Chapter 8

First thing in the morning Andrew was back using his luxurious mobile dressing room. He and Heloise started in the gardens of the Rodin Museum, beautiful and peaceful first thing in the morning. Hermès had negotiated early access before the Museum opened. Several of Rodin’s bronzes were in the garden including The Thinker. The mood of the shoot was different, very restrained, romantic even as they strolled around the garden. They realised that it was no different than their walk back to the hotel from the Bastille Day Reception four days earlier. Although Heloise complained that her shoes weren’t as comfortable. Veronique had them go round the garden several times with the usual change of wardrobe each time. They then changed back into their initial wardrobe and started to walk back to the studio.

During the three years Andrew had been doing these shoots he had not paid much attention to the cameras. He would watch and listen to how Veronique ran the shoot but didn’t pay attention to the technical aspects. The most obvious thing was that every year the camera that Michel or Hector lugged about seemed to get smaller, and he presumed, lighter. On that warm summer’s day Michel was toting a newer, smaller camera. He was shooting Andrew and Heloise on the walk back to the studio. The Musée de Rodin was adjacent to the Les Invalides, which housed, among other things, the Tomb of Napoléon. In front of this imposing building was a very wide boulevard, a large open space which was almost a park, which they strolled beside as they headed to the Seine. Half way down the two vans were parked and they had to re-contort themselves, all for the sake of some additional footage. Heloise had a lovely wrap-around dress once they got going again with her hair again tied up in a scarf. She looked lovely and cool. And was still determined to torment him.

“I couldn’t be bothered with lingerie under this dress. So it is just me and the dress.”

Someone had been practising her bottom lip biting. Bad Heloise. Andrew shook his head.

“Behave, there is no more room in my harem.”

Have you ever been chased by a 6’2” model in heels? Michel had been carefully walking backwards but they shot past him with threats and imprecations flying around Andrew’s head.

“Harem! Harem! You filthy pervert.”

That last was said with far too much relish.

But those 20 seconds of spontaneity made it into one of the commercials. There was nothing faked, it was all real. They stopped on the bridge, laughing and gasping for breath, while Michel rushed down onto the bank of the Seine. He got a shot of Andrew and Heloise up on the bridge watching the Bâteau-Mouche sail below, Heloise even waved to a couple of people. Their final change was outside the Petit Palais before ending up in the Champs-Élysées gardens as usual. Afterwards they drove over to the studio and Heloise was finally able to put her feet up for a few moments. The afternoon shots did not have a discernable theme. As far as Andrew could tell Veronique wanted the two of them to just goof around as they played on the bedroom set and the bathroom set. As usual they had to cycle into and out of the clothes from the morning but there was no fantasy as far as Andrew could tell. It was just the two of them enjoying hanging out. They chatted away, occasionally seriously, as they worked.

“It was wonderful to meet Suzanne and Arabella at the start of the week. I am looking forward to going shopping with them.”

“They are looking for some shoes, or sandals.”

“Oh I know a couple of great shoe shops. But never mind the shopping, it is a brave thing that you are doing. Not marrying just one and keeping the other as a mistress.”

“Remember we both want her as our mistress.”

“True. Do you think you will have issues? I have never heard of anyone living like this.”

“I am sure there will be some challenges, especially when we have children. But we are quiet, reserved people. To nearly everyone that we meet we will just be housemates, and even if some people suspect there is more to it we are just going to be quiet and discreet. It is our natures so it should not be a problem, although I wish I could shout it from the rooftops, tell everyone how I feel about them, how much I love them. I can’t even give them an engagement ring.”

Heloise was suddenly quiet, before smiling radiantly.

“I don’t think I ever told you about the time I went and worked in Spain. I was there for three weeks, something like that. Because I was around the sets and runways so much I got to speak to a lot of people. I don’t think I could say I knew them but I was able to chat to them. I presume you don’t know that engagement and wedding rings in Spain are worn on the right hand? Unlike here in France. What hand do women wear rings in Britain?”

Andrew never answered her, his mind was already well ahead of the conversation. He could get both Suzanne and Ara rings symbolising their love and they could wear them on their right ring finger rather than the left as they would normally in Britain. He pulled Heloise into a huge hug and a big kiss.

“You are a very well-travelled and interesting young lady. Thank you.”

