CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Emily reviewed the text messages from Jess. One by one they came in. Emily didn't have to reply. They were a running commentary on the discussion taking place between Scott and Jessica.
Brilliant Jess, thought Emily, who acknowledged to herself she would never be able to negotiate all this. Rule one . . . agreed . . . tick the box. A few minutes later, Rule two had come in by text . . . tick the box. A methodical discussion, like a business meeting, in progress between Jess and Scott. And Emily knew she couldn't have done this for several reasons. For a start, Emily felt too weak to have got through the emotional barrier, the anger, the hurt, the humiliation caused by Scott. She would have burst into tears. Neither did Emily have much idea of the 'rules' of playing this type of sex and she wondered how Jessica knew these things.
A text from Jess came in. 'Rule three. When in this role, I'll call you Master and you will call me Darling. He's agreed.' Emily read it again and she giggled.
Further texts popped up and it became a weird form of fun to know Scott thought he was talking to Emily, all strong and purposeful, while the real Emily sat in her hotel room.
Then the last text read, 'He's hot. Could easily f*ck him. Waiting for a cab to bring me back.'
-O-
Scott watched the cab drive away. When he had returned home from work, he had thought Emily had been at home all day. It was only when she said, 'I'm booked in for a night at a hotel and I'll be back tomorrow', that Scott realised Emily wasn't going to spend the night with him. She needed space was what she said.
He went back inside the house and read the Rules again. There remained a feeling that Emily had approached his problem with a detached outlook, as if she had got over the way she had been treated and now it was down to business. It all made sense and Scott was grateful. The Rules. Scott wondered where Emily had got that information, carefully thought out and delivered to Scott in a no-nonsense way.
He cleared away the two wine glasses and the empty bottle. The house was quiet without Emily and it occurred to him to find out where she was staying, and to suggest he take her out to dinner. He wondered which hotel Emily would choose to stay the night.
He finished washing the glasses and concluded Emily may have chosen the Mandarin. He found the phone number, and made a call to Reception. 'My name's Scott and I'm enquiring if a friend has booked in for the night. Her name is Emily Gibson.'
The receptionist looked for the name, and said, 'yes sir. She arrived at 2.30 this afternoon with a friend.'
Scott thought he had misheard but couldn't think what to say as he tried to make sense of this.
'Shall I transfer you to their room, sir?'
Their room, he almost said. Not a separate room?
'Her friend,' he said, 'did . . . ' He hesitated, not sure whether to say he or she.
'Jessica Davey. We all thought they were twins. Incredible likeness. They even talk the same. Shall I transfer your call?'
'Umm, no thanks. Thank you.' He stood still and looked at the sofa where Emily had sat. As if in a trance, Scott went to sit in the chair he had occupied. Okay, he thought, I know where Emily is staying. Who is this girl who looks like her twin? And talks like Emily. A ridiculous notion went through Scott's head . . . suppose Emily just now wasn't Emily? He thought about that and went over the conversation between them. Were there any clues, he wondered?
She had said, Emily doesn't mind a playful submiss ive role . . . by Emily I mean me. Scott repeated to himself, Emily doesn't mind it, but Emily wouldn't normally refer to herself like that.
And a little later she had said, you must never constrict her, sorry, MY mouth. He hadn't thought anything odd about that, but now it looked like a mistake; a drop in concentration from someone acting the role of Emily; like it could be this girl, Jessica, who had been here. Emily wasn't Emily.
Scott sat in the dark and went over everything about his relationship with Emily. He thought back to the times when he had made love to Emily. Would he know the difference between the two girls, he asked himself? Based on their chat this evening, he didn't know the difference and it was only a slipup in the conversation that looked suspicious. He came to the conclusion that he might have had sex with this girl Jessica without him knowing.
He jumped up from his chair, looked for his car keys, and rushed out of the house.
-O-
Emily and Jessica sat in the hotel M Bar on white leather high seats and leant against the bar. Emily sipped her Harvest Moon cocktail and loved the taste of the oranges and fizzy Asti, backed up with the vodka. She looked at Jess whose face was illuminated by the lighting from under the glass-topped bar.
'I got such a kick from playing you, Em. He's so hot. So f*ckable.'
Emily couldn't help the smile. 'You think I should forgive him, completely?'
'Of course. He's a changed man. He won't look at that weird site again, I guarantee it. The secret, Em, is I understood his need, his need to play the D0minant sometimes. Then I laid down the rules.'
'Where did you get those rules from?'
'You remember George at Uni. Him. He liked to play, so we had rules. Let me tell you, Em, it's good fun.'
Emily watched Jess pick the lemon slice out of her Mandarin Bison cocktail and suck it. She licked her lips in that sexy way Jessica had. 'Thanks, Jess, for what you did.'
'He snogged me, that was my reward.' She laughed and another couple who were two seats away looked over.
Emily lowered her voice. 'Do you think they've been listening?' She ran her tongue along the sugar coated edge of the tall Y shaped glass. 'My bum still hurts.'
'To be honest. You found out Scott's little secret, but that's nothing compared to our secret, or shall I say secrets.' Jess emphasised the word 'secrets' with the widening of her eyes.
