Inspired by Night: - a sexy new age romance

by L E May

  I changed into my shorts and vest and made a start on my exercises. Chris had suggested I buy a skipping rope after a conversation we’d had about games we’d played at school. He said skipping was really good exercise. It had been years since I’d skipped but I had been really into it when I was younger, learning different rope swings and tricks. I had a big open space in the hallway with high ceilings which was perfect for skipping so I had started doing it to warm up for twenty minutes before moving onto my strength exercises. I’d even bought some dumbbells to work on my bingo wings!

  I had hoped that skipping would distract me from constantly thinking about Steven, but it just gave me more freedom to think. I needed to do something otherwise I’d spend the whole weekend driving myself insane, reproaching myself for my missed opportunity and then feeling guilty for only thinking of myself and not considering the awful situation Steven found himself in.

  I was distracted from my thoughts by a ringing noise shrilling loudly from the living room. I stopped skipping, sweat running down my neck and my arms shining with moisture from my exertion. I hadn’t even noticed how tired I was. The ringing confused me. It wasn’t my telephone or my mobile; it was a noise I’d not heard before. I followed the sound into the living room towards my new laptop. On the screen was a black window with a message ‘Chris Knight wants to Face Time with you’ and two buttons – green to accept and red to reject.

  I remembered his comment on Facebook telling me to get a laptop with webcam and felt a jolt of emotion, a mix of excitement and panic. Was I about to see the anonymous Chris Knight for the first time? I was a little nervous. I liked to imagine he was attractive and sexy but what if he wasn’t? An image of an old scruffy man wearing a tea-stained vest crossed my mind and I felt nauseous at the thought of him making sexual comments to me. I shuddered and decide it was time to find out the truth. I clicked accept.

  Nothing appeared on the screen except for a small square in the bottom corner of the window which was showing me. I was surprised at first when I saw it and realised that it was the webcam filming me. I guessed that was what Chris could see on his screen. I still had no image though, just a black screen. I waited until eventually I heard a voice.

  ‘Well hello, Liv, nice to finally see you. You look hot.’

  His voice surprised me, it was soft but firm and American. I hadn’t thought about where Chris might be from but I definitely wasn’t expecting that accent. I blushed at his words.

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘Haha, no I mean you look hot, you have sweat rolling down your face,’ he said, amusement in his voice.

  I flushed again wiping the back of my hand across my forehead.

  ‘I’m in the middle of my exercises, I was skipping.’ I heard him chuckle, I still couldn’t see him though, ‘Why can’t I see you?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I can’t see you; I just have a blank square on my screen.’

  ‘Really? OK, hang on.’ I heard noises, keys tapping, wires moving, him swearing under his breath, ‘what about now?’

  ‘Nope nothing.’ I sighed, disappointed, ‘you didn’t think to test it out beforehand?’ I teased.

  ‘How can I test it out? I can see myself on my screen, I assumed it worked.’

  ‘You could’ve called your phone.’

  ‘Ah, I did not think of that,’ he chuckled quietly, ‘I’m really not a nerd, huh?’

  ‘You’re really not.’

  ‘OK so I guess I need to go buy a webcam. You can hear me OK though, right?’

  ‘Perfectly.’

  ‘So, please continue with your exercises, I can check you’re doing them right.’

  ‘No!’ I exclaimed.

  I didn’t want him to see me exercising in case I was doing it wrong; I hated being corrected about anything.

  ‘Liv, if you’re not doing them right they’re not doing you any good. You said last week you weren’t sure if you were doing them right. Show me.’ His voice had a soft tone of amusement but he spoke firmly, with a commanding authority. I sighed loudly and moved aside to check where the camera was picking up and crawled away from the laptop to the space where I was sure he would see me.

  Facing the camera, I got into the position for push-ups.

  ‘I can see straight down your top,’ he teased.

  I sat back on my heels and glared at the screen. He laughed loudly.

  ‘Sorry. OK Liv, turn sideways, let me check your shape.’ I obliged and he continued barking instructions; hands further forwards, knees slightly back, back flat and straight.

  ‘That’s good, OK face away.’ I turned around and struck the same pose.