Later Andrew couldn’t remember how they shot the rest of the day. He was not chided so he guessed it went okay but his mind was elsewhere. Once they were finished Heloise headed off. She was going to join them for dinner after the shopping expedition the next evening. Andrew headed back to the hotel.

“Do we know anyone in Paris?”

His abrupt question stopped Ara and Suzanne before they even hugged in welcome.

“Eh, no. Just the people you have met working.”

“I would like to go out and find somewhere to dance. But to dance with both of you together, obviously and uninhibitedly. I want to flirt and make out with both of you all night long.”

Sadly, this was always going to be one of the things that was a challenge for them. Andrew’s desire to show the world how he felt about Ara and Suzanne versus the logistical challenges of making a night like that work, without it being awkward or contentious. In the end they relaxed at jazz bar cuddled together in a booth, letting the sound wash over them and just enjoying their closeness. The three of them were stuck together but in those early days that was all they were capable of dealing with. Too many questions, too many doubts, too worried about the stares and comments from others. Regardless of their own timidity they had a lovely evening. When they returned to the hotel room Andrew made love to each of them before Ara and Suzanne fell asleep wrapped in each other’s arms; the third pair of their love.

Andrew’s Sunday morning was no different than the previous three with naked snogging designed to tease and tempt him before he left for the studio. But sadly that was the high point of the day. Because Dominique and Andrew were like Malcolm and him. Perfectly pleasant and polite but they just didn’t click. Months later when he saw what Veronique edited together it looked really hot and conveyed what they were trying to shoot. But that was a reflection of the skill of Veronique as a director and editor. Because the day was a tough slog. It was almost ephemeral as to what was missing, for the first time in quite a while there were lots of repeat takes. There was that sense that the next take was going to be the one, and it never got there. Now again, cry Andrew a river. A hot 33 year old model attacked him repeatedly all day, she was physically very impressive, let’s face it she was a total hottie. But they could not make it work. Andrew’s memories of the day were almost immediately swamped by the shoot the following day.

Dinner was relaxed and interesting, in contrast to the day. Given the nature of the shoot, Andrew was self-aware enough not to complain, knowing that sympathy was going to be in short supply. Their time with Heloise had given Ara and Suzanne a little taste of her fame. They had received exceptional service all day long, and a substantial discount on additional pairs of shoes. Andrew was relieved that they seem to have got on well. They did not hit it off as well as Abigail and Heloise had when they first met. But Abigail and Heloise seemed to be drifting apart whereas Heloise and Andrew were becoming closer and that translated through to the way she was with Ara and Suzanne. Dinner was a laugh, which Andrew needed after the day, and they all hugged and kissed Heloise before she left in a cab and they strolled the couple of blocks back to the hotel. When they got to the room the pile of bags was testament to how much fun Suzanne and Ara had had during the day.

“Now don’t freak out but can we ask you something?”

Now there is a line guaranteed to freak a man out! They were lying together on the bed as usual, Ara along him that night with Suzanne tucked into his shoulder. Andrew said nothing and tried to appear calm. With him that was never going to fool them.

“Sorry, stupid in hindsight to say that to you.”

Ara kissed him before carrying on.

“Suze and I were wondering about Heloise. We had a wonderful time with her today but she is lonely and seems to be particularly untrusting of men at the moment. She was wistful as she talked about the times she spent just sleeping with you. I think she had been hoping to sleep in your arms both earlier in the week and this weekend. Finding out about us rather stymied that for her. We spoke about it when we were alone for a few moments. I suppose this is the bit that I didn’t want you to freak out about but would it be weird for us to invite Heloise into our bed?”

A million things whirred through Andrew’s mind, an endless slot machine reel of possibilities. Where to start?

“My answer is all over the place. I don’t think she is wired that way. I don’t want to share you. I would worry about asking her in case it ruined our friendship. There are three off the top of my head.”

Suzanne and Ara kissed him at the same time.

“I know you don’t want to share us, just like we don’t want to share you. She is wired that way though, we had quite a long chat about it actually. And we understand the last point which is why we are talking about it now as opposed to earlier. Suze will tell you her thoughts in a second but to me it is not sexual, it is friendship. I know that it can’t happen but I wondered, I wanted to hear your thoughts.”

“Suzanne?”

“A lot of what I think is the same as Ara. But because it is Heloise and you know her so well I think of her as trustworthy, safe.”

She stopped and put her head back into his shoulder.

