Majorca malarkey 2 -- Sally's reaction
We had a rude awakening in the morning. Judging by the light that was streaming through the crack in the curtains, it wasn't very early. Well, we had all drunk quite a bit, and Pete, Mary and myself had certainly done something that would make us a little bit tired. Unfortunately, Sally had been left out, and she was not pleased about it.
"Well, that's a pretty sight!"
We all sat up, muzzling trying to rub the sleep from our eyes. It must have been clear that we were all naked, and Mary, who normally didn't give a damn, pulled the sheet up to cover her breasts self-consciously.
"Sorry, love," Pete began. "The thing is..."
"The thing is," Sally interrupted, "you just went ahead behind my back, obviously."
"Hardly behind your back, Sally," said Mary. "After all, it was originally supposed to be all four of us. But Pete found you passed out on the bed, and couldn't raise enough interest. He had to take a decision, and he thought if you were that far gone, sleeping was probably the best thing you could do. We really did want you to be there with us. It just didn't seem practical."
"Well, Pete should have waited."
"Be fair, love, I was totally wound up and ready to go. You were the one who flaked out. I was quite prepared to back out at that point, but Mary and Rant suggested it wasn't necessary. If you'd been in my position, what would you have done?"
Sally sat down on the bed and looked at the three of us.
"Well, I don't know, but I suppose I'm feeling left out. I was all prepared for something adventurous, which is unlike me, and I suppose the chance won't come again. I don't know if I'd have the courage another time."
It didn't seem the right time to point out that her courage had probably come out of a bottle, and we had plenty more. Mary nudged at me and gestured that I should get out of the way. I turned aside, with my legs out of the bed, probably displaying a lot more of my masculine chance to Sally than I really wanted to, and Mary got out. She grabbed a dressing gown and took Sally's hand.
"Come on," she said. "I think we should have a little chat. We can leave these two for the moment."
In fact, "these two" were quite glad to be left out of things for a while. We got dressed and made our way to the kitchen, where we started getting things ready for breakfast. Pete was really downcast.
"I suppose she's got a point. She really has been left out, and she obviously realises I've had sex with Mary. I can't blame her for being angry."
"Don't worry about it, mate," I said. "Mary has great powers of persuasion. I'm sure she'll bring her round. After all, it's not as if she didn't agree to do it."
* * *
I was quite right about Mary. She got a moment on her own with me after breakfast.
"So what's bugging Sally?" I asked. "Is it just being left out of things, or has she decided it was all a terrible idea and Pete is a cheating rat?"
"I don't think she's seriously worried about Pete being a cheating rat. She is a little bit miffed at being left out, but I think there's more to it than that. We had a real heart-to-heart. It seems to me the problem is that she has enjoyed a number of fantasies, and this might have been the chance to try one of them out for real. But there's something else. I think really she's a bit worried that maybe you didn't fancy her. She is a bit insecure about her attractiveness, you know."
"Oh, I didn't know. I can't think why: she's a very attractive woman. Sexy and fun, I'd have said. Is she really just not up for being a bit adventurous?"
"Ideally she would be, but being brave enough to do it is another matter. Do you remember that red dress I bought a couple of Christmases ago? The one with the plunging front and the practically non-existent back?"
"Of course I do. It was bloody unforgettable. Half the guys in the room wanted to get it off you and shag you on the spot, and I don't blame them. But what's that got to do with this?"
"Well, a friend saw it and said to me that she would love to wear something like that, but she didn't have the courage. She didn't say she thought it was too sexy, or tarty, or anything like that. She didn't think there was anything wrong about it. It was simply that she didn't feel brave enough to do it. Well, I think that's how Sally feels. Really, she would love to do something adventurous, but she doesn't feel brave enough. Feeling brave enough is a lot to do with simply feeling attractive enough. Right now she's having a shower and a painkiller for her headache. Later on she'd like to be by the pool. I suggest you take the opportunity to be a little apologetic about last night, and to act in a way that might reassure her about her attractiveness. I know you won't do anything gross, just reassure her gently."
"Sure I will. I'm surprised she might think I didn't find her attractive, but I'll certainly try to convince her otherwise. Spending a little time with her around the pool won't exactly be a penance."
* * *
I do take my duties seriously! Later on, when we had all cleaned up and made ourselves fit for the day, I wandered out to the terrace next to the pool. Sally was sitting there in her bikini, reading a book. I pulled up a chair and sat next to her. She put down her book.