Chapter 15: Chapter 15

*****

Erin is, as I expected, in pieces. I know that she had high hopes for Rob.

“I don’t get it.” she cries, wringing her hands. “What do I have to do? I offer them everything. I tell them my life story. I make it clear that I won’t see anyone else….”

“I think you try to get too close, too soon,” I say. “Lots of guys don’t like it if you’re all over them straight away.”

“Oh, don’t talk rubbish,” says Ben. “When you meet someone, you know right away when they’re good for you.”

Keep your mouth shut. This isn’t the time.

“Cheer up,” says Ben, holding her hand. “I’ve got a friend who’s just broken up with his girlfriend. We could all go out together if you like, the four of us. I’ll introduce you.”

And just like that, her tears dry up.

“Really?” she says. “Thanks. You seem really nice. I’d love to meet your friend.”

“That’s settled, then,” says Ben. “How about tomorrow night? Is that okay by you, Kirstie?”

Jeez, I don’t want to do this….

“That would be lovely. Thanks, Kirstie,” says Erin, before I have a chance to open my mouth. “Do you want to pick us both up from Kirstie’s place, Ben?”

“I’ll do that. About eight?”

*****

The evening is as grim as I anticipate. Dearly as I love my sister, I have trouble with her infatuations and her conviction that Prince Charming is about to ride over the hill on his charger.

….. Dreams of White Horses….?

Ben’s friend, Larry, seems very much to be cut from the same cloth as Ben himself; straightforward, not bad looking, a nice guy…. vanilla. He’s very talkative though, and his main topic of conversation is himself. And as I listen to the drift of his views and opinions on life, politics, gay rights, the place of women….

Mmmm…. thorough-going puritan outlook here….

And he’s Ben’s friend….

He spends a lot of time talking with, or more accurately at, Erin, with a constant stream of noise about his work, his family, where he grew up, what he likes, what he dislikes…. It goes on and on.

No wonder his girlfriend broke up with him. She must have been bored rigid….

Listening to the blah, blah, my mind defocusses, drifting instead to Ryan and the dazzling sex we had a few nights ago….

Ryan, tracing electric fingertips along my spine…. His mouth over my pussy…. That explosive orgasm….

“…. What do you think, Kirstie?”

I come back to earth with a jolt. “Sorry, what was that?”

Ben laughs. “Weren’t you listening? Your mind on other things, maybe….” His hand settles on my thigh, with a clear implication. I’d like to move it away. The last thing I want is to get back into bed with Ben.

But right now, with other people around us, it seems unpolitic to say anything, so I let it stay.

*****

At the end of the evening, Ben pointedly drops off Erin and Larry first, leaving me alone with him. As he pulls up at my place, he leans in to kiss me. I give him a quick peck, but before he can speak, “If you don’t mind, Ben, I need an early night. I’ve got a lot on tomorrow.”

His face falls, disappointment writ large. “Oh…. I hoped…. It was pretty mind-blowing last time, wasn’t it?”

Yeah… Right….

“Really, Ben. I need to get some sleep. Good night.” I peck him on the cheek again and get out of the car, not looking back as I unlock my door and step inside.

*****

The following day, working at my desk, I wait for the inevitable…. It’s late in the afternoon, but eventually….

…. the inevitable arrives, in the shape of Ben, wearing a scowl.

He’s not happy about last night….

Play it cool….

“Hi, Ben. Are you alright? You don’t look happy.”

“No, I’m not fucking happy!”

I keep my calm but add a chill to my voice. “You don’t have to speak to me in that tone.”

He looks apologetic, then sheepish. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to take it out on you. Yes, something’s bothering me and I don’t know quite what I should do about it.”

Oh…. It’s not me then….

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s Mike….”

“Oh….?”

“He only just married her a few months ago, and he dotes on her….”

“Charlotte? What’s the problem?”

“She’s screwing around.”

Whoops….

“Really? Are you sure? I’ve seen the two of them together. The looks she gives him don’t look to me like they come from a woman who’s bored with her husband.”

“I’m sure. Mike wasn’t at his work today, so I drove up to his place. He wasn’t there, but she was, with him. And now I can’t decide what to do.”

“Him? Who is this ’Him’?”

I know the answer to this before I hear it….

“It’s that bastard, James. He’s Mike’s best friend, supposedly. He was Best Man at the wedding, and now he’s screwing his wife. I thought when I saw them the other day that he wasn’t behaving as he should with Charlotte, and now I’ve seen it. I walked in on them and I saw them together, but they didn’t see me.”

“When you say, you walked in on them, what do you mean? What did you see exactly? You mean they were having sex?”

“Errr…. no, not as such. but he was…. kind of leaning over her. He had her against the wall. It was obvious….”

“It’s not obvious at all. You can’t go making those kinds of assumptions, Ben. And you screw people’s lives up when you start interfering.”

He stares at me. “Whose side are you on?”

“I’m not on anyone’s side. I just think you need to be very careful with this. What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. I can’t tell Mike. I just can’t. I’ll break his heart. But I can talk to him, James. Tell him to keep the hell away from my brother’s wife.”

“I really would stay out of it if I were you, Ben.”

His face twists, furious, “I will not stay out of it.” he snaps. “It’s my brother we’re talking about.”

Scowling at me, he stamps out of the lobby.

Oh, crap….

I should warn James….

And Michael, and Charlotte….

I barely know them. How can I say something like that to them?

Then I paste on a smile as a visitor arrives needing a name-badge and directions through the building.

And any chance I have to contact any of the Threesome vanishes as the lobby fills and I’m kept busy for what’s left of the afternoon.