I looked at my phone as it started buzzing at 17.59hrs, the ringtone was on loud as well: "Remember this aria?" Says Jennifer Beale's character, the faint strains of opera in the background.
"Oh," says Leisha Hailey's character thoughtfully, "You mean our third date? When you finger fucked me at the Opera? Before telling me you didn't think we were right for each other? And then there was this straight girl you might fall in love with? No, I don't remember a thing!"
I picked up the phone and hit ACCEPT with a grin. I love my ringtone so much I can still let it play through even if I am next to the phone and really want to talk to the person calling.
"Hi Katie!" I greeted her warmly, still grinning.
"Did I catch you at a bad time?"
"Not at all! How was the Christening?" I enquired politely.
"Usual affair of tears, vomit, screaming and so on. The sprog was rather cute but I had to check my notes to remember her name!"
I chuckled and wondered if this was a good time to have
The Talk
, and cover issues of contraception and children. As usual Katie seemed to read my mind and beat me to it:
"That reminds me!" She began in a very grand drawling voice, "If you got me pregnant today I would be truly up a creek without a paddle. Do you have any thoughts about that?"
"You climbed on me, I only wanted to perform oral on you. I can sell you a paddle, then we're evens." I joked.
"Funny!" She growled, "But seriously? What are your thoughts on contraception?"
We went into a long discussion about our moral standings and our feelings. Our feelings about each other as well as our feelings about what we like and don't like sexually. Neither of us wanted kids, but neither of us liked messing around with condoms or popping pills or getting injections... I suggested she use the morning after pill as a one-off and we stick to oral sex until the wedding, then discuss our options later on.
"That's unrealistic." She insisted.
"Why?" I said carefully, totally unsure what she meant by this.
"I have fallen in love with your cock!" She announced.
I almost dropped the phone. "Wow!" was all I could manage.
She giggled like a school girl. "Aren't we naughty?"
"Does the bad girl need a spanking?" I teased.
"Never tried it, but we can get a list of things to do for the wedding night...make it special? That's assuming we make it down the aisle together?"
"I was kidding. But I am glad you are open minded about exploring stuff together. I reckon I have found a best friend at the very least so no matter what happens in the getting-to-know-you process I reckon we have a solid foundation."
"I'm glad you feel that way too... so anyway, what's for dinner?"
"Oh..." I checked the time. We had been talking for almost an hour. I had not booked a restaurant or anything. "I can afford maybe a Chinese down the road, or I can come to your place and cook for you?"
"Okay! What are you cooking for me?"
"What do you like?"
"What's your specialty?" She shot back.
"Tuna and fusilli pasta with peanut butter, corriander, tarragon, ginger and a dash of mayo and ketchup."
"Wow!" she breathed, "That sounds amazing! Bring the tarragon and the tuna, I have everything else here!"
I raced to the nearest Spar and then ran over to her place.
It occurred to me that we would probably say Grace before eating, and would that seem hypocritical? I mean, you fuck a Minister of Religion who has been celibate for ten years, is it then rude to thank God for the food you are eating? Or is that still a nice thing to do? I kept my worries to myself and enjoyed the ego trip of having bagged a hot lesbian's virginity and then having the chance of a romantic evening together as well the same day.
I knocked on the front door.
A text message made my pocket buzz. I pulled the phone out and opened the SMS. It said "Round the back!" So I walked around to the kitchen door and let myself in as casually as possible.
"Howdi neighbour" she chirped in a jokey yokel accent.
"Now then!" I responded adopting the same accent.
She grinned. "SO, Chef? What are we doing?"
"
We
are boiling some water and chopping some spring onion first"
"Don't have any spring onions" she shot back.
I opened my mouth to ask why she said she had everything else and then realised I had forgotten to list that in my specialty dish on the phone, so I merely said, "OK, that part is optional, but we need to get the tarragon, ginger and water boiling, then add the pasta, then the salt later."
Katie showed me where everything was and then sat at the breakfast bar and told me to get on with it.
I proceeded to frantically prepare everything, sieving the tuna, talking her through every step of my recipe, explaining all the whys and whats... then we started talking about our families, our backgrounds, our upbringings. Her dad had been a great cook, so for her this was a reassuringly familiar thing to watch a man at work over a hot stove.
I asked her what happened to him. She told me he died of AIDS caught from his gay lover, after a long battle with HIV that ended two years ago. I almost dropped the bowl I was holding.
"I'm kidding! Mum and Dad live in Kent and are very happy together!" She guffawed.
I shot her a curious glance and went for the obvious question: "Why do you refer to him in the past tense?"
"They disowned me when I came out to them fifteen years ago after years of subtle hints that they wanted me to find a nice boy to settle down with. By being with you I have an opportunity to repair my relationship with my family. So - I guess - one door closes and another door opens. I may have to leave the Church but I can get a teaching job and get to make peace with Mum and Dad before they pop their clogs."
I put down what I was doing and stepped over to her and kissed her passionately. This was no spontaneous fling, she had really thought things through. Had I seduced her or had she allowed herself to be seduced? More the latter I supposed.