'What do you mean?' Emily's mind had gone a blank due to the events over the past 24 hours.
Jessica lowered her voice. 'Well, are you going to tell Scott about the heist? He'll be impressed with the two million haul.' Jess burst out laughing. 'You should see your face.' Her voice had gone up a couple of notches, 'and have you told him we're bisexual?'
Emily became aware of the other couple at the bar who had gone quiet and were obviously listening. At the same time, Emily felt a presence, a shadow, an instinct of someone standing behind her. She turned. Scott stood with his hands on his hips, legs apart, and ready for a showdown.
-O-
Scott spotted the two girls at the bar, their backs to him. One of them was laughing as he silently approached. Was she laughing at him, he wondered, as he came up to stand behind their high seats? He blinked in surprise at the remark which he now overheard, and have you told him we're bisexual?
The girl on the left turned to look at him. Was she Emily?
He said, 'no, you haven't told me you're bisexual.' He had raised his voice in anger.
The other girl jumped and turned. 'Shit,' she said.
Silence descended on the bar. The other couple didn't move. Nobody moved.
Scott didn't know how to react; angry for being fooled, or swallow his pride and see the funny side. Questions burned in his head. 'Wait. What is this? Two friends who have sex together and swap to take it in turns with me?'
The girl who had jumped, and nearly knocked over her cocktail, wore the clothes he recognised from an hour ago at his house. She had to be Jessica, although he still wasn't sure. She said, 'Scott, we don't mean anything bad, it's just two silly girls . . .'
'And I presume you're Jessica?'
The girl on the left eased off her chair. 'Yup, she is, and I'm sorry for the stupid thing we did earlier. It wasn't fair on you.' As she said this, she put her arms around Scott's neck and kissed him on the lips.
He responded with a bear hug, tight, strong to hold her where she was, up against his body, smelling divine, but, he noted, a different perfume to Jessica. Scott closed his eyes.
'Please forgive me, darling,' she said into his ear. He could feel the goose bumps go across his shoulders.
Any anger left in Scott was melting fast. He so much wanted Emily back, as she used to be, and without any fear of being treated badly. He had got the message, delivered by Jessica, and understood his own weakness. Now he wanted to care for Emily and look after her. He released the hug. 'With the three of us here, we better talk. And I need a drink.'
Emily said, 'sit on my chair and I'll sit on your lap.'
Scott sat and helped Emily up. 'Ouch,' she said, 'careful of my bottom.'
'This hurt isn't going to happen again, Emily, I promise.'
Jessica added, 'better not, otherwise you'll have me to deal with.'
Scott ordered cocktails for the three of them. He still couldn't tell the difference in looks between the girls. Their hairstyle was the same, with a slight variation in makeup. But now that he had the two together, side by side, Scott could see a small distinction in the way Jessica spoke, more assertive, pushy, forceful. He looked at Jessica, 'I'm going to have to call you the chief negotiator.'
-O-
Emily and Jessica agreed with Scott's suggestion to eat dinner in the hotel. They sat at a round table in the Asana, next to the floor-to-ceiling windows onto Boylston Street.
Emily couldn't be happier. She and Scott had sorted themselves out. She was in love more than ever. And her best friend, Jess, seemed rejuvenated by one of their little secrets, their sexuality, being discovered and in the open. Emily couldn't see any point in owning up to the other secret, because Scott would go ballistic; it should remain buried as a bad error of judgement in the past. But Jess had been right, reflected Emily, that Scott's weakness was nothing compared to Emily hacking into a Government computer.
Towards the end of the meal, Scott suggested Emily and Jessica could come back to the house and spend the night there. 'You don't really want to stay in the hotel, do you?'
Emily looked at Jess. Yup, she would be tired after her morning flight from London. Although it was eight o'clock in the evening in Boston, it was one in the morning in the UK. But Emily knew Jess, and she guessed she would want a cuddle tonight in bed, and probably sex, just the two of them.
'Thanks, Scott, but Jess has come a long way and I want to sleep with her tonight.' She felt Jessica's leg touch hers, a signal that Jess agreed. It occurred to Emily that this might not be okay with Scott, and she held her breath for his response.
He reached over and covered her hand with his. 'I understand completely, Emily, and I respect your wishes.' He joked, 'I shall wait my turn.'
'Thanks, darling.'
'You two can still come back home tonight. Sleep in the spare room. I'm fine with that.' He paused. 'And tomorrow I'll make the finest English breakfast you've ever seen, bacon and eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, fried bread . . . the lot.'
This sounded good to Emily but she glanced at Jess. The faintest of smiles passed her lips, almost undetectable, but it was Jessica's way of saying yes.
'English breakfast it is then,' said Emily as both girls laughed.
After the meal, Emily and Jessica packed their bags, checked out of the Mandarin and walked out to Scott's waiting car. Emily sat in the front next to Scott. She turned round to Jess, 'stay with us for a while and we'll show you Boston. We could go to New York, Cape Cod, and holiday in Maine.'
In the darkness of the back seat, Emily could see Jessica smile, before she said, 'what about my receptionist job in the UK?'
'F*ck the job, Jess, we'll look after you. Won't we Scott?'
'Sure thing.'
THE END
See Author's Note on the next chapter.