  ‘What are you checking for now?’ I asked confused

  ‘I’m just checking out your ass in those shorts. Very nice. Definitely easily fuckable.’

  I spun round on my knees and stared at the screen, mouth opened wide in shock. Words I’d seen him write many times, they sounded so strange spoken out loud and yet at the same time they sounded so hot. I became increasingly aware that I wanted this man to find me attractive and sexy. He was chuckling again. I crawled over to the laptop and grinned.

  ‘Well hope you made the most of it, I’m going to take a shower!’ I said smiling, then I closed the laptop.

  Chapter Nineteen

  ‘What’s happened?’ Ruth asked, seeing right through my wide grin and over-enthusiastic greeting. I had just arrived at All Bar One and joined her at the bar. My face fell and I sighed.

  ‘Melissa.’

  My face hardened and I scowled as I said her name. Ruth raised her eyebrows.

  ‘The girl from the toilets?’ She asked. I nodded in confirmation, ‘what’s she done to him now?’

  ‘She burst into the office to tell him she’s pregnant.’

  I could hear the defeat in my voice. Ruth’s mouth fell open and she stared at me for a long time. She turned to the barman,

  ‘We’re going to need tequila over here and a couple of raspberry martinis.’ She instructed him.

  She pushed a shot of tequila towards me and I threw it back gratefully, the pale yellow liquid burning the back of my throat and distracting me momentarily from the misery I was feeling.

  We took our cocktails and settled into a booth on the far side of the bar.

  ‘So what’s he going to do?’ She asked.

  I shrugged.

  ‘I don’t know. He took a few days off to get his head round it all.’ I smiled sadly, ‘he said he couldn’t think straight around me, I made him want to do the wrong thing.’

  Ruth’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.

  ‘So you think he wants to do the right thing?’

  ‘He’s that type of guy I guess, he doesn’t want to be this time, but I think he will all the same.’ I shrugged and stuck out my bottom lip, ‘I should’ve snapped him up when I had the chance.’

  ‘So you were cautious, this still might have happened even if you had snapped him up.’

  Ruth was trying to reassure me but it didn’t make me feel better.

  ‘Maybe I’d have been there that night, or he would’ve been with me somewhere else.’ I pointed out.

  ‘Or maybe you snapped him up after and she still turns up pregnant. At least you don’t have the heartache of him leaving you for her.’

  I closed my eyes at her words. They were too horrible. ‘Of course if he had an actual choice in the matter he would obviously choose you.’ She added, supportively.

  ‘It’s such a mess. She finds him when he’s drunk, fucks him, gets pregnant. It’s like she planned it. But why?’ I frowned, it didn’t make any sense, ‘Surely she doesn’t just fancy him that much? But what else could it be?’

  ‘Is she mentally ill? Is she convinced she’s in love and determined to tie him to her forever? Maybe she’s not even pregnant.’

  I hadn’t considered that. Could she be making it up?

  ‘Of course, she might insist they get married before she starts to show s
o she will look good in the photos, then conveniently she miscarries.’ I suggested, hopefully.

  ‘But then he would just divorce her surely? It’s not a very good long-term plan if all she wants is to be with him.’

  I shook my head, accepting defeat and leant back in my seat.

  ‘I guess I don’t know enough about him to know what other reason she would have. I guess it doesn’t matter anymore. The one that got away.’

  ‘At least you still have the cyber vampire.’ she grinned.

  I felt my face flush betraying my embarrassment. I didn’t know what Ruth would make of Chris, I had moments when I felt ashamed to admit to myself that I found his attention erotic and that I looked forward to our communications. I tried to prevent the secret smile pulling at the corner of my mouth but it was too late, Ruth had noticed it before I could stop it.

  ‘Spill, Olly, what’s he done now?’ I closed my eyes embarrassed.

  ‘OK, you remember I told you he’s advising me with losing weight?’

  ‘I do,’ she nodded, ‘and he seems to be doing a good job, you look fantastic.’

  ‘Thanks, although that’s more credit to you and your shopping skills.’

  I tried valiantly to change the subject.

  ‘It’s a special talent I have. Continue.’ Damn!

