Chapter 4

I should have listened to Max.

The fact is, from that day on, Kevin lost interest. He was always busy, or away somewhere, or making some other excuse. When we did meet, he wasn't enthusiastic. We fucked a few more times, but it was never like the first time. He wasn't remotely considerate, didn't wait for me, and always ran off to do something else straight after. 'Fuck' is the right word to use. The lovemaking was over.

We never spent the whole night together again, never enjoyed the quiet moments. He came and went. I was devastated.

I'd gone home the next day and relayed the first night to Rissa, and we had both relived the event the way we usually did. Rissa seemed to be even happier for me than I was. She'd been worrying about me for a while, wondering if perhaps I didn't really like men much. She was relieved. We cuddled and kissed with happiness, and she told me how much she loved Max. It was a great day.

My reports after that day weren't nearly so wonderful, and eventually I stopped telling her. After all, she and Max were in love and making plans. If they were both there, I wasn't even usually part of the conversation, though they did their best to include me.

In the finish, I dumped him. I collected all of his belongings that I had, and dropped them at his doorway in a box. I never heard from him again.

When I got back home, I was in a horrible mess. Clarissa and Max were both there, and I explained what I'd just done. They were wonderful, and insisted we needed to go out to celebrate. I didn't want to go, but they were both very firm with me. We went. We ate, drank, got drunk, and came back home. Rissa went beyond the call and sent Max back to his place so she could stay with me. We piled into my bed, and we both cried for hours. We didn't event comfort ourselves the way we might normally have. We just cried. This just might be how you find out who your real friends are. You can laugh with anyone.

The next morning I turned over a new leaf. It was fairly obvious the wait-for-love plan hadn't worked, so I set out to have some fun instead. I became a party girl. I'd drink with anyone, and didn't need much persuasion to go home with them either.

For a while there, I was worse than Rissa had been at her least sensible. She pulled me up on it a couple of times, but it wasn't until she made Max talk to me that I listened. I straightened out a little, drank a lot less, and generally behaved like a human being. I even joined in the jokes about Kevin after a while. We never referred to him by name though. He was Cherry-Popper to the three of us.

I might have reformed after the binge fucking, but I couldn't regain my virginity, and wouldn't have gone back there if I could, so I settled down to a more normal life, spending time with nice men, and perhaps giving them access to more than a kiss after a few dates, if it was apparent they were still nice. I can't say I didn't enjoy things, but it was nothing like the time I'd spent with Kevin, and deep down I was still looking to find a replacement, of sorts.

A year went by. It wasn't entirely uneventful. Max and Rissa got married, and I called her Mrs Jones to her face all the time. I got a new roomie, and then a place by myself when I realised I couldn't share a room with a stranger. I kept up the studying, and got some good grades. I met some nice men, but never one who caused my heart to flutter. Other parts of me fluttered rather more easily though, and I enjoyed the sex even when I knew it would never last.

I held out some hope for one of the guys for a while. I took him to Rissa's wedding. He was a dental student, charming, considerate and wealthy. That last was the problem, strangely. He expected people to do things for him. He'd been brought up that way. Apparently dating the man was equivalent to signing up for employment. He was very generous with his money, but that was all. It translated into the bedroom as well. The first time I knelt between his knees and made him happy it was a great adventure, and I liked the idea of giving him a gift after spending the evening at the wedding. It wasn't until I realised that he expected the gift, and on a regular basis, that I had problems. He never returned the favour either, and that just galled me. I didn't hate him or anything though. Just saw it wasn't going to work. A final fuck and we said goodbye, with no bad feelings.

After that, various men, for various periods of time. Nice sex sometimes. Good conversations, fine wine. Then moving on.

It was a little like that the night I took Dennis to Max and Rissa's place for dinner. She'd phoned and asked me to attend.

"Jamie, are you coming or not?"

"I said I would. I'll be there."

"Tonight."

"What? No, next week."

"No, Jamie, it's tonight. I told you."

"Oh. Shit."

"What's the problem?"

"Dennis."

"What's wrong with him?"

