"It's just always so disappointing," said Annie.
She was sat on Rebecca's sofa, nursing a nearly empty glass of wine. Rebecca's glass was nearly full, but the bottle by Annie's foot was not; she imagined that this was the reason that Annie's tongue had been loosened. They were not that close. In fact, Rebecca disliked her colleague intensely. She wasn't sure if it was her seemingly effortless waistline, or the high cheekbones beneath Annie's mouse grey eyes, but she'd taken against her the moment she'd met her. And then there was her innocent smile, her self-confident laugh born out of the fact that men never seemed to say no to her, and of course, the corollary of her effortless rise through the ranks at work... well, you don't have to like your colleagues, do you?
But Annie seemed to think they were friends. She was always coming over to Rebecca's desk to "have a little chat" although it was always Rebecca who was singled out for criticism about time wasting, not her. Annie insisted that they took their lunch break together, subjecting Rebecca to endless stories about how wonderfully attentive her handsome new husband was. Because of this, Rebecca hated the man despite never having met him, hated him as much as she hated Annie's perfect suburban life and as much as she hated Annie's perfectly pretty face and the way she left men drooling in her wake, seemingly without even realising it.
All of which is why Rebecca had been shocked when Annie, a week ago, had begged Rebecca for an after-work drink (would you believe it, Little Miss Perfect drank!) and had preceded to nervously ask for Rebecca's advice on bedroom matters, "for a friend". Rebecca had listened carefully, at first with feigned concern and then growing incredulity. It sounded like her handsome, successful husband was negligent when it came to giving pleasure between the sheets. Negligent and, from what Rebecca could tell, completely self-centred. she'd played along with the charade and told Annie that she needed to have a think, but maybe they could have a drink at her flat next week, to discuss it? Annie had enthusiastically agreed.
The next day, when the effects of the two glasses of wine had worn off, Rebecca wondered what she was doing. While she was confident that a more personal setting would make Annie more comfortable spilling intimate secrets, what exactly did Rebecca hope to learn? How on earth was learning more about trouble in paradise going to help her at work?
"Penny for your thoughts? "said Rick the IT technician cheerfully, as he tapped on the keys of her laptop.
"Oh, I was thinking of Annie," she replied before she could censor herself.
"That bitch? You and every straight man in the office, I bet," said Rick. The involuntary vehemence of his response shocked her. Rick was a middle-aged guy, had a young son and was by far one of the nicest of the IT staff. She didn't think that she'd ever heard him swear, much less about a woman.
"Why'd you call her a bitch?" she asked curiously.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Rick was flushing crimson. "It's just she's a, um, cock-tease." The last word was half mumbled, and Rebecca only just caught it. "She's always coming in with an 'urgent' problem, batting her eyelashes and expecting to jump the queue. And we all fall for it, every time. Even me, and I know what she's doing. I'd love her to be taken down a peg or two, but that's never going to happen. The bosses fell for her flirting years ago."
Rebecca laughed, "no need to apologise. To be honest with you, I feel the same."
"But I thought you were friends?" he asked.
"No, or at least, only she thinks we are. Hey, can you keep a secret? It might make you feel a bit better."
Rick stopped tapping on the keyboard and looked up at her, "I'm all ears."
"Well, we went for a drink last night -- don't ask -- and she told me that things are... suboptimal in the bedroom with her husband. So however frustrated you're feeling - at least you know that she's feeling just as bad!"
Rick laughed, "oh that is good to know. If I was a bit younger, I might have even tried to take advantage of it. Sadly, I've seen just how little interest she has in me, when she doesn't need her computer fixing that is. And speaking of which, here, I'm done."
As he handed Rebecca the laptop, she glanced at him. He wasn't a looker, sure, with a few extra kilos on a slightly too short frame. But he was a nice guy, and older women might think that the grey flecks in his hair suited him. Clearly not in Annie's eyes though, "those ugly old men in IT" was how she'd referred to them once.
"Thanks. I'll let you know if I think of a way to humble her."
"Haha, yes you do that. Just don't tell my wife who I'm fantasising about when ..." he clapped his hand over his mouth, blushing furiously.
"Don't worry- I won't tell anyone!" Rebecca's eyes twinkled. She liked this more outspoken version of Rick. Suddenly she had a thought. "There's something you could tell me, though. You know I'm single and so have no clue what to tell Annie. I might even give her good advice by mistake! You're married - what do you do to spice things up with your wife? If you want, maybe I can convince Annie to try them and you'll know that you've had a little... influence on her."
She didn't think it was possible for Rick to get any more embarrassed, but he somehow managed it. "Uh, well. It's all about that fantasising thing. But to make it easier we use a virtual reality headset."
