Gemma sat in the bathtub, her hands idly caressing her nipples underwater as she was deep in thought. She closed her eyes and tried to empty her mind. The water had turned tepid and she decided it was time to let the water drain. Then she thought about Ryan. In the privacy of her own home, she remembered that long, lingering look they had shared. The feeling of his hand stroking hers. She turned the water back on as she placed her feet either side of the stream of warm water. She let the water cascade over her clitoris, as her fingertips deftly pinched and pulled at her nipples. She could feel the pleasure build up within her, and didn't want it to end so soon. She reluctantly got out of the bath and onto her knees searching one of her bathroom cabinets for the glass dildo she'd hidden away when things had become more serious with James. Not that Gemma was short of men who were willing to give her the real thing during her intermittent bouts of singledom. But sometimes it was just easier to get straightforward, uncomplicated satisfaction whenever she wanted it. She felt the cool glass and smiled instinctively. She resumed her position in the bath, this time slowly sliding the dildo in and out of herself. Then, when she felt she was on the brink of an orgasm, she moved it faster and faster, harder and deeper, until her legs grew weak and her body thrashed around in the water as she rode the wave of pleasure that washed over her. Slipping in between her sheets a short while later, Gemma had a moment of realisation. There was nothing straightforward or uncomplicated about what she'd just done. When she drifted off to sleep that night, all she could think about was Ryan.
Morning came, and Ryan was lacing his trainers before going for a run. The sun was shining and he wanted to take advantage of it. He turned the volume up on his iPod and left his phone on the kitchen counter. After stretching outside his front door, he headed towards Regent's Park. Gemma, on the other hand was just waking up. She reached for her phone and, after a brief internal debate, texted Ryan. "What's cooking, good looking?" She cringed. "Really?" She thought to herself. Sitting up in bed she tried to comprehend what had happened last night. She reasoned that it was, in essence, the equivalent of having a sex dream about someone inappropriate. Except, she had been awake. And she had wanted it. She just hadn't expected it.
"You have to be joking." Rachel laughed, as she stubbed out her cigarette. The two friends were sitting out on Gemma's balcony, enjoying the sun.
"I'm not! I really did THAT thinking about HIM!" Gemma insisted incredulously.
"Well, yeah. I believe 'THAT.' What I don't believe is that you weren't expecting it! Come on, Gemma."
Gemma reflected over a few sips of green tea. She wondered what Ryan was doing, and looked over at her phone. It had been an hour since she'd sent him that message and he hadn't replied.
"So back to my night..." Rachel continued. Gemma welcomed the distraction, and she was in fits of laughter as her friend recounted her drunken encounter with the man from the bar.
...
The doorbell rang. Joanna switched off her hairdryer and waited. It rang again. She rolled her eyes and exhaled. Then, she marched into the front room and folded her arms. "Are you fucking deaf?"
Chris' eyes never left the screen. "What's that?"
"I said, are you fucking deaf?"
Chris mumbled something under his breath and waved her away.
"Because I was drying my hair in the other room and I could still hear the doorbell."
Chris started clapping. A slow, ironic clap. His eyes remained fixed to the screen.
Joanna opened the door.
"Is this a bad time?" Ryan asked. He had, of course, heard the argument from outside the couple's small townhouse. Joanna returned to her room without greeting him, making a point to slam the bedroom door shut.
Chris turned the TV off and turned to Ryan. "Sorry about that, mate." The two men went to the kitchen and made a show of looking through the fridge for something to drink. They both knew they'd end up having a beer, regardless of the time. Just as they were sitting down, Joanna walked in. She looked at them disapprovingly before announcing she was heading out. "She's still in a mood about me wanting to go out last night." Chris offered by way of explanation. Ryan pretended he understood, but Chris knew he didn't.
After a glorious afternoon spent watching the football, Ryan got up to leave. When he got home he switched on the radio and kicked off his shoes, mentally thanking Gemma for installing a whole-home audio system during the renovation. After a long shower, he sat at his desk for the rest of the evening, until he felt he'd earned dinner. His phone was flashing on the counter where he'd left it that morning, and he saw the text from Gemma. The thing about Gemma was that her allure was natural. Every fibre of her being was seductive, from the way she spoke to the way she moved. Ryan could just sense the self-deprecating tone of the message. "I was thinking I'd cook Domino's, actually..."