"Well, it's ... it's over. I know, but I haven't told him."

"Well, tell him."

"I can't do that. I need the right time. Look, can I bring him, but not have you try to get us hitched?"

"I wouldn't."

"Would so, Rissa. What about Robert?"

"He was nice."

"So?"

"Well, I just thought..."

"No."

"Oh, alright. Sorry."

"That's okay. But not Dennis. Please."

"I said I wouldn't."

"You promise?"

"Yep. Anyway, what's wrong with him?"

"Oh, nothing really. He's no Max."

"Nobody is Max."

"Yeah, but he's not a Max to me."

"You want to borrow my Max?"

"Yeah, sure. Just behave when we get there, would you?"

"I'll be an angel."

"That would be a first."

"Hmmph. No dessert for you, then."

"Ooh, you making that cheesecake, Mrs Jones?"

"Of course, dear. You're coming."

"Okay, look, I trust you. Just tell Max, would you?"

"I'll sort it out. See you at seven?"

"We'll be there. Red or white?"

"Bring some white."

"Done. Love ya."

"Love you too, Jamie. See ya."

"Bye."

Dennis was happy enough to go with me. He seemed to be picking up a vibe though, and I knew I'd have to tell him soon. I didn't want to. Every time I did this it felt like failure.

I didn't need to worry too much about the conversation though. There was some sports thing on TV, and the boys gravitated to that immediately, with a few beers, and left us girls talking about nothing much. We dragged the boys out to eat, and after Max insisted they do the dishes, they threw themselves back into armchairs and polished off a few more beers.

By the time Rissa and I decided we needed them, they were both flaked out in front of the flickering screen, so we left them there. Rissa had a glint in her eye that told me she was up to something, but I couldn't figure out what it was.

First, we had dessert. Double helpings, because the boys didn't wake up. Then another glass of wine, and girl talk. It got late awfully quickly, and when I suggested that I had better get Dennis home, Rissa grinned, and suggested there was no rush. After all, he was already getting his sleep, right?

I thought it was time to find out what was going on. "What exactly are you up to, Mrs Jones?"

"Oh, nothing. Nothing."

"Much."

"Yeah, much. Did you know we got a new shower installed upstairs?"

"No. What was wrong with the old one?"

"Nothing whatsoever."

"Oh. So?"

"So this one is better. Come take a look."

I shrugged and followed her up the stairs. We headed into their bedroom, and through into the bathroom. It certainly looked new. Chrome and glass everywhere. "You know, you could donate to starving Africans."

"This is so much more fun. Plus, what would they do with a shower like this? Stop preaching."

"Sorry. So other than the likelyhood of being blinded, what's so special?"

"Multiple jets, and a massage mode."

"No."

"Yes."

"Ooh."

"So, single girl, want to try it out?"

"I'm not single. I have baggage downstairs."

"He's unconscious. Well?"

"Yeah, okay. Like the old days?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean are we sharing, Rissa?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

"I don't need to, do I?"

"Probably not. Strip."

"Towels?"

"I'll get them. Back in a moment."

So I did. I was completely comfortable with Rissa, and I didn't even care if Max saw me. It wouldn't be the first time one of us had bumped into the other sans clothing. Dennis had removed my clothing once or twice as well, so what was to worry about?

By the time Rissa returned, I was starkers, and had reached in to turn the water on. She slapped my ass with the towels, and dropped them on the dresser. "Make way, make way." She was naked already herself, and I was struck by how neither of us had changed a lot in the last couple of years, at least physically.

I opened the door to the shower properly and ran through, with Rissa after me. We'd had enough to drink to make us a little silly, and it didn't take us long until we were having great fun under the water, washing each other's hair, and rubbing each other down the big soapy sponges. Nothing was off limits, especially after I got Rissa back by soap-sponging her ass. There was much in the way of giggles, as though we weren't adults any more. It was great. There was no denying the massage jets were relaxing, either.

Eventually though, we had to get out of the shower or turn into prunes. We towelled off, and then Rissa found us both some robes, and we ran back to the bedroom to tidy ourselves up and dry our hair.