Part 3: the meal, the dare and the waiter
Sunday Bella stayed in bed as long as she could, she knew James had a lot of questions by put she didn't really want to answer them, she checked her phone, eight missed calls from Mia and a text message 'checking you are OK, phone me babe' time she thought to face the music, she popped on a dressing gown and made her way downstairs and into the kitchen, she could smell the coffee, it seemed good and somehow normal, far far removed from the Merry theatricals of last night that's goodness, James smiled at her and passed her a mug of freshly brewed, she both knew and dreaded the words that would follow " shall we talk" well no prizes for guessing there.
Bella explained that she acted upon impulse, in her version it was the reaction to seeing the erotically charged photographs, she waited expecting James to be angry or upset with her, hell she was angry and upset with herself, the fact for a long time he said nothing the. He broke the silence " you looked hot last night" she would have preferred to have heard lovely or beautiful, even provocative or sexy but you know under the circumstances she took hot.
"Thank you, it won't happen again" she said as much reassuring herself as much as James.
James got up and hugged her, "Hell I want to buy one of those prints and hang it here if it has that effect on you again you filthy animal!" he laughter, Bella just blushed awkwardly, James it seems believed her version of events and hadn't asked what happened to the missing lingerie but still this was as cringeworthy a moment as Bella could ever remember.
"Oh and Mia phoned." All of a sudden Bella's heart skipped again.
"What did she say?" Bella enquired, shit she thought, the game could be well and truly up if Mia tells him the expensive underwear he bought me I handed over to a stranger, of course Mia didn't know about the kiss, unless Noir had told her, oh God he wouldn't would he, she was tying herself up in knots and then some."she was just checking how you were, I told her you were asleep, she asked my what I thought of your new look."
Bella looked like the world was on her shoulders " and what did you say?"
"I told her you looked hot as hell" there it was that word again, the feminist inside her recoiled yet somehow she was relieved her husband found her attractive, desirable again, perhaps her gamble had worked and she had relit some sort of invisible flame, she still cringed that so many people had a full on view of her tits, that was embarrassing but she was able to get one over on the man and do something positive for her marriage, then James landed another blow "I told her and Mark to pop over this afternoon, they are at her mothers for lunch so they Are coming over after," oh no Mark, he saw it all as well, even if Mia says nothing which is still not a given, Mark is bound to say something.
She kept herself busy till they arrived trying not to think of what had happened the night before, she wondered what he had done with her underwear, did he have a trophy cabinet somewhere to display them all, one thing she was sure of is that she wasn't the first and won't be the last to pull this trick with.
Mia and Mark arrived about 4pm, Mark and James went straight to the man cave to play FIFA while Mia made a beeline for the kitchen, "you got any ice cream I am starving?" for someone with such a lean lithe athletic body she did little to no exercise and ate like a pig
Mia headed straight to the freezer "help yourself why don't you, oh you are!" Bella retorted as Mia opened up the Ben and Jerry's
" oh sorry, Bella I didn't recognise you without your tits out." she scoffed
"Very bloody funny" Bella gave her that stare, what if Mark tells James what happened,
"Don't sweat it babe, he is sworn to secrecy or else, he won't say a word, so you better fill in the blanks for me while he keeps James busy." Bella did just that explaining everything she did and everything she felt, as much as her recollection would allow she left nothing out. "Holy fucking Moly, so the mystery man is Louis Noir, fuck me with a feather" Bella nodded although she had a frown on her face. " and you gave him your bundies, that is sick girl, sick a new slick"
"So what did he say after I left" Bella enquired.
Mia shook her head, mouth full of ice cream "nothing much,he just said exquisite woman, then went about greeting the buyers, girl we broke the bank last night, almost everyone he spoke to bought a piece, the gallery is on 10%, I see a rise coming my way, which I believe half the men in the gallery said as well yesterday looking at your tits babe."
Bella buried her head in a cushion, her face burning red. "oh my god did many people notice me?"
"Notice you, I should coco, I am sure your exhibition caused my exhibition to sell out." Mia was enjoying her friend's embarrassment.
"Ok so I need to know from you what you know about the mystery man, how come you gave him the show?" Bella turned private detective as her friend filled her mouth once again with ice cream.
She paused to let the food go down " well it was quite a scoop for us, Marcus who owns the gallery knows him through a members club or something he frequents, well Noir is taking off on both sides of the Atlantic so I asked him if he could pitch the idea of a show, that was only the second time I have met him, the first was a lunch with Marcus at the Ivy"
"You seemed pretty close the way he grabbed hold of you" oh shit though Bella, that come out like a jealous schoolgirl she thought
Mia was quick to retort "hell you should know you scarlet Hussey you, he was all over my arse in the Ivy, no filter on that guy let me tell you."
"So what do you know about this club?" Bella kept on probing, Mia kept on eating the ice cream, Hell if she was going to be asked 30 questions she thought she might as well reap some benefits