In this part we pick up where Part 4 finished with Robyn waking up on Helen's bed and continues on for the next few days as Robyn flirts with Alana, which drives Helen to ever more desperate measures as she tries to draw her in. To further complicate matters for Robyn she is still fixated on Penny.
Author's note: A bingle is a car accident, 'I had a bingle.'
Helen McInnes stared at the younger woman sitting on the bed with her back to the bedhead. Robyn had apparently been dressed for church that morning in a cream silk, double-breasted blouse and a colourful skirt with a flower pattern. The black cardigan she wore had been Helen's an hour or so ago, now it and several other cardigans belonged to Robyn. This act of generosity was just the next step of a campaign to seduce the twenty-year-old virgin who'd come into her workplace to post up an advertisement for a Christian coffee shop. For the last couple of weeks though she had been just out of reach and last night Helen had observed her going into the Swagman with her boss, Penny. She'd followed the pair home discreetly that night and was relieved to see that Penny just dropped her off and went home alone.
That meant the chase was still on although Helen had privately admitted that even if Penny beat her to the punch she might still try and fuck Robyn's housemate. She'd turned up a couple of hours ago to look at the cardigans Helen was going to donate to a charity shop and after trying one on, agreed to take the lot and see if she could hand some on to her girlfriends or housemates.
She'd then crashed out on her bed only to be awakened by a call from her boyfriend, Jeff. She was planning on meeting her boyfriend to discuss the relationship but that discussion had instead taken place over the phone. The results were pleasing from Helen's point of view, it was over and she could tell that Robyn had mixed feelings about it despite stating that she felt like a fraud now that she'd 'come out.'
However now that Robyn was no longer going to meet up with Jeff, she'd taken matters into her own hands and when Robyn asked for some water Helen brought two cans of Southern Comfort and Coke along with the glass of water. She sensed with the wisdom of her years that all it would take was a bit of social lubrication over the next couple of hours and she'd have her flat on her back with her legs spread wide. Robyn had just taken the can of Southern and Coke but then her phone beeped and she dropped the can into her lap and thumbed a button to read the text message.
Alana: I'm going to have to cancel our lunch date tomorrow, so I can't bring the Harry Potter book in until Wednesday.
Robyn frowned as she looked up at Helen and then a moment later tapped out a reply.
Robyn: What about coming around tonight? I could make some dinner.
Alana: Okay, but don't worry about dinner. I'd have to get back to feed Mac anyway.
Robyn: So bring Mac with you. Scamp would love a playmate for a few hours.
Alana: As long as Josie doesn't mind.
Robyn: I'm sure she won't mind. When will you get there?
Alana: Forty five minutes?
Robyn: No worries, I'll be there. At a friend's house right now.
"What's up?" Helen asked as Robyn tapped her keyboard a couple of times.
"Huh?" Robyn glanced at her, "making a phone call," she looked back down and kept tapping and then she put the phone to her ear and reached out for the glass of water.
However the phone went through to the answering machine and she waited until it finished before she spoke.
"Josie? Erin? Scamp? Anyone? Is there anybody out there? Hello? Okay, it's me, I'm having Alana over for dinner tonight just in case someone decides to cook for all of us. See you soon," she hung up and put the phone down.
"You're going to home," Helen stated the obvious.
"Yeah," she took another mouthful and put the glass on the bedside drawers, "Alana's dropping off a book for me tonight."
"Who's Alana?"
"She's Erin's boss, she works at the jewellery shop."
"So, when are you going?" Helen put the can on the floor.
"About twenty minutes," she eyed the glass briefly and tugged at the skirt.
"It's a nice skirt," Helen felt the hem, "it's certainly nicer than my skirts."
"Do you mean to tell me you've got skirts, plural?" Robyn nudged her leg with her foot.
"Just office attire," she swivelled around to face her.
Robyn's foot dropped slightly and rested between her legs. The younger woman's eyes narrowed slightly as Helen looked down at it and then up at her.
"I still can't get over those leather pants," she rubbed her heel against Helen's thigh, "it's almost as if you're psychic," her eyes shifted as Helen grabbed her leg.
"You shave your legs."
"I do," Robyn slid a hand beneath her cardigan Helen, "don't you," the last word came out in a rush as Helen tickled the back of her calf but when she tried to pull away Helen tightened her grip on her foot.
"Don't touch my feet," she warned her.
"Why not?" Helen tickled her foot.
Robyn giggled and yanked her foot back hard, and Helen let go.
