'Helen! What a surprise! Come in. Would you like a drink? Tea? Coffee? Or join me with a glass of wine?'
'I'm driving, but one glass of wine should be okay,' she smiled.
Helen was an ex-colleague of Sue's. They'd kept in touch even though Sue had moved on – although I hadn't seen her for a month or two. At some point during that time she'd swapped her shoulder-length, light brown hair for a shorter, 'dirty' blonde style and it suited her.
'I like the new hair style,' I told her as I ushered her into the lounge and quickly poured her drink.
I've long held the belief that women can be sexy without being particularly pretty and Helen was a case in point. Whilst there was nothing wrong with her body, I would have described her face as being rather plain. But when she flashed that wicked grin of hers, she appeared undeniably sexy – something which was definitely enhanced by her new look.
'Thanks. I'm still getting used to it but I think I'll keep it for a while.'
'You should. It suits you. What did Stan think about it?'
'You know, I don’t think he's noticed,' she frowned. 'If he has, he's never mentioned it.'
'Well, never mind,' I shrugged. 'Anyway, delighted as I am to see you, I must tell you that you've just missed Sue. She left about half an hour ago to go to one of her conferences. Won't be back until Friday.'
'Oh. That's a shame. I was hoping to pick her brains about something that came up at work today.'
'You'll just have to come back another time,' I suggested cheerfully.
'I guess so. Well, I won't take up any more of your time,' she said, setting down her glass.
'There's no need to disappear on my account,' I said quickly. 'At least take your time finishing your drink.'
'I'm not stopping you doing anything?' she asked.
'Only skimming through the television channels,' I shrugged. 'I'm willing to bet there's not a lot worth watching on a Wednesday.'
'Okay then,' she grinned, picking up her glass again, 'but promise you'll kick me out when you're fed up with me?'
'If you wait for me to kick you out,' I told her, 'you could be here for a long time.'
She laughed and relaxed back into her chair.
'So what sort of things do you get up to when Sue's away?'
'Apart from the wild parties and drunken orgies? Not a lot.'
'Mmm! Wild parties and drunken orgies? How come you've never invited me?'
'Fear of rejection,' I said sadly. 'Nothing kills the mood quicker than being turned down by a sexy woman.'
'But what makes you so sure those sexy women would turn you down? Think of the opportunities you may have missed!'
'Good point,' I nodded. 'Okay then, next wild party or drunken orgy – you're top of the list for an invitation.'
'I should think so, too. It's been quite a while since I've been to one.'
'Which – a wild party or a drunken orgy?'
'Either. Both. Whatever. They've been thin on the ground in recent years.'
'But you've been to both?' my interest suddenly sharpening.
'Let's just say that, in my unmarried days, I had my share of fun. How about you?'
'I've been to lots of wild parties,' I conceded. 'Drunken orgies? Not so much.'
'In my experience, the one had a habit of becoming the other,' she said darkly.
'What an interesting youth you must have had,' I grinned, standing up to refill our glasses. 'I wish I'd known you back then.'
'That's not how my boyfriends of those days felt,' she grinned. 'I lost quite a few after some of those parties.'
She shrugged, laughed and took a pull at her drink. 'Their fault for taking me.'
'They took you to wild parties and drunken orgies and then complained when you enjoyed yourself?'
'I think it was probably because I had more fun than they did,' she said, with a sigh of reminiscence.
'I can understand their problem. No doubt they thought they would have to cajole you into staying when things began to warm up. It must have come as a bit of a surprise to discover you weren't shocked.'
'Would it have bothered you?'
'I'd like to think not. If I'd taken a girl to something that was likely to end in a free for all, it would be because I was up for it and hoped she would be. So how could I get pissed off if she had a good time. That's easy to say now, of course. I guess it's one of those things where, until it happens, you can't be sure how you'd react.'
'Okay, but would it bother you if you found out your girlfriend of some time had been to one or two such parties and, shall we say, participated fully?'
'Again, difficult to say because, if any of my past girlfriends had enjoyed that sort of party, they never told me about it.'
'What about these days? What if you weren't married to Sue but had just started going out with her and you found out that she had a wild side. Would it put you off?'
'I suppose it would depend on how, if she wanted to continue being wild, it would affect our relationship.'
'What if she said that, no matter how much she loved you, she just didn't think she would be able to stay faithful, but that she would never leave you?'
'Wow! Tough question. Would the unfaithful bit work both ways?'
'Of course – if you wanted it to.'
'Jeez, I don't know. I'd have to think about that one. I mean, I don't think I like the idea of each partner having a string of affairs, flings – call them what you will – behind each other's backs. Maybe the odd one every couple of years or so wouldn't be too bad but, if both wanted regular extra-marital sex, then I think they should be up front about it and maybe do that sort of thing together. Then it might not be so bad.'
'Swinging as opposed to cheating?' she asked thoughtfully.
'Yeah. Or maybe swapping. If it's to be regular part of their lives. At least that way it would be out in the open, both partners consenting and being fully aware of what's going on. No surprises; no sneaking about; no guilt.'
'But the odd affair now and then would be okay?'
'Maybe not, "okay," but acceptable if it was just for the novelty of having a different partner for a change,' I qualified.
'Interesting.'