“I think I need to get started working, as quickly as possible. With all this free time I think about sex all the time. I am worse than a teenage boy. When you get back from wherever, this week from working at the studio, I am just aching for a good fuck. And I don’t care how. The two of you are going to use me sexually and that thrills me to my core. But it is starting to frighten me how ready I am.”

Suzanne still hadn’t looked Andrew in my eyes.

“So part of me got excited about Heloise in the bed. I am sorry.”

Ara slid off his chest and over Suzanne so that they could both hug her. Andrew’s attempt at humour was male, insensitive and backfired badly.

“So the two of us are not enough anymore?”

Ara could have scorched his eyebrows off with her look and Suzanne wailed in their arms. It took them a while to calm Suzanne down. Andrew boosted her up on my chest and Ara edged over, not before punching him on the shoulder and calling him an idiot. It was true, but still.

“I am sorry, it was a poor attempt at humour to make you feel better. Clearly, I am an idiot. Talk to us. Are you feeling that bad?”

Suzanne sighed and finally looked at him.

“You talked for years about escalation, you were always worried that things would ratchet up, potentially out of control. It is not that I want to do anything different and I want to do everything with you.”

She sighed and sniffled before once more holding his gaze.

“The last four months have been everything that I ever wanted. Words like amazing and wonderful are meaningless compared to how I feel. I feel free, I feel loved, I feel understood. I have spent weeks thinking about my life, not just today, not just in the months ahead, I have been thinking about the years to come. I gave up control of my sex life in stages, but first with you Andrew and then the pair of you I have just stopped worrying and wondering about what is going to happen. Last week I realised that you could fuck me every day for the next 40 or 50 years. Now I know all about being ill, being away, worst days of the month, all that stuff. But I stood in the bathroom thinking about doing whatever the pair of you wanted for decades. And it thrilled me.

“Now I am 22 and I know things are going to change but today as I lie here if you told me you were going to fuck me every day for the next 50 years I think I would cry with happiness. And then hope you would fuck me. So I have that floating around in my head. Then you hear all the tropes, the clichés and the stereotypes of the once a week fuck, on a Saturday night under the covers with the lights out. The ‘duty’ fuck as part of a loveless marriage. And I think about my own situation where we really do have it all and it was that phrase that made me think of Heloise that way.

“She is not a random woman in the bar. She is your good friend who you have helped and supported for years. And today when she sounded so sad it got to me, the same way as Ara mentioned. But then I thought about having it all. I thought about how if I kissed her it would be so naughty. And in my mind, I don’t know if I kissed her on my own or I was told to, it doesn’t matter. I have it all and I thought about how naughty that would be. And I knew that Ara would make me suffer the consequences. I am sorry for thinking that way. I was being greedy.”

Andrew let Ara kiss her before he too kissed her worries away.

“Since Suzanne has raised this we should talk about it. And I will start with my own hypocrisy. I don’t want another man to ever touch you again sexually. The thought leaves my insides all knotted up. But I am ashamed to admit that if you wanted to play with another woman then I would at least consider it. But before you answer, and call me a two-faced pig, you need to think about and answer what this third woman is doing with me. Heloise and I are the ultimate safe pair. Naked, intimate but not sexual. But think about someone else. I have no idea if Helena would be interested in coming to our bed, but she has some latent desires that the two of you could tease out of her. But Helena and I fucked for years.”

Silence reigned. Suzanne sighed and nodded.

“It is Heloise isn’t it. I couldn’t stand to see Andrew fucking another woman. Because I know that he can’t, and won’t, fuck Heloise it is different. The idea of being this crazy sexual person and bringing someone else into our bed crashes into the wall of my feelings and emotions. For me it is never going to happen.”

Ara looked at him.

“Everything that Suze said, I agree with 100%. It would break my heart to see you with another woman. Just as you said, I don’t want another woman to touch you sexually for the rest of your life. You have Suze and I and we love you. But like you I will confess to hypocrisy. Let’s use Gwen as an example. What would your reaction be to Suze and I bringing Gwen into our bed when you weren’t there? Suze and I have skirted round this conversation without ever being totally honest.”

It was a night for silence.

“As Suzanne can tell it excites me. If you told me all about it, how Suzanne had been naughty and brought someone else into, well our bed. I don’t feel threatened by a woman, whereas a man stokes murder in my heart. And that says a lot about me. But your time when it is just the two of you tends to let you deal with your needs for physical dominance and submission. Would that change?”