Happily Ever After_ - Benison Anne O'Reilly [80]
‘Alex, be a little bit discreet would you. I have my reputation to consider.’
‘Don’t worry - people will just assume we’re talking about work stuff. So when can I see you again?’
‘Do you really think this is wise?’
‘Oh definitely not, but can you tell me truthfully that you don’t want to?’ he said, looking at me with those bedroom eyes. Where did that steely resolve of mine go? I looked down to find a small puddle of molten metal under my chair. ‘So when is your husband away again?’
‘See, you do get off on the idea being with a married woman.’
‘I don’t. I honestly don’t know why you are still together and hope you have the good sense to leave him soon. I’m just thinking practically until you do.’
‘Well…I am free tomorrow night. Tony will be away and Isabel will be at her grandmother’s. She sleeps over every Wednesday.’
‘That’s fantastic. I think I’m going to grow to love Wednesdays. You can come over to my place again then.’
‘I haven’t actually said yes yet…’
‘C’mon, it’s all settled. I’ll cook you dinner.’
***
This time I was better prepared. I fed the cat and diverted my home phone to my mobile before I left. Can you believe my audacity at dropping Isabel off at my mother-in-law’s before rendezvousing with my lover? I would do the same on more than a few occasions over the ensuing months. If Pamela had ever shown the slightest gesture of goodwill towards me over the years I might have felt guilty, but she hadn’t, so I no longer cared.
Alex turned out to know his way around a kitchen and whipped up a magnificent crab curry, although Paul was heard to loudly complain that he wasn’t so great at washing up afterwards. We didn’t eat till about 10pm; other appetites needed to be satisfied first. Alex also knew his way around a woman’s body in ways I’d barely begun to contemplate.
Yes, Paul was there. Alex’s flat mate, who had been a good friend since school, owned the apartment so we couldn’t complain. He had a glittering career in banking but this success hadn’t yet translated to women. He was as fair as Alex was dark and, although not unpleasant looking, had a slightly receding hairline and an overly fleshy face that somehow created the illusion he was overweight when he actually wasn’t. I got a sense he was disapproving of me, which was understandable under the circumstances; he made a few comments during dinner which I think were deliberately designed to wound.
‘Alex is such a chick magnet. Would you believe this stunning girl came up to him on Saturday night and said, just like that, no preliminaries, “I think you’re gorgeous and I’d like you to come home with me tonight.” Can you believe it? I thought that sort of thing only happened in bad Hollywood movies.’
Alex’s eyes darkened and he said quietly through a set jaw, ‘I didn’t take her up on the offer, though.’ He stroked my hair to reassure me, but also, I think, as a warning to Paul.
‘Yeah, I offered myself as a substitute but she wasn’t interested, sadly.’
Poor Paul, I imagined that hitting the town with Alex would be like it used to be with Mimi and I, but magnified ten-fold. I hoped he found a girl soon, if only so he might be distracted from passing judgement on his friend’s choice of lover.
Later when we were back in bed, Alex said, ‘Sorry about Paul before. I don’t know what that was about.’
‘Oh don’t worry. Now I’ve heard all your war stories it explains how you could have misinterpreted my motives on the team building weekend, although my methods must have seemed very subtle compared with the approach of some girls.’
‘Even so…’
‘The thing is Alex, I can hardly expect you to be faithful to me. If you want to see other people that’s your own business, though I’d appreciate it if you used condoms, just in case.’
‘Thanks, but I really don’t want to see anyone else.’
I wondered then if Alex might have assumed a bad marriage was also a sexless marriage. In many cases he might have been right but not with my own. However, since he didn’t ask I decided it wasn’t necessary to set him straight.
***
That