused,’ said Emilia. ‘And she said that this isn’t what she wants.’

  ‘Oh, I’m sorry Em,’ he hugged her tightly and felt her shake as she started to cry into his chest. ‘Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.’

  He stroked her hair as she nodded.

  ‘I'm sorry,’ she said. ‘It's like Alice said, I fall quickly, just look at you and me.’ She was sniffing as she spoke. ‘I fell for you when I was fourteen. What the hell does a fourteen year old know? It’s not like I made the wrong decision, I was just lucky it was you.’

  Cassian shrugged as she went on.

  ‘I just, I wanted this to happen, and I didn't think it would, and then it looked like it might and I fell for her. I didn't think I would fall, not that quickly. But I fucking did. And I think she likes me, and us, too, because she kissed me. But she doesn't know what she wants.’

  She stopped, trying to calm herself, breathing in and out. ‘Fuck, this is hard,’ she said. ‘I didn't think it was going to be this hard.’

  A sudden smell of burning started to make Emilia’s nose twitch and she looked around, confused.

  ‘Oh shit, the dinner.’

  She rushed over to the oven and opened the door to a billow of black smoke and a very chargrilled pasta bake. In despair, she sat down on the floor with a bump and leaned back against the cupboard door, putting her head in her hands and sobbing.

  ‘I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry,’ she repeated.

  ‘Hey, hey,’ said Cassian. ‘It's fine, we can fix this.’

  ‘Fix what? The dinner or me?’

  ‘Both,’ he said. He was being stern with her now. ‘Come on, up. Stand up.’

  He took hold of her hands and pulled her upright, then turned off the oven. Then he grabbed the mitts, slipped them on and plucked the burning pasta bake out of the oven, taking it out into the garden to cool down.

  When he came back in, Emilia was upright but leaning against the counter again, her eyes closed.

  ‘Come with me,’ he said. Taking her arm, he guided her though to the lounge, scooping up their tablet computer on the way. ‘I'll order takeout.’

  He sat her down on the couch, then plonked down beside her and opened the little device, browsing to the website of a nearby curry place which offered delivery and racked up their usual order. Then he pulled Emilia in closer to him and lay her head down on his chest and cuddled her, closing his own eyes as she quietly wept.

  Twenty minutes later the doorbell rang, startling Emilia awake. Cassian stood up to answer, retrieving their food from the front door and heading into the kitchen to plate it all up.

  ‘Are we doing the right thing?’ said Emilia, standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

  ‘I don't know,’ said Cassian, he stopped tipping curry from the takeout pot onto the plate for a moment and leaned on the counter.

  ‘I feel like all this has just created upset and sadness and disappointment and it's my fault,’ said Emilia.

  Cassian ran his hands under the tap and dried them and then approached Emilia, arms outstretched to hold her.

  ‘It's okay, we’ll get through this. It was our first try, we can learn from this and move on.’

  ‘That's just it though, maybe the lesson is that we shouldn't do this. Everyone else does fine as a couple, and I am happy with you. I was happy before this. I love you. I’m sorry.’

  ‘I love you too,’ he said.

  For a little while they held each other in the kitchen, embracing and squeezing each other, until Cassian pulled back and spoke.

  ‘I'm guided by you. If you want to keep trying then we will, if you want to stop, we stop, if you want to pause and think, we pause and think, but right now our curry is getting cold, so let's eat.’

  Emilia smiled.

  ‘Thank you.’

  *

  Fifteen minutes later, they were scraping their plates and watching evening television, sat side by side. Emilia was cross legged, her plate on her knees with half of her attention on the programme they were watching and the other half still processing and replaying her kiss with Amy.

  Cassian was yawning and leaning back on the couch and Emilia was chomping on her last piece of poppadom when her phone buzzed and a second later, the sound of bird song drifted softly through the room.

  She froze like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming car.

  Cassian looked over at her, then at the phone and frowned.

  ‘What's wrong?’ he said.

  She was rooted to the couch, too nervous to get up and read the message. It could only have been from Amy, she had set that message tone herself.

