by G J Stevens
“Can I get you ladies another drink?” Frank had turned back, but paused as one of the tall guests in a suit arrived at his shoulder, quickly leaning in as Frank accepted the message with a curt nod.
“Please excuse me,” he soon said before heading through the door to the kitchen, followed by his messenger.
“That was something else,” I said, looking at my chest to see if it was safe to move my arm, but Alarica still stared at the door which closed at Frank’s back.
“Yeah,” she replied half-heartedly, her lips only changing to a smile as she realised I stared in her direction. “Leave him alone,” she said, her smile still fixed, before bursting into laughter.
“What was that all about?” I said as her laughter stalled.
“Beats me,” she replied with a raise of her eyebrows. “Probably just someone upset they didn’t get an invitation.”
I gave a thin smile in reply.
“Give me your glass and I’ll get us a refill.” Almost snatching the glass from my hand, Alarica turned and headed after Frank.
Turning away as the door swung closed at her back, I studied the room. The three large guys had re-joined the party, their suits straight, but red-faced and puffed with effort as they took their glasses from their plus ones and slipped back into conversation.
As I regained my composure from Frank's display, my gaze bounced from face to face. With a habit I had even before training, each set of features collated and catalogued, ready to retrieve in an instant should they be seen out of context. All this went on without my effort, but the process stopped dead as I spotted Celina stood at Lenara’s side, both of them gazing at me. They giggled and headed in my direction.
Blowing out a deep breath as they approached, I chanced a glance to the kitchen door in hope Alarica would be charging to my aid. But no.
I stood as they arrived, knowing I had too much cleavage on show already without them looking down from above.
“You have a lovely house, Mrs Bukia,” I said, holding my attention on her.
“Lenara, please, and thank you. They’ve done a good job. I’m sure we’ll settle back in soon.”
“It’s already exquisite,” I added.
She bunched a smile back at me. “Celina has been telling me all about how well you’re getting along. It’s so nice when these things come together,” she replied, glancing back to Celina who wore a wide grin.
“Yes. She’s so good to me and does so much around the house. Too much, I keep telling her. She needs to kick back a bit and enjoy herself,” Celina said with her gaze fixed on mine as I turned with a forced smile.
“And so beautiful,” Lenara said.
To my alarm, I watched as she looked me up and down.
“You’re turning all the heads. I don’t think I’ll invite you next time. I’m supposed to be the centre of attention.” The pair burst into laughter as I tried to work out if it was meant as a compliment. “Of course I’m joking. You’re welcome around here anytime, except when Celina needs you. You look a little flushed, my dear?”
“I’m fine, thank you,” I replied, but I could feel my cheeks blazing.
“I hope Frank hasn’t been showing you his blasted party trick,” she said, laughing more towards Celina than me.
With that they drifted off together, Celina glancing back over her shoulder and winking as her behind swayed, kicking up the loose back of the short dress. I hoped people couldn’t see as much of my ass as I could of hers.
“Don’t worry,” Alarica said before I realised she was back at my side. “We’ll sort her out tonight. Take this.”
Her hands were full of four flutes topped off with light, golden bubbles. I took the two glasses she gestured in my direction and watched as she scurried after the plotting pair, handing off the glasses and taking their empties.
Alarica tilted her head in my direction, gesturing for me to follow into the kitchen where we found Frank and one of his thickly-built dinner guests. Their conversation stopped as we arrived.
“Nate, this is Catarina,” Frank said.
I shook the large offered hand, nodding a shy greeting.
Frank turned and nodded in my companion’s direction with a warm smile before turning back to me. “Catarina is Mr and Mrs Rozman’s au pair.”
“Nice to meet you,” Nate replied in a deep voice.
“Nice to meet you, too,” I said. “Do you work with Mr Bukia?”
“Frank, please,” Frank said, answering the question himself. “Nate is one of my best guys. He’s been with me for... must be ten years now.”
“Praise indeed,” I said, trying my best to tear my attention away from Frank’s eyes.
“I’ve got to make a call, but Nate, why don’t you introduce Catarina to the rest of our people?” Frank said, his stare holding in my direction.
“No problem,” Nate answered, and he offered his hand out toward the other kitchen door.
The next couple of hours comprised dull conversation with Nate by our side for the first hour, along with Alarica, except when she’d disappear to freshen the glasses.
I held myself back from drinking too much, but I soon felt the effects hampering my ability to take in all the information for my report tomorrow.
After excusing myself to use the bathroom and then coming out of the first-floor washroom, Alarica greeted me, heading up the stairs with a wide grin as I appeared.
“I think they’re both cooked,” she said, trying not to let herself dissolve into a fit of laughter. At her back I saw Celina stumbling through the opening with her arm around Lenara in a similar state.
“I’ll take her home. It looks like she’ll sleep well tonight,” I replied with my eyebrows raised.
“You can thank me later,” Alarica replied.
I was about to turn to ask the obvious question when, as we came level on the stairs, Celina tripped, only just able to stay upright.
