(Just an obligatory warning that this story and series has a very strong cuckold/infidelity type theme and goes into some intense territory. This chapter is a particularly vivid one, so be doubly warned. The characters and situations (with a few exceptions) are fictional and the relationship within the story is not a particularly healthy relationship, etc etc etc. So if you're not into that you will hate this story. If you are into those themes then... you will probably enjoy this.)
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Eliza's New Lover
Part 4: Freefall
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The wave of dry August heat greeted us as we exited the plane on the small Greek island. There was a small number of passengers so we passed through security quickly. I was feeling apprehensive and could tell Eliza was too. She had kept checking her hair and her makeup with her phone's selfie camera on the plane, and now she was adjusting her beautiful summer dress.
She smiled in recognition and ran forward as we turned the corner into arrivals- I looked to where she was going and saw the man for the first time. He was tall, broad shouldered, well dressed and tanned, and I could tell he worked out. She ran up and hugged him, then kissed him on the lips quickly, smiling.
She turned and gestured to me to come over, somewhat impatiently.
'James, this is Rich,' she said.
'How're you doing mate,' he said genially and reached out to shake hands. We shook and I felt the pressure and strength in his grasp. Was he deliberately crushing my hand a bit?
He had a low voice, no strong accent. He was already talking to Eliza again after our cursory interaction, asking her about her flight, how she found the temperature and so on.
'I've been looking forward to you coming,' he said. 'We've got some good weather ahead and the pool's just been cleaned.'
I was feeling incredibly shy, obviously. He led us towards the car and, automatically, Eliza just got into the passenger seat next to him, leaving me to climb into the back awkwardly. The journey back to his villa was filled with small talk, with no references to the nature of our visit. The afternoon sun glittered off the waves as his open-top sports car revved along the coastline. I have always felt really scornful of men showing off with cars and fast driving- as well as being dangerous, it's bad for the planet. Eliza had always agreed with me when I voiced this view but, now as I looked at her smiling in the front seat, looking out at the coastal road through her aviator sunglasses, I realised she'd just been humouring me. She loved the glamour of it in an instinctive way that I couldn't reason her out of. From the backseat, they looked like they could be a glamorous married couple on their honeymoon- there was already such palpable energy and sexual tension between them.
'Here we are,' said Rich, turning into a small driveway and then following a winding track up a slope. 'You guys are going to love this place.'
I realised after a moment that I had instinctively felt a pathetic sense of gratitude to him for addressing me at all. The villa was staggeringly beautiful, nestled in a hillside and overlooking a small bay. I couldn't see any other houses in any direction - just the blue dots of a few swimming pools further down the hill. When Eliza asked Rich about the villa, he said he'd bought it off an art dealer from Dubai a couple of years before but didn't go into it much further than that.
We took our suitcases to the bedroom in the guest wing of the villa and Rich amicably told us where everything was before going off to shower. Suddenly, Eliza and I were alone in the room together again. Nothing had changed much since the morning's conversation except everything: we were now at the house of her lover, with the prospect of them fucking now just hours from becoming a reality.
'This is so nice!' Eliza cooed. 'Don't you think?'
'It's pretty amazing,' I said diffidently, taking in the beautifully framed paintings on the wall and the marble floor.
'I'm really nervous,' she confided quietly in my ear.
'I am too,' I replied. She hugged me and kissed me on the cheek.
It was 5 o' clock. The evening was beginning.
'I'm going to shower,' she said, and disappeared off to the bathroom.
I lay on the bed, a gentle breeze from the open window cooling me down a little. Listening to the sound of her showering, I thought again about that morning's conversation and what I'd agreed to. I'd basically agreed to anything she or he wanted.
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Dinner was a sumptuous, simple meal of seafood linguine, cooked specially by a chef who Rich said visited every evening. She was a petite woman called Symi. She was in her late 20s and had dark, alluring eyes that took us in slowly. Rich said something to her in Greek and gestured toward me and Eliza and she laughed flirtatiously, eyes dancing between us.
Over dinner, as the sun set over the bay, Rich talked about business, about the villa. He asked Eliza about how her work had been going and she talked liberally and humorously about how annoying her manager was. I could tell he found her witty and entrancing- he would nod and grunt deeply in affirmation when she made a point. He couldn't take his eyes off her. I looked between them and occasionally interjected with my own opinion, which didn't seem to interest them much.
Eventually Rich turned to me. 'So, James,' he said coolly. 'Eliza has told me a little about what you do but can you remind me?'
I looked down. 'Well, it's a mixture, really. I work for a few different temp agencies and stuff.'
'How's that been for you?'
'Well, it's busy. It doesn't really pay that much, but it's flexible.'
'It gives him a bit of time between shifts to work on his film script,' Eliza said neutrally.
'A film script?' Rich said. 'That sounds very interesting.' He didn't sound interested. 'Have you pitched it anywhere yet?'
'A few places,' I said. 'I've got a few responses- they like the idea but...'
Rich interrupted. 'Look, I know a few people in LA,' he said casually. 'They'll have a look at it if I ask them nicely.'
'That'd be great, thanks!' I said, maybe a little too enthusiastically.
'Well,' Rich said, touching Eliza's back and sliding his hand across so that it was resting on her hip, 'it really is the least I can do.' He carried on looking evenly at me. 'I also wanted to ask you something else,' he said.
'Er, yeah, sure.'