  I recounted the conversation we had shared last week, him asking what I wore to exercise and his comments about fucking me from behind. I faltered as I said the words, closing my eyes in shame but feeling a delightful warmth rush through my body at the memory. I had no idea why I found those words so arousing. Ruth leant forward captivated by my tale, dropping her mouth when I told her about the webcam and him openly perving at my backside.

  ‘Please tell me you were not wearing those hideous pyjamas that look like a 1950s American high school basketball kit.’ She wrinkled her nose is disgust. I nodded, grinning.

  ‘The very same.’ I giggled at her reaction.

  ‘So what does he look like, is he the cute guy who looks like Angel?’ she asked, frowning as my face fell.

  ‘Well that’s the really annoying part. His webcam broke so although the microphone works the camera does not. I can’t see him.’

  ‘Denied. That is annoying’

  ‘He’s going to go buy a new one so hopefully I’ll get to see him soon. I hope he’s the Angel guy, I hope he’s not ugly.’ I blurted, my inappropriate filter had deteriorated the more cocktails I consumed. I knew I shouldn’t care what he looked like, but I did.

  ‘What does he sound like?’

  I closed my eyes trying to summon up his voice in my mind.

  ‘Sort of dreamy,’ I murmured, while Ruth rolled her eyes and made gagging gestures. ‘He sounds gentle, but authoritative, and he has an American accent.’

  ‘No wonder he likes your shorts then!’ She giggled. I smiled, relieved that she wasn’t outraged by the nature of the conversations we had been having. ‘You’ll be having cybersex before you know it,’ she grinned, waggling her eyebrows suggestively at me.

  ‘Cybersex?’

  ‘Got to keep things alive haven’t you? Basically, you talk each other through masturbating, pretending your hands are their hands doing what they tell you they want to do. We used to do it all the time during the college breaks, and sometimes if Andrew is working away.’ She trailed off noticing the look of horror on my face. I put my hands over my ears.

  ‘Too much information,’ I cried, she laughed at me and rolled her eyes. ‘There’s no way I’m doing that, I’d feel stupid.’

  ‘I thought that at first, but it’s pretty erotic once you get past the embarrassment. And it’s safer than one night stands, and you can pretend he’s that gorgeous poster pin up, imagine the fun you could have!’

  I just couldn’t imagine it, I was only just evolving to the point where masturbating didn’t fill me with guilt and shame, but that was a very new thing, I doubted I could cope with someone watching me. Could I? It had been quite a revelation hearing Ruth describe it; she obviously didn’t think it was something to be ashamed of. I remembered the reactions through my body whenever Chris said anything about sex and tried to imagine how I’d react if he was directing me to pleasure myself. I felt a shiver run down my spine, gathering in a pool in my crotch. I squirmed in my seat and exhaled slowly.

  I felt drunk suddenly. I couldn’t remember how many drinks we’d had, five or six maybe. I had forgotten to eat before coming out to meet Ruth and my stomach was growling at me.

  ‘I think I need to go home.’ I mumbled.

  ‘Me too. Your face is all swirly.’ She giggled.

  I giggled too. If Ruth had double vision there was no hope for me. I’d be lucky to stand up.

  ‘I’m going to ring Andrew and get him to pick us up.’ She said as she stumbled out of her seat and made her way outside to use the phone.

  I swayed across the room to the toilets and splashed my face over the sink. Feeling slightly refreshed and more awake I wiped the water away with a paper towel. It scratched across my face, the sensation reassuring me that I still had some senses. I looked in the mirror and saw streaks running through my make-up, dark lines from my mascara and water marks cutting through my foundation. I looked a mess, but I didn’t really care. I wiped my fingers under my eyes to remove the excess mascara and made my way outside.

  Ruth and Andrew were waiting for me at the bar. Andrew handed me a pint glass filled with water and ordered me to drink. His arm was round Ruth protectively, holding her upright. She had her eyes closed, leaning into him. Ruth was capable of falling asleep upright so I downed my pint of water and motioned for us to leave while Ruth was still awake.