Rushing down the stairs, I took her arm over my shoulder and I walked her to the front door, politely refusing help from Nate. Turning back, I watched Lenara being helped up the stairs by Alarica. It looked like we’d both have freedom to do what we wanted tonight.
Moments later, I’d manhandled Celina up the stairs, stripping off her clothes with ease. Like me, she only wore three items.
Once naked she seemed to have a moment of clarity. My heart jumped at the thought I’d been played, but after a few tearful attempts to get me to jump in beside her, she turned, snoring within seconds.
Leaving the room, my gaze fell on the clock. It was only nine in the evening. Alarica had put something in their drinks, I was sure. I’d seen the sudden symptoms before. I knew what to look for and I couldn’t help but feel grateful for letting me off what could have been an awkward night. At least I knew it was one of her motivations.
Locking the house, I turned the lights off and wrapped up in my towelling dressing gown. I climbed to the top of the three-storey house and stood at the tall hallway window, watching the neighbours with my clear view from high over the fence.
With the house still brightly lit, I saw shapes, people moving around inside. I caught glances of Alarica, hints of Frank amongst the others. Occasionally, the party moved outdoors, small congregations smoking as they talked and always with a glass to hand.
I soon felt the effects of the alcohol bearing down and I found myself staring into the darkness of the trees at the bottom of the garden.
Turning away from the window, I took a deep breath. It was still early and I had the house to myself, but I’d already searched everywhere I could think of.
Despite trying to think of anything else useful I could do, I instead sent a short report describing the night with Frank and Alarica.
The reply was almost instant.
Instructions:
Observe Fifty-Six. Report.
8
I woke early the next morning; much earlier than Celina. Peering through her open door, I watched the covers for the gentle rise and fall
before I got on with the chores; my diligence programmed since my arrival.
It was almost midday before I heard the first stirrings upstairs and with a coffee in hand I approached with soft steps. She watched me through the door, squinting from behind the edge of the white duvet with her head jammed against the headboard like she’d given up on a full rise.
“Are you okay?” I said, lowering the cup to her bedside table as I perched on the edge of the bed.
“I think so,” she said, seeming more than a little unsure. “My head feels strange,” she added, her voice dry and croaky. “What happened last night?”
“I think you may have gotten a little carried away,” I replied, trying not to sound like a mother. I watched her consider my words, her stare going through me as if she rummaged through fragments of memory.
“I remember having a good time.” She tried a smile, but couldn’t get it to stick. “We can get a little excitable,” she said, her words slow. “When we’re together.”
“Lenara was in the same state as you.”
“A state?” she said, her eyes widening for a moment, only to shrink as the light forced its way in.
“It wasn’t too bad. You didn’t make a scene.”
“What time did we get back?”
“About nine.”
“Wow. I needed to slow down on the bubbles. Then what happened?”
“I put you to bed.”
“And?” she asked, still squinting.
“I got you undressed.”
“And?”
“Then I went to bed. In my room.”
“So I didn’t...?” she paused midway.
“You didn’t do anything,” I replied.
“I didn’t miss anything,” she said, correcting me.
I couldn’t help but laugh. She wasn’t worried about what she’d done, or we’d done. She was just concerned she’d lost the memory.
“I’m not sure what you mean, but no, you didn’t miss anything.”
“Good, but you got me undressed?”
“Yes.”
“Did you like what you saw?”
I laughed and stood, telling her I’d see her later.
“What time are the children back?” I said as I went through the door.
“Midday,” she said. “Tomorrow.” The words were quiet, but I still heard.
I took a deep breath.
“I’m going next door to see if I can help them clean up from last night,” I shouted from the top of the stairs.
9
From the street the house looked as if the party had never happened. It was the afternoon, but still I expected cars of the stragglers from the night before to be hanging around.
Knocking at the door, Alarica greeted me, beaming with delight.
“I thought I’d come and give you a hand to clean up.”
“Come in, but no need. The caterers took care of everything,” she replied, leading me through to the kitchen.
From what I could see, the house was spick and span with the furniture pulled back into place. I couldn’t see a single sign there had been a party.
“How was it after I left?” I said as she pulled two cups from a cupboard and prepared coffee.
“I was going to ask you the same.”
I shook my head and laughed. “I put her to bed and had the rest of the night to myself,” I replied. “You saved me from a difficult night. Thank you.”
“I really don’t know what you could mean,” she replied, stifling laughter as she poured water from the kettle. “You should have come back over.”
“I didn’t want to cramp your style.”
Her eyes widened as her finger shot to her mouth and she shook her head. I kept quiet as she added the milk and quickly led me outside to a bench at the bottom of the garden, a good walk from the house.
“Sorry,” I said as we both sat crossed-legged on the wooden seat.
“It’s fine, just don’t say anything like that around the house.”
“Okay. So what did you get up to then?”
“Nothing. We put Lenara to bed when you left and the last of the guests seemed to drift off about midnight.”
