The most awkward Jay and I had ever been together was that Sunday evening. We ate in relative silence, knowing what was to come. Jay washed up, and I made us two coffees. We sat on opposite sides of the table. We stared at each other, unspeaking, for an uncomfortable time.
"Well," I said.
"Well," Jay responded. "Here we are."
"Here we are."
"Who should go first?"
"I don't know."
We sat nursing our coffees.
"Do you think we would be better with a couple of drinks?" Jay broke the uncomfortable silence.
"Have we got any?"
"We've got that sherry you forgot to take to Jean's."
"Oh, yeah."
"And we've still got some brandy left over from Christmas."
"Any lemonade?"
"Philistine! Yes, we might have some in the cupboard."
Jay opened the sherry and poured two glasses. Since we hadn't started talking, we both downed them in a couple of minutes.
"Do you think we're both nervous about this?" I asked.
"I think so."
"Shall we dive in?"
"Okay. You first. How many other men have you shagged?"
"Wow! That's blunt."
"Well, it's what we want to talk about, isn't it?"
"I suppose. I'm just not sure..."
The knock interrupted me. Jay groaned and flopped his head on the table.
"Ted!" I replied as I opened the door. He walked in without waiting for a response.
"Dennis told me about the new court summons."
"Yes. She's determined to get us out."
"She's as mad as a hatter."
"Do you want a coffee?" Jay shot me a look.
Much to my disappointment, Ted accepted. I made the coffee, putting lots of milk in it to cool it down.
"You know she's accused me of stealing her mail?"
"No!" Jay said. "What's she say is missing?"
"A couple of letters from her son. He's in Loughborough doing engineering or something.
"Ted," I said in an accusing tone, "You old devil. You did, didn't you?"
"Shhh!" He hissed. "Of course I did."
"Listen Ted," Jay said, "I don't want to be unsociable, but we've sort of got something planned here."
"Oh. Oh. Sorry," Ted blushed. "I'll leave you to it."
"Call in tomorrow," Jay offered. "We'll be in all evening."
"Yes. Yes. Thanks. I'll do that." He left more purposefully than usual.
"Fucking awful timing," Jay stated.
"Yep," I said, sitting back down. "Where were we?"
"You were about to tell me you don't know how many other men you've slept with."
"What? No!"
"When I asked how many other men you'd shagged, you said you weren't sure, then Ted knocked."
"That's not what I was going to say."
"Okay, what then? How many other men have you shagged?"
"I'm not sure that's our best starting point."
"What would you suggest?"
"I thought maybe we talk through the agreement."
"I will still want that answer."
"Okay, let's start with the agreement first. We've both broken the 'open and honest' clause."
"Yes. We have," he agreed.
"So why did you not tell the truth?"
"Because I didn't know how you'd react. You?"
"The same, I think."
I heard voices on the landing, followed by a knock. "Oh, fuck!" I exclaimed in a whisper.
"Unbelievable!"
I answered the door. It was Steph and Dave.
We exchanged greetings, and I offered them a glass of sherry. Dave declined because he didn't like sherry. He did, however, accept a brandy.
"You said to call up anytime you weren't working," Steph said as they walked in.
"I did." I hovered over the words.
"Oh," Dave said, "It's an awkward time."
"It is, sort of," I admitted.
"Okay, we'll go. Sorry." Steph looked awkward.
"No. Stay and have your drinks. But can we reorganise for sometime next week? How about tomorrow?"
Steph and Dave looked at each other with a bit of relief. It wasn't that we didn't want them there.
"Yes. That would be great," Dave said.
"I'm up for that," Steph added.
They both drank up and left, pleased that they were coming the next night.
"Lock the fucking door," Jay instructed. "Turn the little light on and the big one off, and turn the music off. We're out to everyone."
"Done!" I followed the instructions, and then pulled down the bed and unstrapped it.
"So," I began, as I sat down on the bed, "What we need is more confidence and trust in each other."
"How do we do that?" Jay asked.
"I think we can only do it by doing it. We just have to start and see how we feel. But let's be absolutely honest about it."
"O-kay." Jay was a little hesitant.
"I told you about Roger," I began.
"Yes. Yes, you did."
"Then there was Jimmy."
"Who the fuck is Jimmy?"