  She bit her lip and unsteadily stood up, a nauseating feeling of trepidation rooted firmly in the pit of her stomach, making her feel sick. She walked over to the phone as Cassian watched, and picked it up.

  The message was from Amy, but it was obscured until she pressed her finger against the reader. She took a deep breath and read.

  Hi, it's Amy. I'm sorry I took off earlier. I was just a bit overwhelmed. We had such a great time with you, both of you. I really like you. So does Mark. Can we see you both again? Spa day? The Aurora? Saturday? No pressure XxxX

  Emilia smiled and breathed in so much and so deeply, Cassian thought she might pass out. Then she laughed, and wiped a small tear away from her eye.

  ‘What is it?’ said Cassian. ‘What does it say?’

  ‘See for yourself,’ she said, passing him the phone.

  He read it, then read it again and half frowned, half smiled.

  Emilia reached in to take her phone back. ‘What do you think it means?’

  ‘I don't know,’ he said. ‘I’m not sure I want to speculate.’

  ‘But she says I really like you, not let’s just be friends, surely that means something?’

  ‘I think she's being careful,’ he said, after some consideration.

  ‘And she says both of you, and so does Mark,’ Emilia’s excitement was palpable.

  ‘Don't overreact,’ he said. ‘They might have just decided we’re worth being friends with anyway. Which is really nice, but not what you want.’

  ‘But you didn’t hear what she was saying earlier, and look at the sign off,’ she said, pointing to the message again. ‘Four kisses? Two big, two small? Come on, that's intentional, that's like a hidden message or something. You don't accidentally type that.’

  ‘Or her hand slipped? Or she hasn't put much thought into it?’ said Cassian, trying to temper his increasingly hyped up and overexcited wife. ‘We don't know for sure. Can we even make this weekend?’

  ‘Whatever is in the calendar is cancelled,’ she said, still fretting. ‘What do you even wear to a spa? Shit, what do I text back? Oh fuck I have to text her back. I am so shit at dating.’

  She laughed again, but it was happy excitable laughter.

  ‘Don't text back straight away,’ said Cassian.

  ‘Oh sod off, I'm not eighteen and playing hard to get,’ she said.

  ‘No, I know that, but have a think first is all I'm saying.’

  ‘Yeah okay, you're right.’

  She took another deep breath, then turned away and started writing.

  Hi Amy, thank you. We had such a lovely time too. I’ve been really worried I'd put you off? I really enjoyed our walk. We’d like to get to know you both better and see where things go? Spa day sounds great. See you at 9am? No pressure either. Em XxxX

  *

  CHAPTER FIVE

  EMILIA AND CASSIAN arrived at the spa shortly before nine in the morning. The ride over had been beautiful. As they had driven out of the city and into the countryside they were treated to stunning views of the sun shining down
through staggeringly large mountainous clouds onto a shroud of mist which had settled in lake like pockets throughout the valley in which the spa was nestled.

  Now they were pulling into the car park and coming to a stop as Cassian chuckled to himself again at how out of place their old Fiesta was amongst the Merc’s, BMW’s and Jag’s that had already arrived this morning.

  The Aurora Spa & Country Club was set in several hundred acres of land and boasted a heated outdoor swimming pool, multiple jacuzzi’s and several private hot tubs, it also featured massage and aromatherapy sessions, Tai Chi, Yoga and a number of other group exercise and fitness classes. It was a membership only club and the fees were outlandish, but prospective members could pay for a single trial day, which lots of people took advantage of. Even so, it was at the upper end of expensive.

  Emilia took her husband’s hand as they walked towards the entrance and tried her best not to skip. After much deliberation she had chosen a simple skirt and a sheer and loose white blouse, over a dark lace chemise. As they had been about to leave however, she’d become self-conscious and had thrown on an old purple cardigan her mother had knitted ten years ago for her. It didn't really match the rest of her outfit but she didn't feel quite so exposed.

  ‘Do you think they're here already?’ she said.

  ‘I don't know, there's a lot of cars here.’

  ‘What do they drive?’