"I'm ticklish," she put her foot on the floor.
"So I see," she pulled a wry grin.
Robyn shifted forward as she pulled her other leg under her. She hesitated for a few seconds and then threw her arms around her.
"Thank you for letting me crash on your bed," she squeezed her tightly and Helen slipped an arm around her. Robyn's grip slackened and she kissed her cheek quickly and slid back.
"You'll never kiss that spot again," she grabbed her things and eased off the bed, "and thanks for the cardigans as well."
"No worries," Helen picked up her can as Robyn put her shoes on, "any time. There's always plenty of beds here."
"Have you ever thought of getting a boarder?"
"Who'd live with me?" Helen frowned, "I'm not the easiest person to live with."
"Why not?"
"I like my privacy," she replied.
"Whatever rocks your boat," she shrugged and stretched her legs out.
"So, you and Penny, huh?" Helen looked down at Robyn's legs.
"We're friends," she replied, "but yeah, she's certainly cute."
"Definitely fuckable," Helen agreed, "although she's way out of my league."
"That's because she works with you, she doesn't do office romance."
"It's not just that to be honest," Helen frowned, "she's got a lot of money and the bank owns most of this house, although to her credit she tries not to make a big deal about it."
"She's generous with her time," Robyn nodded.
Penny is a good boss, certainly better than my last boss at the Department of Social Welfare," Helen shifted further onto the bed, "so, what's next for you," she poked her in the side.
"Now that you've come out to your ex boyfriend, and me."
"That's the million dollar question," she fell back onto her elbows and looked down at herself, "at some point I need to put the pedal to the metal and actually go out with a woman. Not like it was last night with Penny but an actual date where there's a possibility we'll end up sleeping together at some point."
"Dinner with dessert," Helen looked down at her, "my favourite kind."
"I'm not sure it'd be that kind of dinner for me," she remarked, "I don't root on first dates, maybe it's a part of my Christian upbringing but I've always seen it as cheap."
"So, who would be your ideal first fuck?"
"Oh, Penny would be my first but there's also Alana. I've got the feeling she could be tempted, but she's where I was a few days ago on the outside looking in and not sure if she's going to step inside or just continue on down the street. There are others of course but I guess I've got to just take my time and not jump into bed with the first woman I find."
"I can think of worse plans," she grinned and reached out to finger the cardigan, "cool cardigan, where'd you get it?"
"Ha ha," she looked down at her hand, "nice try," she sat up suddenly and frowned, "well, I gotta love you and leave you if I'm gonna meet Alana back at my joint."
"Of course," Helen rubbed her back lightly.
Robyn left some five minutes later with a black garbage bag filled with cardigans and even though she hugged her again at the car Helen felt sick with jealousy. If it wasn't Penny it was some woman she'd never heard about. She stared at the traffic on Swansea Road, she was another potential rival, there was no underestimating the allure of two curious women left to their own devices.
***
Alana McDonald.
Robyn frowned as she stared at herself in the wardrobe mirror some twenty five minutes later. It was a noble name, she liked the Scottish connection because her father's mother was Scottish by birth although she'd married an Australian of English extraction. She adjusted the brooch she'd bought with the help of Alana's staff discount, she hadn't changed out of the outfit she had worn this morning. Her only wardrobe adjustment had been to add the brooch, it was a subtle sign for Alana's benefit that she'd been able to help her.
She glanced down at the garbage bag filled with cardigans, now she was going to give something back to her. It was a good start because she could always fall back to the default position of just helping out a girlfriend, but if Alana gave out her own signals then she'd suggest a date.
"Am I really doing this?" Robyn asked her reflection, "trying to seduce a woman?"
Scamp looked up from his position on the bed and wagged his tail.
Seduce seemed like too strong a word, she glanced up as she heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. Scamp stood up and hurried to the other side of the bed and barked. Robyn turned and stared out the window as she watched Alana's Toyota Celica come to a halt behind her car.
Flirting,
she picked up the bag and then on an impulse she dropped on the bed again and hurried through followed by Scamp who was still barking.
She opened the front door and nudged him with her foot.
"Scamp, quiet down."
The King Charles spaniel stopped barking a moment later but she kept the flywire door closed as Alana got out of the car and then coaxed her West Highland terrier out of the passenger seat. The dog leapt down and she bent down to fasten the leash. Scamp started barking loudly and Robyn reached down to grab his collar.
"Scamp, be nice, okay? Be nice."