"He was a truck driver I met when I was out with Pam. You know. The night you picked us up from the Dock Road. We saw a band in that pub."
"The night you didn't want sex?"
"Yes."
"Because you'd just had sex?"
"No. Because I was feeling dirty."
"For fuck's sake, why? A truck driver? Where did you even do it?"
"In the cab of his wagon. They have beds in there."
"Where was Pam all this time?"
"In another cab, getting serviced by his mate." I saw a flash of anger in his eyes. "What are you feeling? Angry? Jealous?"
"Yeah. A bit of both. But why, for fuck's sake?"
"It's complicated. He was paying me attention. I was going through a phase when I was very sensitive and he touched me a few times in places that really turned me on." It was the best explanation I could muster without implicating Zeb.
"What, he started fondling you in the pub?"
"Not exactly." I hesitated and Jay raised his eyebrows as if to say 'Well?' "He touched a sensitive spot on my arm and the back of my knee. I got all sexed up."
"By a touch?"
"Yes. I'm okay now, though. I suppose the alcohol added to it a bit. Well, a lot probably."
"Was it good?"
"Fucking awful."
"So, how did it happen?"
"Really? You want details?"
"The sanitised version. I don't want porn."
I explained what happened with the sailors pestering us and the two truckers coming to our rescue; the erogenous touching; Pam and Mac leaving; us following; how he licked me like a dog; how he lobbed the full condom over the fence.
"You're silent," I said, "and it's worrying. What are you thinking?"
"I'm confused."
"Confused?"
"There's a bit of me that's angry that you can pick up a strange bloke and..."
"Hang on a minute, buster." I held up a hand. "You let a perfect stranger give you a blow job instead of paying the fair. Basically, you paid her for a blow job."
"Did this Jimmy and Mac buy you drinks?"
"Of course they did."
"So, you had sex for drinks? You know what that suggests?"
"Don't make it sound sleazy." I didn't allow him to respond. "So, why confused?"
"I, erm. Because..."
"Come on. Total honesty."
"I'm finding it arousing."
"Really?" My interest was piqued.
"I don't know why. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologise for it. I'm not bothered." Quite excited, as it happened.
"I need a piss!" He walked out.
While Jay was in the bathroom, I poured the last of the sherry into my glass and poured some brandy for Jay, adding a touch of lemonade. The previous glasses were already warming me up. I then changed into my nightie. When he returned, I was sitting cross legged at the head of the bed with the drinks in my hand. I passed him his.
"God! I need one now." I put my drink on the floor and jumped off the bed.
When I returned, Jay had sat on the settee. I resumed my place on the bed.
"Your turn." I pointed at Jay. "Tell me about your visitor. Who was she?"
"She's a bit of a regular..."
"Customer or shag?" I interrupted.
"Customer. I mean, a fare. We got chatting, and she said she didn't want to go home. She wanted somewhere to have a coffee and sober up and she didn't fancy the driver's café in town, so she said how about my place and she'd pay me."
He continued giving me more and more detail about this woman and how he'd brought her back just for a coffee.
"Come over here and tell me how it came about." He complied.
"I made her coffee, and she drank it. Then she stood up as if to go. I said I'd take her home, and she didn't need to bother paying me. As I opened the door, she pushed it shut and started kissing me."
"And you let her?"
"I thought of you and Roger and thought, what the hell, I may as well go with it."
His logic seemed reasonable; I couldn't argue. I'd had sex in a hotel room with a colleague I had a tenuous connection with. "Go on," I said. "I want every detail."
"You really don't."
"Yes, I do." I wanted to know exactly how I'd feel. Would I find myself aroused, like Jay? Would I get angry again? I pushed aside the fact that it happened in our bed. At least, I tried to.
"As she kissed me, she stroked my dick."
"Inside or outside?"
"Outside, at first. She took my hand and pushed it up her skirt."
"Was she wearing knickers?" Jay tilted his head and pulled a face. "Oops! Of course she was, because I found them jammed at the back of the bed." I didn't intend it to sound cutting, but it did.
"We ended up on the bed."
"Hang on a bit! Details!"
"Really?"
"Yes. Were her knickers damp?"
"Not particularly."
"Hand inside or outside?"
"Inside."