We woke not knowing the time. The only daylight crept through the doorway from the landing window. All was quiet, and Marcus and Rosa were nowhere to be seen. “I smell coffee,” Chas muttered, face down on the mattress.
“Chas, look at me,” I said, shaking him. He half-turned. One eye open. “What?”
“What happened here . . . are you OK with it? I mean, now, after the event and all that, are we still OK?” I asked seriously.
Chas steadied himself on one elbow and cupped my face in this hand. “It was an unusual nightcap, I’ll give him that,” he said, trying to make light of it, and kissed me. “Are you asking if we are still OK, Bell? I am if you are. I think we put it down to a most unusual and memorable evening. I certainly learnt a lot about myself.”
“Me, too.” I agreed, a little more casually, taking his hand. “It didn’t seem . . . bad . . . it always felt good, as if it was planned in some way. Did you get that feeling, Chas?”
“Do you think they make a habit of picking up strangers and seducing them,” he said, rolling on top of me and pretending to bite my neck, vampire style. I had that Sunday morning feeling and was prepared for a quickie now Chas was on top of me, but we heard a tap on the door and Rosa came in carrying two mugs of coffee.
“Don’t stop on my account,” she smiled. Chas rolled off of me and I instinctively pulled the sheet over my breasts. Rosa smiled but said nothing, except, “there's toast and cereal downstairs if you are hungry,” and placed the mugs of coffee on the floor. “After breakfast, I'll drive you back to the pub to collect your things.”
“Oh, hell!” I had completely forgotten we had paid to stay at the pub. “The landlord will have wondered what happened to us . . .”
Rosa shook her head. “It's fine. Cathy and George . . .” and she hesitated to find the right words, “. . . are good friends of ours, and saw you leave with Marcus, and assumed you would be late, or possibly stay over.”
She tilted her head and raised one eyebrow, checking we understood. We nodded silently. “Good, then come down soon.” And she was gone.
“You see,” I said, as soon as she had left, “they have done this before. The landlord and his wife are in on it.” Chas rolled over and sighed. “Bell, you are sounding paranoid. It happened, and it turned out OK. We are OK, aren't we? No one strangled us in the night,” he said, head dipped, eyes piercing me for my approval.
“Yes, of course, we are. It was good . . . in a strange, weird way. . . but good. I think we have both learnt something. I never knew how good sex could be with another woman. Are you OK with that?” I asked thoughtfully. Chas sat up and cupped his hands to my face and kissed me gently on the lips. “Marcus told me it was about 'making love', not sex. He wanted us to experience something new and different, which I think we just did.”
Chas sounded different for sure. Could last night have changed him, made him more of a thoughtful lover? Then a thought crossed my mind . . . is that what they do . . . choose young naive couples and guided them in the art of sex, or love-making.
It was a wild thought but it seemed plausible. Marcus and Rosa are a couple, yes, but there was a good age difference, so he could well have 'chosen' her in the beginning. I decided to keep these thoughts to myself for now and see how the day and the following weeks panned out for us. If it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience then no harm has been done, and we could even consider ourselves fortunate. After the eventual quickie, we got dressed and found our way to the kitchen, following the smell of fresh coffee and grilled bacon. “Sit down and have breakfast,” Rosa said cheerfully. “What do you have planned for the day?”
“Actually, we must be going soon. We have a long drive back to London.” I said, realising I didn't really want to leave so soon.
“We could stay another day,” Chas said, and saw my surprised look. “It's possible. You could take a sickie; say we were held up on the way back . . . which we were, kind of,” he said, laughing and smiling at Rosa.
“No . . .” I said, giving the idea some credence. “I promised Sally I would be back tomorrow to take over her shift. I work at a checkout in a local Supermarket.” I said, turning to Rosa with the explanation.
Rosa raised her eyebrows and shrugged. “Pity, we thought you may like to go for a picnic near the lake and then . . . well, that doesn't matter now if you are going.”
“And then what?” Chas asked eagerly, sounding like a little boy wanting another treat.
“And then nothing . . .” I said, resolutely. “We must go back, I promised. I do not like letting my friends down.”
We sat in silence for a while, losing our appetites which were so apparent only a short time ago.
“Where is Marcus by the way?” Chas asked.
Rosa indicated with a nod of her head. “He is not an early riser, but I will make sure he comes down to say goodbye.”
I finished my coffee and automatically went to go upstairs to pack, then suddenly remembered we were staying at the pub. “Oh, God, what will the landlord think of us staying out all night. I hope our things are OK . . . Chas will you . . .” My mind was racing and Rosa and Chas could see I was in the early stages of a panic attack.
“Bell, it's fine . . . I promise you.” Rosa said, giving me a gentle cuddle. It was the first time we had touched that day, and the smell of her bath oil brought back the memory of last night, and the first time we touched. She kissed me on the cheek and smiled as if subduing a distraught child. “I'll call the pub and explain we will bring you back soon. Is that OK?”
“Fine, Rosa. That would be good.” Chas appeared at my side, and took over from Rosa with the hugging, and giving me a kiss. We went back into the kitchen and I started to clear away the cups and plates. “Hey, that's not your job, Bell. Come and sit down and let's talk about today.”
“There is nothing to talk about, Chas. We are going home.”
“OK . . . OK . . . Bell. I just thought you would want to stay around Marcus and Rosa a little longer to find out more about them,” he said, looking at me as if he had just made a remarkable discovery.
“Yes, well, no.” I stammered. Not thinking straight. “Don't do that, Chas. Don't try and make me out to be the bad one here. We have to go back and I am going, even if I have to get a train.” Chas was about to sweet-talk me again when Rosa come back in the kitchen saying she could drive us back if ready.
“What about Marcus?” I asked, genuinely wanting to say goodbye, and thank him . . . I think.
“He sends his regrets but thanks you for your company last night, and to have a safe journey home.”
“That's it?” I said. “After everything, he can't come down even to say goodbye.” My disappointment was obvious but Rosa just shrugged in silence.
She drove us back to the pub to collect our things. The landlord greeted us with a 'good morning' and said the accommodation had been settled. I assumed it was Marcus, or Rosa, but he would not say.
Chas and I drove back to London in silence, except when I had to navigate from the AA map. The next morning, however, he seemed different . . . happier. “So, what shift are you on today?” he asked cheerfully over breakfast.
“One to eight,” I answered, tentatively, surprised by his sudden change of attitude. “I'll bring something in from work for dinner.”
“Good girl. Fancy some steak tonight,” he said enthusiastically.
“I'll see what’s going. I can only get what's not sold on the day.” And forced a smile.