I looked at the empty bottle and Helen's empty glass.
'Should I open another bottle?'
'God, have we drunk one already? I can't drive anywhere now.'
'Then call a taxi,' I suggested, going into the kitchen to fetch another bottle from the fridge.
'The trouble with that,' she frowned, 'is that I'll have to get another one back tomorrow to pick up my car.'
'Couldn't you ask Stan to drive you over?'
'Normally, I could. But he's away tonight and won’t back until tomorrow evening.'
'Well, you could always stay here,' I shrugged. 'We've plenty of beds. You can take your pick.'
'But I've no night stuff with me,' she protested.
'So,' I shrugged, 'do what Sue and I do and sleep naked. There's plenty of soap and towels and you could either borrow a toothbrush or live dangerously and not clean your teeth.'
Helen laughed and held out her glass for a refill.
'What the hell! If you're sure it's no trouble . . .?'
'Of course it isn't! I meant it when I said pick a room. All the beds are made up so you can just go to bed whenever you want to.'
'Okay, great. Thanks. Cheers.'
'Cheers,' I responded.
'So, going back to what we were talking about before,' she smiled, 'you would rather you both swung rather than have individual flings?'
'If I had to choose, then I think swapping would be my first choice, followed by swinging, with individual affairs coming last.'
'Do you think you ever would?'
'I really couldn't say,' I shrugged. 'I mean, we've been married twenty years and there isn't much we haven't talked about, just as there isn't much that two people can do that we haven't tried. We've talked about fantasies and possible situations that we've thought about from time to time – you know, like threesomes, swapping and, of course, swinging. I think we agreed that swapping would be our first choice if we decided to have sex with other people and we both agreed it would be fun to watch each other doing it with someone else. How about you?'
'I'm a bit undecided,' she admitted. Mainly because it's not something Stan and I have talked about. But if I was to have an affair then I'd feel it would only be fair if Stan did too.'
'So you'd tell him if you did?'
'Actually, I probably wouldn't. But then I wouldn't expect him to tell me, if he was. It would make it more exciting, somehow, which is why I'd be having an affair in the first place.'
'For the excitement?'
'Well I wouldn't be doing it because I was looking for love,' she said quickly. 'I still love Stan, even if we do seem to have lost interest in the sex side of things.'
'Is sex important to you?' I asked curiously. 'Sue always reckons if she goes without for more than a week, she can feel her personality start to change.'
'I love sex,' she said simply. 'As you may have gathered, when I was younger, I was extremely promiscuous – there's no other word for it – but by the time I'd met Stan I'd calmed down a lot and when we married I was perfectly happy just having the same man night after night. But lately . . . well, not doing it with Stan doesn't help, but I find myself looking at guys and thinking, "Yeah. You'd do." And if one of them started coming on to me, I'm really convinced I'd think seriously about letting him.'
'I don't think you'd have any trouble finding a good-looking guy,' I offered. 'You're a very sexy woman.'
'You think so?' she laughed delightedly. 'Why do you say that?'
'I don't know,' I stammered, relieved that she hadn't felt threatened by my remark. 'Good legs; cute ass; nice boobs and a seriously sexy smile. You give the impression that you'd be damned good in bed.'
She laughed.
'But of course I am! And all this while you've been thinking that and I never knew.'
'Well, of course you didn't! Imagine how it would be if every person who ever fancied another person had to tell them.'
'Good point. Well, I'm flattered that you think so, anyway,' she grinned. 'And I have to say you're not exactly Quasimodo, yourself.'
'Thank God for that! But listen, I have to work tomorrow and if I drink any more I'm going to regret it. I'm going to make some tea. Would you like some? Or coffee? Or stay with the wine. What ever you want.'
'Tea sounds great. Thanks.'
She followed me into the kitchen and leaned casually against one of the units as I set about filling the kettle.
'So if you were to have a casual affair, would you be up front about it?'
'Probably not. As you said, keeping it secret would add to the naughtiness. Am I contradicting myself? I blame the booze – plus the fact that I've never really thought too much about this sort of thing and you've put me on the spot.'
'My fault, eh? Sorry.'
'You know what I mean.'
'I do,' she nodded, 'and I think I more or less agree with your views.'
I continued making the tea it what had suddenly become a thoughtful silence. I had to admit I was enjoying the conversation even if there was a very real danger of Helen noticing the bulge in my jeans. Talking about sex with a sexy woman does it for me every time.
Possibly she felt the same way because she started talking about holidays while we stayed in the kitchen, sipping our tea. Twenty minutes later she set down her empty mug and straightened up.
'So, Mr. Thompson, if you would be so kind as to show me the rooms you were talking about, I'll think about going to bed.'
It felt strangely exciting, leading her up the stairs and I tried to think about my work schedule for the next day, to keep myself calm.
Standing on the landing, I gestured to the three bedroom doors.
'Take your pick.'
She opened each door in turn and quickly gave the rooms the once-over.
'Any one?' she queried.
'Absolutely.'
'Then I choose this one,' she said stepping into the master bedroom.
'This is our room,' I said, resigning myself to moving out for the night. 'Good choice.'
'It seems stupid to mess up one of the other beds for just one night,' she explained, her face serious, but her eyes dancing with mischief.