  I battled feelings of nausea as we drove home. I was so hungry and I could feel the alcohol sloshing around my belly. I knew I would be fine if I ate something. I wondered how many calories I had left. How many calories were there in a raspberry martini?

  ‘Can you just drop me at the top of my road? I want to get some food, I forgot to eat dinner.’ I called to Andrew from the back seat. He nodded and pulled up outside City Pizza.

  ‘You sure you’ll be OK?’

  ‘Yes of course, I only live there.’

  I pointed at my building a couple of houses along from the pizza place. Andrew nodded and after wishing me a good night he drove home. Ruth was fast asleep in the passenger seat.

  I concentrated on walking into City Pizza. Antonio, the owner, was sat at the side of the counter. He stood up, grinning, when he saw me.

  ‘Bella, Olivia!’ He exclaimed.

  I had always found it comforting to have become such a regular that the staff and proprietor knew me, Ruth thought it was a bad thing, showing just how bad my diet was.

  ‘It’s been so long, where you been hiding?’ He asked.

  ‘Hey, Tony, I’ve been dieting, trying to lose some weight.’

  He took hold of my arms and looked at me.

  ‘So I see, you waste away to nothing, Antonio will feed you up, what would you like?’

  ‘The usual please, Tony.’ I said gratefully.

  The smell of toasted cheese was driving me insane. I’m certain Antonio could hear my stomach growling.

  I watched him while he worked, throwing mushrooms and pepperoni on to the base and sprinkling the grated cheese across the top. If I had to choose one food to eat forever it would be pizza. I rested my head on the counter and became aware I was drooling onto my hand. I was so hungry.

  Finally Antonio handed me a pizza box and grinning I made my way the few yards to my flat. I knew I had to be patient to avoid burning my mouth but I was so desperate to eat. I opened the box and left it on the sofa while I filled a pint glass with water.

  Sitting down, I let out a loud sigh, happy to be home. I picked up the first slice of pizza and sank my teeth into the melted cheese and tomato. It tasted amazing, all the better for the extreme hunger I was feeling. The first slice was gone in seconds and I was pulling at the next slice, I could feel tomato sauce
dripping down my chin and bits of mushroom dropping into my lap and down my top. I didn’t care, no one could see me and I was ravenous, compelled only to get rid of the nasty, drunk, empty feeling in my stomach as quickly as possible.

  I slowed down after four slices, wiped my chin on the back of my hand and decided to open up the laptop. It was late but then my Knight in shining armour was a night owl.

  I found his contact details in the previous callers list and clicked connect. The laptop rang, I didn’t know what to expect but after a short time my image dropped to a small rectangle in the bottom of a plain black window.

  ‘Good evening, Liv, did you just pick pepperoni out of your cleavage?’ I had forgotten he could see me. I grinned.

  ‘I forgot to eat before I went out so I’m eating pizza. I don’t even care how many calories that will cost me.’ I said matter of factly.

  I heard him laughing.

  ‘Are you a little bit drunk, Liv?’

  ‘No!’ I realised I sounded offended and stopped, smiling ‘I’m a lot drunk!’ I grinned, taking another bite of pizza.

  ‘Did you have a nice time?’

  ‘I did, but I got through an awful lot of alcohol. What did you do tonight?’

  ‘I was working with a client and then I came home to work on an essay.’

  I was surprised by the pang of envy at his reference to a client. I remembered what he’d told me about his rewards.

  ‘Where did you fuck this one then? Changing rooms? Your car?’ I heard him chuckle.

  ‘The Jacuzzi actually.’

  I snorted loudly and continued eating. I was angry at myself for being jealous, it’s not like I could ever do anything about it, I couldn’t be with him, being jealous was stupid.

  ‘So where are you going to fuck me?’ I heard silence for a moment and realised I’d surprised him, or offended him. I waited to see what he would say and eventually I recognised the sound of his quiet laugh.

  ‘Well that’s a little tricky, you’ll have to find an excuse to come visit me, and then I’ll fuck you anywhere you want, Liv.’ His voice had lost his teasing tone; it was soft and gentle, but commanding. It sounded honest and at odds with his words. I realised I loved the way he said “fuck” and clenched my thighs involuntarily.