"You really should come over and see our new house," my landlady, Corinne, tells me over the phone.
I hesitate, having known she would raise the subject, but still not having come up with a suitable excuse not to go.
Corinne and her husband, Charlie, used to be my neighbours as well as my landlords, occupying the flat above me. They had moved out to the countryside earlier this year and had been trying to get me to visit ever since.
I don't know why the idea makes me so uncomfortable. When we had been neighbours, I occasionally had coffee or a few glasses of wine with them, but I was always relieved to get back to my flat. There was nothing wrong with either of them and they were always perfectly friendly, plus I couldn't fault them as landlords either. Corinne's call right now was to check that the plumber she had sent round had managed to fix my broken boiler. They were just a little too open and forward for me. Nothing wrong with that, but when Corinne casually started talking about their sex life, as if I wanted to know what her and Charlie got up to behind closed doors, or whipped out her vibrator, pretending she had found it down the back of the sofa cushions, it always seemed as if she was watching closely for my reaction.
I usually blushed, laughed a little nervously and glanced around to make my escape. I've had my share of boyfriends, but I've always been a little bit awkward talking so openly about sex.
"So how about tomorrow night? You can come over and we can share a bottle or two of wine. Charlie can come and pick you up and as he doesn't drink, he'll give you a lift home."
"That sounds lovely,' I begin, 'But -"
"We moved in nine months ago and I'd really like you to see the house, hon."
I can hear the disappointment in her voice and immediately feel guilty. Corinne is my landlady and I don't want to upset her. It's one evening and then she will leave me alone.
"Okay, tomorrow night it is," I agree, though tell her I'll drive. That way I can leave if I start to feel uncomfortable.
The following evening I study the directions she gave me then head out into the countryside to find Corinne and Charlie's new home. They really are in the middle of nowhere and I take a few wrong turns before making my way down a dirt track away from the main road, not at all sure of where I am going. I am considering turning round when my headlights pick up a cottage in the distance, a light on in one of the downstairs windows. The front door opens and I spot Corinne beckoning me forward, her long honey coloured hair sweeping over her shoulders.
My stomach churns with nerves and I am annoyed. This is just a visit with old friends and I can leave in an hour or two. There is nothing to feel anxious about. I find a smile for Corinne as I get out of the car, let her embrace me and kiss my cheek before I hand her the bottle of wine I have brought.
"Late housewarming gift,' I tell her"
"I love this wine. Thank you. Come on inside out of the cold."
I follow her into the old cottage, taking off my coat and shoes. Charlie sits on the sofa watching football on the TV and raises a hand in greeting. There is a fire burning in the hearth and their home is cosy and quaint. Still something feels off.
Of course I don't tell them that, instead congratulating Corinne and Charlie on their lovely home and telling them how much I like it. There's no way I could live out here. With no street lamps it is pitch black and the silence, albeit for the TV, is suffocating.
"I know you're driving, but you can have just one." Corinne tells me, thrusting a glass of wine into my hand.
I'm actually grateful for it as she takes a seat beside Charlie, nods for me to sit in the armchair opposite. As we make small talk I feel like I am being interviewed. Corinne's intense blue eyes never leaving my face, while Charlie chips in with the occasional comment. I sip at my wine quicker than intended as I try to answer some of her more direct questions, some personal, others not, barely registering when she tops up my glass. It's not until she puts the empty bottle on the coffee table I realise how much I've drank.
"I'll get us another bottle," she tells me, getting up and placing her hand on my shoulder, leaving it there for a moment too long.
"I should really go. It's getting late."
"Don't be silly, hon; you can't drive home. You'll be over the limit." I start to stand, realise I am feeling a little woozy, and she pushes me back down. "Charlie will drive you home, won't you, Charlie?"
He glances up, hearing his name. "What? Oh yes, of course. I'll take you home once the match is finished."
It's not ideal, but I don't really have a choice. I smile and hold out my glass as Corinne brings another bottle back from the kitchen and tops it up. Another glass down, I am starting to feel a little more relaxed, but still I am keen to get home.
As the TV cuts to adverts, I excuse myself to the loo, relieved tonight is almost over. When I return to the living room Corinne and Charlie are arguing about something, though it sounds good-natured.
"I definitely can," Corinne is insisting.
"Definitely can what?" I ask, the alcohol making my tongue looser.
"We just flicked over the TV during the ad break and there was a movie playing where this guy was tied up. I said it wasn't realistic and that anyone can escape a couple of pieces of rope. Charlie reckons they can't."
"I've told Corinne to prove it," Charlie says with a grin.
"Prove it how?" It's a dumb question that I probably shouldn't have asked.
"Charlie wants to tie me up and see if I can escape." Corinne groaned, as if this was all a silly effort to make her point.
"Okay." Time for me to make my exit I think. The pair of them can play their games when Charlie has taken me home. "Are you okay to give me a lift now please, Charlie?"
He nods. "Yes, in a bit, but I need your help first."
"With what?"
"Corinne says you have to be the one to tie her up."
"What? Why?"
"You're impartial in this," Corinne tells me, before adding with a grin. "Besides, I don't trust Charlie."
"I really don't think I need to tie you up to prove a point. That's a bit elaborate."
"It'll be fun. We'll go up to the bedroom. More space there." Corinne grabs my hand, yanks me towards the stairs and I am reminded that she is taller, stronger than me. "Charlie, can you bring some rope up please?"
Somehow I find myself in Corinne and Charlie's bedroom as part of some bizarre wager between the pair of them. Corinne sets some rules. Ten minutes for me to bind her as securely as possible then half an hour for her to try to escape. She lies on the bed as Charlie drops two lengthy bits of rope on the bedroom floor.
This whole situation is making me incredibly uncomfortable, despite the alcohol. I am reliant on Charlie for a lift though. Telling myself I'm overreacting and it's just a stupid game, I pick up a length of rope, tentatively tying Corinne's hands behind her back.
Once the binds are double knotted I repeat the process on her feet.
"Okay, all done."
"I think you can tie her a little more securely than that," Charlie argues. "There's still some slack left over. Tie her knees together and then her elbows."