"VR?" Rebecca was incredulous. "But is that really sexy? Last time I used one the graphics..."
"Yes, but they are so much better now. It's almost like being in the video yourself. We take turns wearing the headset while the other person... does stuff."
"And your wife likes that?" Rebecca asked curiously.
"You mean, does she like imagining that I'm some ripped beefcake rather than... well, yes. It's amazing really. After a while you forget you are weaving the helmet and it feels like you really are in the scene."
Rebecca stared at him. "I'm starting to think I should have been dating geeks all along. Maybe I should get one of these sets," she laughed.
"Well, they are a bit expensive, but definitely worth it. And it's not just for pom either. There're loads of games and even some normal movies. Tell you what, my wife is taking Sam to visit her parents this weekend. Why don't I drop our headset round your place? You can give it a spin." Suddenly Rick realised what he was implying, and his fanboy enthusiasm was replaced with stuttering apologies. But Rebecca's curiosity had been piqued.
"Yes, that does sound amazing. I'll owe you one, Rick," she told him, pretending not to notice his embarrassment.
Rick dropped the VR headset off later that week. He'd set it up in her lounge, showed her how to access the content and then nervously left her to it. Rebecca promised to WhatsApp him when she was ready for him to come round and collect the device. She'd expected to be underwhelmed but was legitimately amazed at the quality and immersion of the first few games she tried. Then she tamed her attention to the "adult" folder, that Rick had responsibly hidden behind a parental look.
"My wife's birthday," he'd confessed sheepishly. "I've deleted the history. I suggest that you do the same after, uh, you know."
"Thanks," Rebecca laughed. "But I'm a child of the internet age. I grew up knowing all about private browsing and the need to clear my search history before my parents used the computer!"
Now as she scrolled through the downloaded pan, she smiled to herself. Deleting the history was one thing, but Rick couldn't hide the titles he and his wife had downloaded. "Mega Creampie 2", "Casting Couch Internal", "Unprotected Massage". Creampies were not entirely Rebecca's thing, but the massage one sounded interesting, so she put it on.
She was immediately inside a mirrored massage room, sat on a soft but firm massage table, that felt just like her sofa. "Because it is my sofa!" Rebecca reminded herself, but almost immediately her attention was brought back into the virtual world as a young, muscular, and extremely half naked man walked in.
"Ah yes, I see that your husband has bought you the full inside and out relaxation package. An excellent choice! Are you ready to get started?" Rebecca didn't question his half naked appearance (this was porn after all!) and allowed her body to follow the onscreen camera so that she was lying on her sofa. Now she understood the reason for the minors; by twisting her head she could see a reflection of the masseur's hands on the young blonde model's body.
It was impressive, as Rick had said. Despite the body not being hers, she could swear that she could almost feel his soft hands on her back, her legs, her butt. The insistent pressure on her shoulders as he flipped her round. Her nipples were as hard as if he really did have them in his mouth. She watched his reflection work his way down her body until she could almost feel the hot breath of his mouth against her pussy and the feeling of a hard cock at her entrance.
The visuals were so compelling that she was surprised and disappointed when she reached down and found no cock lying against her and found herself wishing that she'd thought to grab her dildo. Still the feeling as she stared into the masseuse's eyes and masturbated with her fingers was intense. "Where do you want me to come?" he whispered in her ear, via the headset speakers, and she felt the muscles of her pussy contract around her fingers as she and the model on the screen shared an orgasm. After both she and the actors had finished, the screen faded to black and she lay panting before finally taking the headset off. Screw the expense, she thought. This was definitely a gadget that was worth buying. She absentmindedly tweaked at her nipple and sighed. It wasn't quite a boyfriend, of course, but it sure was close. She felt the familiar butterflies in her stomach, and an undeniable wetness between her legs.
And so it was that the next night, whilst Annie moaned about how disappointing her sex life was, the only thing Rebecca could think about was the headset that sat a few feet away.
"You don't even have a boyfriend!" Annie suddenly exclaimed, "How do you cope?"
"Oh, you don't always need someone else," Rebecca said absentmindedly, thinking of the masseur and her dildo in the bedroom.
"I know, I know," Annie sighed. "But my fingers are so boring. I've tried spicing things up with some role play, but John isn't really one for that kind of thing. I'd suspect that he thought sex should be purely for procreation, but fuck. He's not even any good for that."
"You guys are trying for a baby?" Rebecca asked. Annie's tongue had been well lubricated by three quarters of a bottle of wine and she wasn't going to miss this chance to get as much incriminating evidence out of her as she could. It was illegal to discriminate against pregnant women, of course, but still, there were a distinct lack of mothers on the board.