  ‘It was hard to see the other night but I think it was a Merc,’ said Cassian. ‘Silver?’

  Emilia looked around but there were quite a few silver Mercedes parked up, so she stopped speculating.

  ‘Em, listen,’ said Cassian. ‘Try not to be too forward today, they might be thinking about this, they might not be. Let's not scare them off, let's just all have a nice day together. Okay?’

  ‘Okay,’ said Emilia as she nodded and squeezed his hand. ‘I will.’

  The entrance foyer was like a grander version of an old English country pub, with exposed beams, hardwood flooring, and ornate lamps adorning the walls. Emilia approached the reception desk and found a perky young blonde girl, no older than twenty, smiling back at her with wide eyes.

  ‘Have Amy and Mark Hamilton arrived yet? We’re meeting them here for, erm… a day at your spa?’ she faltered and grinned.

  ‘I'm afraid I'm not able to give out guest information, Miss?’

  ‘Mrs Black,’ said Emilia.

  ‘But if you’re happy for me to do so, I can let them know you’re here, if and when they arrive?’

  ‘That would be fine,’ said Emilia.

  ‘If you wish to wait for your friends, you're welcome to take a seat in the foyer.’

  Emilia took Cassian’s hand and they headed over to a seat by the fireplace that overlooked the heated outdoor pool. There were already a couple of people swimming in the fresh morning air. The mist in the forest beyond hadn't quite lifted and the blue morning hue gave the whole scene an almost eerie feel. For a moment Emilia pictured Annie the porcelain doll, creeping out of the forest and shivered.

  ‘What time is it?’ asked Emilia.

  ‘Ten past.’

  ‘Do you think they're just running late?’

  ‘No, I think they've bailed on us.’

  ‘What? Why?’

  ‘I'm kidding Em, they're running a few minutes late. Give them a break.’

  But another twenty minutes went by and Emilia was starting to get worried.

  ‘I'll text her,’ said Emilia.

  As she started to pull out her phone, the door opened and in walked Amy, dressed in an ankle length sheer dress, with a plunging neckline and thigh high slits on each side. Emilia’s stomach nose dived and she felt butterflies surging through her. Behind her walked Mark, dressed casually in khaki shorts and a loose woven white buttoned shirt.

  She immediately felt overdressed and managed to slip off her cardigan and shove it in their bag before Amy turned around.

  ‘Hi, Sam, I'm sorry, we’re running late, do you know if Mr and Mrs Black are here yet?’ said Amy to the perky young receptionist.

  ‘Amy?’ said Emilia standing up, she suddenly felt shy. Cassian stood up next to her.

  Amy turned and smiled broadly and then rushed over to greet them. She embraced Emilia tightly and so suddenly that Emilia failed to return the hug and before she knew it, Amy was pulling away to hug Cassian.

  Mark reached for Emilia’s hand and shook it gently and then more firmly for Cassian as the two men smiled at one another.

  ‘I'm so pleased you were both able to come,’ said Amy. ‘Again, I'm so sorry about the other night. I hope you can forgive me. I was asking stupid questions.’

  ‘It's fine, honestly,’ said Emilia.

  ‘So what would you like to do first?’ said Amy.

  Emilia looked over at Cassian, who shrugged.

  ‘We’ve not been here before, so we’re open to suggestions.’

  ‘Ok, then we’ll surprise you,’ said Amy, sounding mischievous. ‘Just follow me.’

  ‘Sounds amazing,’ said Emilia, beaming at her.

  Amy stretched out her hand for Emilia, who took it with delight, noticing how soft her fingers were as they walked away from the men toward the sign for the pool.

  ‘What moisturiser do you use?’ she asked as they walked.

  Cassian watched as the girls chatted like old friends, walking along hand in hand. He stood watching them, unsure what to do and feeling a little left out. Then Mark slapped him on the back and squeezed his shoulder.

  ‘Come on, mate. I'll show you where the changing rooms are,’ he said, and winked. ‘Did you bring your speedos?’

  Cassian laughed and snapped out of his gaze.

