This is the twenty-seventh episode of my unreliable memoirs. Each episode is self-contained, so you can read them without having read the previous ones (although sometimes it helps with the context and names a bit).
The year is 1983 and this episode focuses on the second part of our summer holiday following my graduation.
I hope you enjoy it.
M4bloke
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We sat in the shade at a French roadside café and I watched Lesley sip her Coke through a straw. I couldn't have told you exactly where we were. We'd left Carole's house in Aix that morning and were about half way to Annecy, which meant we probably still had another two or three hours riding to do.
"Stop looking at me like that," Lesley giggled. "You're making me self-conscious."
"I'm just admiring you," I told her.
"Well that's OK then," she said smiling.
Lesley looked happy. She usually did, but she wasn't one for hiding her emotions and today I could see she was excited too.
"Are you looking forward to seeing Daniel?" I teased her.
"And Kate," she replied. Then, knowing she'd been rumbled, she added "But yes I am looking forward to seeing Daniel. Does it bother you?"
"You know it doesn't," I told her.
In my last year at university Lesley had lived with Daniel and Kate at their London house. During that time she'd shared their bed most weekday nights and Lesley and Daniel had become very attached to each other. She and Kate were also best friends but, even so, it was trusting of Kate to let Lesley be with her older, but still attractive, multi-millionaire husband.
"You're my warrior Steven. It's your mark I've got tattooed on me and it's you I belong to. You know that, don't you?" Lesley said reaching across the table to hold my hand
Her words reminded me of the tattoos we'd got to mark her as my property. She'd insisted on having them done when we'd got engaged, the idea having come from David's series of Sci-fi books that meant so much to her.
"Besides," Lesley continued. "It's not as if you come out of this empty handed. You do get Kate in return."
Kate had to be the most attractive woman I'd ever actually spoken to. She was almost twenty years younger than Daniel and definitely fell into the category of trophy wife. She could have had pretty much any man she wanted and she'd chosen Daniel. He'd given her a lifestyle few could match but I felt sorry for her in a way. Being married to Daniel meant they were both in the public eye and this severely limited who they could have fun with. Unlike Daniel, Kate didn't have a lover but since I'd finished university we'd been seeing a lot more of each other.
"I tell you what," I said. "Why don't we swap for the week?"
"What do you mean?"
"You shack up with Daniel and I'll shack up with Kate."
"Are you serious?"
"I am. I've no idea if Daniel and Kate would want to do it though."
"Oh I think they would," Lesley replied. "Kate would really like to spend some time with you. And you know Daniel will want to spend time with me."
"My only condition is that next week when we go to Greece, we sleep in the same bed."
"Is that an order," Lesley asked, teasing me. "Because you know I'll obey you if it is."
"It is."
"I like it when you're all dominant," she giggled. "But we will be able to invite other people to share our bed with us, won't we?"
"We will."
"Good. What about Markus and Heike?"
Daniel had invited Markus and Heike to join us in Annecy for the first part of our holiday. It was going to be a bit of a reunion for us all, as we'd first met them there a year ago. Since then Markus had become a significant investor in Daniel's company, Durolitum.
Heike was another trophy wife, although the age gap between her and her Banker husband was much smaller than that between Daniel and Kate. Heike wasn't quite as stunning as Kate but there really wasn't much in it.
"We can share them," I said. "I don't think they'll mind."
"It would be nice to have more group sex," Lesley confided. "Rather than splitting up into pairs I mean."
"I think you're right."
"Listen to us," said Lesley. "We're a right pair of tarts aren't we."
We arrived in the small village of Talloires, at the far end of the lake from Annecy at just after four in the afternoon. The place looked exactly the same as it had a year before, right down to the white panel van outside, containing Peters, Daniel's driver, and his wife Cathy.
"Stevie boy," said Peters getting out of the van. "Good to see you."
"And you Ian," I said shaking his hand firmly. "Good journey?"
"Can't complain."
The girls came around from the other side of the van and we finished off the re-union.
"Mrs Carter," Peters said deferentially.
"It's good to see you Peters," Lesley said, giving him no choice but to accept a hug from her while I hugged Cathy.
Peters and Cathy had driven from London with Daniel's Harley Davidson in the back of the van, along with Daniel and Kate's luggage and ours too. They were staying in a hotel nearby to act as support if we had trouble with the bikes and would be taking both mine and Daniel's back to London at the end of the week when we flew on to Greece.
Peters and I unloaded the van, taking care to ensure that we didn't damage Daniel's Harley, while Lesley checked us in at the hotel. A bellboy came out with a trolley to take the suitcases up to the suite but there were so many he needed to make two trips.
After we'd sorted everything out, the four of us sat drinking cold lager in the shade and chatted.
"Are you staying at the same hotel as last year," Lesley asked them.
"Yes," said Cathy. "I'm looking forward to spending a week sunbathing."
"I don't know how much riding the boys will be doing this year," Lesley continued. "But I'll let you know on the days that they aren't."
"Thank you, Mrs Carter, but we're here if they need us," Peters said.
"Is there anything you need?" Lesley asked.
"We're fine," said Cathy. "But if you find an English paper anywhere I know Ian would love one."
