More Than Friends | ✓

Chapter Five

I walked slowly up the steps to her front door and rang the bell. Alice opened the door and invited me in. She was wearing a very short little halterneck black dress with black netting arms embroidered with black roses. Alice was so slender but the dress hugged her like a glove. Her breasts pushed out like two little Christmas puddings. Her hair had been brushed and tamed a bit and she was wearing eye shadow and bright red lipstick. I think the pink flush in her cheeks was genuine, not blusher. She looked absolutely completely stunning. She looked so mature. She looked like a beautiful young lady. She was smiling nervously, her head slightly cocked and her eyes sparkling. She was so alluring.

The house was so different from mine. There was no carpet, only a herringbone wooden tiled floor and strategic rugs. The front door opened into a hall with the front room off to one side and ahead at the end opened into the kitchen-cum-dinning room. Alice’s voice came from the kitchen. “Is that Sam? Show him through.”

It wasn’t Alice, but it sounded just like her.

Alice walked towards the kitchen and I followed. Her tiny little bottom wiggled like I’d watched on that first day. I hadn’t thought about it much since as I’d started to walk beside her rather than behind her, but I was powerful reminded of it now. She had a wonderful bottom. I was infatuated with her, every bit of her, and somehow being behind her gave me a chance to ogle more blatantly than if she could see my face and where my eyes roamed. It was liberating to get the chance to watch her walk from behind.

The kitchen was brightly lit and modern looking, and the dinning area beyond only lit by candles. The smell of food was fantastic. And there, chopping a salad on the side, was Alice’s mum.

Alice’s mum was similar to Alice in so many ways. She was the same height and build with blonde hair and blue eyes. And yet in so many ways, she was slightly different. Her hair was ever so slightly darker and straighter, and her brow ever so slight more pronounced. She looked so young, like she was Alice’s older sister. She was dressed quite normally in tight jeans and thin baggy wooly jumper. She introduced herself as Anita. She sounded just like Alice.

Alice was all dressed up, looking very girly. Her mum looked completely casual. There were candles. Her mum was with us. I wasn’t sure if this was a date or not. I sure felt romantic. It felt like Alice was making a special effort and I was excited. Was this more than just friends?

We sat, the three of us, on a small table and ate. Alice and I sat opposite each other and Anita sat on the end, between us. Anita sipped red wine. The lasagne was absolutely wonderful. Anita’s cheeks went red like Alice’s had when she had the rum and coke, and I guessed that Anita wasn’t a regular drinker either.

The mood was so light. Anita got me to tell all about how I lived with my dad and what I was studying and what I wanted to do for a job and everything, and Alice tried her hardest to change the subjects and tell her mum off for asking embarrassingly personal questions. I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed seeing Alice so comfortable and alive and joining in the conversation. Anita was playful. I thanked Anita for the dinner, and Anita laughed and said I should thank Alice as Alice had cooked it! I was floored. Alice looked so embarrassed. Not knowing what to say next, I gathered up the plates and started washing them up.

Alice and her mum started talking quietly. It was like they were singing. I couldn’t understand a word. It was, I now know, how it sounds when they talk Norwegian. It sounds like singing. From their body language, Alice was telling her mum off for embarrassing her. They sounded so happy when they were singing but their body language said they were were arguing and Alice was trying to dissuade her mum from doing something rash.

Anita suddenly broke off their conversation and looked up and said loudly in English. “Sam, Alice and I were wonderin...”

At that point Alice tried to cover her mother’s mouth up with her hand. They struggled for a second and Anita batted away Alice’s arms and carried on despite the protest.