Read Online Because She Loves Me by Mark Edwards - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Mark Edwards
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Charlie in the robe before hurriedly pulling my own clothes over my wet skin. I pulled Charlie against me and felt her trembling.
‘Let’s get—’ I began, then stopped.
‘What is it?’ she asked.
I stared into the trees that ringed the lake, peered into the shadowy spaces between them, and said, ‘Hello?’
Charlie followed my gaze, her eyes wide.
‘Did you see something too?’ I asked. When she shook her head I said, ‘I’m sure there was someone there, watching us.’
‘Oh please, don’t.’
Tentatively, I approached the trees. There was no one there.
‘Let’s get out of here,’ I said. My whole body felt like it had been encased in ice for a thousand years, like that Stone Age man they found in the Italian Alps. And right now, I needed to get back to the warmth and safety of my cave.
I was still thawing out half an hour later as Charlie and I sat at opposite ends of my bath. A gentleman, I had taken the end with the taps and the plug. Soap bubbles covered Charlie up to her shoulders. She took a sip from her condensation-streaked wine glass.
‘I still can’t believe we did that,’ I said.
She laughed. ‘Me neither. It was fun though.’
I wasn’t sure if that was the right word. It was intense, unforgettable – but fun?
‘I wasn’t wearing a condom,’ I said.
She scooped up a handful of bubbles and blew them at me. ‘You’re such a worrier. It’s OK. I’m on the pill. And I’m trusting that you’re not wildly promiscuous, so your chances of having a disease are low.’
‘I’m definitely not, nor have I ever been, wildly promiscuous,’ I said.
She paused, took a sip of wine. ‘So, what’s your number?’ she asked.
‘You mean, how many women have I slept with?’
She smiled. ‘Uh-huh.’
‘Seven,’ I said, after taking a few moments to count in my head. ‘Including you.’
I had expected her to say something like ‘is that all?’ because, compared to most of my friends and from reading survey results in magazines, mine was a low number. But she said, ‘I know Harriet already, and me of course. Who were the other five?’
I ran through the other girls.
The first had been Laura, my girlfriend when I was in the sixth form at school. We were both virgins and after many heated petting sessions, finally went all the way while babysitting a neighbour’s toddler. We stayed together for another few months after that, splitting up when we both went to university.
There were Junko and Helena, two one-night stands when I was a student.
Then I went out with Sarah for two years, starting in our third year of uni, before she left me for a guy she met at the office where she worked.
After a long period of involuntary chastity, I had a brief thing with a woman called Karen, ten years older than me, whom I had met through Victor. Karen and I both had meetings at Victor’s office at the same time and had got chatting while waiting in reception. Victor had found our tryst highly amusing and, until we split up, made constant jokes about being guest of honour at our wedding.
Karen was by far the best in terms of passion and technique, until Charlie came along. Karen and I had been an unlikely match: she was experienced, worldly, at ease in her own skin, while I was gauche and awkward. I’m still not sure what she saw in me. Enthusiasm, perhaps. Energy. She had recently split from her long-term partner and, even when we were having sex, seemed sad. Beautiful and sad. One day she told me she thought we shouldn’t see each other any more, and that was it. I ended our relationship feeling like a student who’d just graduated from a fun and rewarding course.
After that there was Harriet – who treated sex like a necessary bodily function – and then Charlie.
‘That’s it,’ I said. ‘My entire sexual history.’
She had been quiet as I had recounted my list. ‘And who was best?’ she asked.
‘You, of course.’
She didn’t smile. ‘No, I mean apart from
‘Let’s get—’ I began, then stopped.
‘What is it?’ she asked.
I stared into the trees that ringed the lake, peered into the shadowy spaces between them, and said, ‘Hello?’
Charlie followed my gaze, her eyes wide.
‘Did you see something too?’ I asked. When she shook her head I said, ‘I’m sure there was someone there, watching us.’
‘Oh please, don’t.’
Tentatively, I approached the trees. There was no one there.
‘Let’s get out of here,’ I said. My whole body felt like it had been encased in ice for a thousand years, like that Stone Age man they found in the Italian Alps. And right now, I needed to get back to the warmth and safety of my cave.
I was still thawing out half an hour later as Charlie and I sat at opposite ends of my bath. A gentleman, I had taken the end with the taps and the plug. Soap bubbles covered Charlie up to her shoulders. She took a sip from her condensation-streaked wine glass.
‘I still can’t believe we did that,’ I said.
She laughed. ‘Me neither. It was fun though.’
I wasn’t sure if that was the right word. It was intense, unforgettable – but fun?
‘I wasn’t wearing a condom,’ I said.
She scooped up a handful of bubbles and blew them at me. ‘You’re such a worrier. It’s OK. I’m on the pill. And I’m trusting that you’re not wildly promiscuous, so your chances of having a disease are low.’
‘I’m definitely not, nor have I ever been, wildly promiscuous,’ I said.
She paused, took a sip of wine. ‘So, what’s your number?’ she asked.
‘You mean, how many women have I slept with?’
She smiled. ‘Uh-huh.’
‘Seven,’ I said, after taking a few moments to count in my head. ‘Including you.’
I had expected her to say something like ‘is that all?’ because, compared to most of my friends and from reading survey results in magazines, mine was a low number. But she said, ‘I know Harriet already, and me of course. Who were the other five?’
I ran through the other girls.
The first had been Laura, my girlfriend when I was in the sixth form at school. We were both virgins and after many heated petting sessions, finally went all the way while babysitting a neighbour’s toddler. We stayed together for another few months after that, splitting up when we both went to university.
There were Junko and Helena, two one-night stands when I was a student.
Then I went out with Sarah for two years, starting in our third year of uni, before she left me for a guy she met at the office where she worked.
After a long period of involuntary chastity, I had a brief thing with a woman called Karen, ten years older than me, whom I had met through Victor. Karen and I both had meetings at Victor’s office at the same time and had got chatting while waiting in reception. Victor had found our tryst highly amusing and, until we split up, made constant jokes about being guest of honour at our wedding.
Karen was by far the best in terms of passion and technique, until Charlie came along. Karen and I had been an unlikely match: she was experienced, worldly, at ease in her own skin, while I was gauche and awkward. I’m still not sure what she saw in me. Enthusiasm, perhaps. Energy. She had recently split from her long-term partner and, even when we were having sex, seemed sad. Beautiful and sad. One day she told me she thought we shouldn’t see each other any more, and that was it. I ended our relationship feeling like a student who’d just graduated from a fun and rewarding course.
After that there was Harriet – who treated sex like a necessary bodily function – and then Charlie.
‘That’s it,’ I said. ‘My entire sexual history.’
She had been quiet as I had recounted my list. ‘And who was best?’ she asked.
‘You, of course.’
She didn’t smile. ‘No, I mean apart from
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