“And?”
“I invited him into the woods for a walk,” she said, holding her hands open in the air. “But he thought better of it.”
“You’ve done it in the woods?” I said, my eyes wide.
“No,” she said. “Not yet anyway. We were away last time.”
“Oh, do tell,” I said, surprising myself at being more than a little intrigued to hear the details.
“What’s to tell?”
I raised my eyebrows and grinned back at her. She shrugged then leant in close as she spoke with a lowered voice.
“We were all on holiday. Lenara took the children off to some theme park. I had a headache and Frank hung around to do some urgent work. We drank wine, which did wonders for my pain and he finished his emails within minutes, so we enjoyed the drink on the sofa.”
“How did it happen? Did you know it was going to?”
“No, I didn’t. It snuck up on me. One minute he was pouring the second glass, the next we were finishing the third bottle and we kissed.”
“And then?”
“And then, you know.”
“You had sex?”
“We made love, right there on the living room floor.”
“What was it like?” I cringed as I heard my eager voice, but couldn’t stop myself.
“It was amazing. It lasted what seemed like hours. He was all over me. Covering me in kisses, everywhere.”
“What did it feel like?” I said.
She paused and I realised my mistake.
“Well, you know, it felt like it feels.” She paused again, looking me in the eye. “You know, don’t you?”
I didn’t reply, other than with a raise of my eyebrows.
“No way. You’ve never had sex? What are you… Twenty?”
“Twenty-one.”
“Still, come on. You’re kidding me, right?”
“No.”
“Oh my god,” she blurted out, her free hand jumping to mine. “Wow. Oh my god, I’m really sorry. I wouldn’t have got Frank to do that thing if I’d have known. Oh god.”
“Don’t worry, it was great. I mean it was fine,” I said, trying to roll back the words.
“So you’ve never had sex?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. In the back of my mind I could hear myself screaming. Why was I saying these things? Why was I being so open with someone I’d really only known for a few days?
“Wait. Are you a lesbian? I mean a proper one.”
“No,” I replied, pausing. “I don’t think so,” I added, alarming the voice inside my head.
“So you’ve never had sex with a man or a woman?” she said slowly.
I drew a deep breath. “No.”
“Are you one of those asexuals? Poor you, you’re missing so much.”
“What’s an asexual?”
“Someone who isn’t interested in sex. Someone who doesn’t get turned on.”
“Oh god no, almost the opposite. I find most people attractive. Men, women, it doesn’t seem to matter,” I said, pushing my concern further away.
“But you’ve never…”
“No.”
“Why the hell not? You’re gorgeous. You must get queues down the road trying to get into your pants. Wait, sorry, is there something wrong with your muschi?”
“My what?” I said, looking back with raised eyebrows.
“Your downstairs. You know. What do you call it?” she said, pointing down between my legs.
“I don’t call it anything,” I replied, my brow scrunched.
“You must call it something. Was it disfigured in some horrible accident? Let me see,” she said, leaning forward, peering at the crotch of my jeans.
“No, there’s nothing wrong with me down there. At least I don’t think so,” I said, straightening my legs.
“How
do you know?”
“It looks all right.”
“Compared to what?”
“Pictures I’ve seen.”
“You mean porn?”
“I guess so.”
“So you do know what it’s called then,” she said with a knowing smile in my direction. “Just call it a pussy and be done with it. It sounds better in German though.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“What? It’s a lovely way to describe it. It makes me think of a warm blanket of fur and it purrs when you stroke it.” She burst out laughing.
I struggled to keep a straight face until suddenly her expression dropped and she spoke slowly.
“Maybe you can’t have an orgasm?”
“Oh, I can,” I said, trying to stifle a wide grin. “I think I nearly had one in your kitchen last night.”
She laughed and took a deep breath, holding it as she stared back in awe.
“I’m so confused. Do you want to?”
“Want to what?”
“Come on, do you want to pop your cherry?”
“I guess so, eventually.”
“Man or woman?”
“I don’t know.”
“It doesn’t matter, but they’re so much different.”
“You like women too?” I asked without meaning to.
“I prefer men, but I’ve dabbled.”
It was my turn to laugh, but as I slowed my breathing I saw Lenara walking towards us wrapped in a silk robe, squinting, her face hanging a mirror image of Celina’s expression.
Alarica lowered her voice, leaning in as she saw her employer cross the grass towards us. “Mission accepted.”
After thanking me for offering to help with the clear up, the conversation with Lenara was much the same as the first part of the conversation with Celina. She was pleased to hear that Celina was in the same state last night and this morning and promised to speak with the champagne supplier for the poor quality of one or more of the bottles they’d shared.
I soon left with a promise to pass across an invitation to Celina for lunch tomorrow, which I did when she woke. The hangover kept her laid low for the rest of the day and our paths didn’t cross until after her lunch with Lenara the next day.
With the food shopping and collecting the children, I didn’t see Celina until the afternoon. She met me outside as I hung washing on the long line.