  ‘The tightest I could find, mate.’

  The pool was heated and Cassian could feel the warmth from a few feet away. The surface was layered with a thin cloud of mist and steam. He arrived poolside first and breathed in deeply in the cold morning air. It was invigorating. It reminded him of sea swimming, back when he was studying at Portsmouth.

  He and Emilia would wake up at five o’clock on Saturday’s and head down to the beach to watch the sunrise and then they would swim out to the buoy a little over a kilometre out to sea, the winner waiting for the loser, a kiss as the prize, and then swim back together side by side to shore.

  He could hear Mark walking up behind him now and turned to greet him. The man’s appearance was chiselled. He looked like the model sculptures used in the Twelfth Century to accurately carve body parts for stone statues.

  Cassian’s own physique was sharp, but Mark was high definition.

  The ex-soldier knelt down by the side of the pool and tested the water temperature, and then scooped up a handful, splashing it over his face and hair.

  ‘Feels great to be out swimming this early at this time of year doesn't it?’

  Cassian nodded.

  ‘So you and Em? You met at school?’ said Mark, turning back towards him as he nodded again.

  ‘She was two years below me, she won't tell it like this, but she relentlessly pursued me.’

  Mark stood up, listening. ‘She pursued you?’

  ‘Like a hound, I was in my final year with this pretty little lower school girl hanging around me at break and lunchtimes like a groupie. It was nice, she was sweet. When I left school I went to a local college and we stayed in touch, one thing led to another and here we are.’

  ‘Wait, one thing led to another?’ said Mark. ‘That's the worst storytelling gimmick. Imagine Romeo & Juliet like that? Romeo falls madly in love with Juliet at the Capulet ball, one thing led to another and Juliet stabbed herself in the chest because she couldn’t live without her suicidal boyfriend?’

  Cassian burst into laughter.

  At the same time, Amy and Emilia came out of the changing rooms and stepped onto the path leading to the pool.

  ‘What are you two giggling about?’ said Amy as she drew near.

  Cassian looked over at Mark and said, ‘Nothing important.
’

  ‘Oh no, they're already best friends, the bromance has begun.’

  Amy stopped and tiptoed up to kiss Mark and then she slipped by and headed over to the steps.

  Cassian couldn't help watching her walk away, her curves moving gently from side to side in her simple two piece. She moved with a purpose, exuding confidence and charm, like a petite version of a pin-up girl from the fifties.

  Emilia had chosen a more conservative one piece swimming costume with just a keyhole cut out on the small of her back. She felt intimidated. Amy had a grace and beauty that only ever seemed reserved for celebrities. As though she was a classical film actress in a parallel universe where she had failed a few auditions, given up on acting and became an obscure artist instead.

  Emilia tried to settle her own mind by repeating her mantra that attractiveness is subjective, that Cassian saw her the way she saw Amy, but she did wonder if there was some truth to universal beauty. Helen of Troy was known as the face that launched a thousand ships. Perhaps one day Amy would be known as the face that mopped a thousand shits.

  She started laughing to herself, and the other three all looked over, confused.

  ‘Sorry, I just thought of something funny. Don't mind me.’

  ‘Maybe one day you can tell me the joke,’ said Amy, winking before she dived into the pool like a swan. The water barely rippled.

  Emilia followed, sitting down on the edge and lowering herself in. The surface felt warm and cosy against her skin.

  Cassian climbed down the nearby steps and pushed away from the edge, whilst Mark jumped in as though he was a living action movie cliche.

  Amy resurfaced at the far end, her red hair now a dark shade of auburn, slicked back against her head. Her freckles seemed to sparkle in the rising steam.

  Emilia yearned to touch her, thinking back to their fleeting kiss, and she felt herself getting aroused. She pressed her fingers into her crotch beneath the water and then swam forward into a gentle paddle, heading towards the far end.

  She swam up next to Amy, briefly dunking her head under the water, and resurfaced facing down the pool, both of them treading water, their fingers occasionally touching beneath the surface. Emilia smiled and then pushed away from the edge and settled into a breaststroke.