The Alphabet Game the Complete Alpha Series a to X, Y, Z (23 page)

I stop him. ‘No, I have a show for you, for the letter M. Now you go and sit on that chair and watch. The rules are you aren’t allowed to touch me, but you can touch yourself.’

‘Masturbate?’

‘Got it in one.’

The dim bedside lighting reminds me of the sexier rooms in The Rodeo.

I shimmy off my skirt and lean against the pillows in my bra and panties. I close my eyes and run my hands over the satin cupping my breasts. The bra pushes the curve of my breast plumply above the cup and I smooth my hand over the bump. I hear trousers hit the floor. I pull the bra straps down at each side and pull the cups down to let my breasts spill out. Pinching my nipples between my fingers, I can feel wetness pool between my thighs. I remove my bra, sit forward and look Gabe directly in the eyes. I push my breasts together.

‘Do you like what you see?’ My voice comes out cracked and husky.

Gabe indicates his erection, held firmly in his hand. ‘Well what do you think Stella?’

I run my tongue over my lips. Then I get my fingers and remove my panties. I draw up my knees and let my legs fall open. I strum my clit repeatedly, my fingers quickening, as I get more turned on.

Gabe watches transfixed, whilst pumping his own erection.

We don’t say a word to each other.

Pushing two fingers in my mouth, I wet them and then insert a finger into myself and piston it. Then I add another. I lean further back and raise my hips to meet my own fingers. I grab at my breasts with my free hand, pinching my nipples.

‘I’m imagining this is your cock,’ I say, pushing my fingers in deeper and faster until I spiral out of control, feeling my core tighten around my digits and shaking against them.

A minute later Gabe’s own climax follows.

Breathing heavily he pants, ‘I want to fuck you now.’

I shake my head, ‘No, that was the letter M.’ I walk over to him and place my fingers in front of his mouth. He takes them and tastes me.

‘Get back on that bed. I’m declaring N is for Nookie,’ he says, picking me up and throwing me down on top of the covers. He rubs his rock hard dick between my legs.

I’m too horny to refuse, so I let him have this one, and me.

The next morning I give Ronnie a call, because its been two weeks since we last spoke, and it’s not like us to go so long. I miss her.

‘Stella!’

‘Hey you. I know you said for me to leave it, until you called me, but I’ve been worrying about you.’

Ronnie’s exuberance shouts down the line, I’m pleasantly surprised. ‘I was just about to get in touch. I’m being discharged in the next few days, can you fucking believe it?’

My forehead creases, ‘I thought you were on a twenty-eight day programme?’

‘They’ve changed my diagnosis, I’m not an alcoholic after all. I just need to learn about controlling my addictive personality and I can do that as an out patient.’

I’m trying to process what she’s saying as she continues chatting.

‘The Therapist said if she had my parents, she’d be permanently pissed too. She’s a freaking hoot.’

‘Yes but what are you going to do when you get out? You’ll still have the same parents. How are you going to stop yourself from drinking?’

‘Ah, well that’s my big news. You are so not going to believe this.’

I wince as she is almost squealing down the phone.

‘I’m going to be a Gardener.’

I snort, I just can’t help it.

‘What was that?’

‘Something stuck in my nose.’ I have to bite on my hand. ‘Go on.’

‘Well, I started here, the staff encouraged me and I just love it. They say I have a natural ability for it, a flair. I’m going to train to be a Gardener, or a Garden Designer or something. My therapist’s helping me look up courses. I’m going to get,’ she pauses and then sings out out ‘
Der da der
. A job.’

I find myself tapping the side of my forehead with my fingers, maybe it’s to see if I’m dreaming. ‘Have you told your parents this plan?’

‘Yes! Daddy was ecstatic. He says he’ll promote me amongst his friends once I’m established but I’ve not to go and work at Homebase.’ She trills with laughter.

‘Well I’m really pleased to hear that and hopefully I’ll be back soon so we can have a good old girly get-together.’

‘Why? Where are you.’

‘I’m in New York.’

‘Fucking what?’

‘I’m in New York City. It’s a long story.’

‘Erm, honey, do I sound like I’m going anywhere right at this moment? Tell me all.’

So I sit on the bed and tell her everything that’s happened since the night I found out my mother enjoyed pain.

‘Gabriel Gregory wants a relationship with you. Holy Grail Moly, that’s
amazing
.’ The last word is screeched so loud I have to move the phone away from my ear. ‘I’m hugging you down the phone, can you feel it?’

‘You’re a loon.’

‘So what did you say, that you’d give it a go?’

I pause. ‘No.’

‘Oh Stella. Do you not feel the same?’

‘No, it’s not that. I just, can’t do it. I can’t seem to get the words out. It’s like if I say them, it’ll go wrong. Something will go wrong.’

‘Look I know how difficult this intimacy must be for you, but fucking tell him, you know you want to own his cock.’

‘Ronnie.’

‘Envisage this. Gabe sticking it to someone else. How’s that make you feel?’

Like I want to commit murder.

‘Okay, I’ll tell him.’

‘Thank you and repeat after me, “Ronnie is always right”. So how long do you think you’ll be staying over there?’

‘I’m not sure. I’ve only just started working at The Rodeo. I’ve not found anything yet on Mitch or Arnie.’

‘Maybe there’s nothing to find and they’re just quite simply bastards.’

I swap the phone to my other ear, we’ve been on that long, my ear is aching. God knows how much this call is going to cost. ‘There’s no way they’ve got to their positions without some dirt.’

‘Don’t let my father hear you say that, he’s earned every penny completely honestly remember.’

I laugh,‘Your father is a rare breed.’

‘Yeah well his brilliant business career, meant as a father he’s bloody useless but hey ho. Right I need to get back to my gardening. I’m having to water things a lot in this heat. Can you believe that in Britain it’s not rained for six days? So they’re about to impose -’

‘A hosepipe ban,’ we say simultaneously, giggling.

‘Catch you soon Ronnie and love your amazing news. I’m so happy you’ll be home soon. Though you might want to move if you’re wanting to garden.’

‘Fuck no, I don’t get paid to do my own do I? Plus it’s not near you. Or is W for wedding sex and I’m getting elbowed out?’

‘Not a chance, don’t you swear at me like that?’

‘Hmm we’ll see. First up the ass, then up the aisle.’

‘Ew.’

Ronnie’s hysterical laughter echoes down the line.

‘You are so easy to wind up. Do you reckon peni come out of your ass with shit on them? Can you try it and let me know?’

‘I’m going, before I completely and utterly hurl, you bad girl. Love you and ring me when you’re home.’ I put the phone down.

The lunatic is leaving the asylum. Hurrah!

Gabe is waiting for me in the Reception area. I walk down and he’s pacing, picking up leaflets advertising tour excursions and similar.

‘Stella, I’m not sure about this.’

‘You need to see your mother Gabe, end of.’

‘Bossy little thing aren’t you?’ He wiggles his eyebrows at me.

‘I can be if persuaded correctly.’ I flounce past him and head for the line of cabs.

Gabe’s mother greets him warmly at the door and surprisingly extends her hug to myself. She’s dressed in a shirt and culottes, with a patterned scarf at her neck.

‘Do come in, you two, I’ve some homemade lemonade fixed.’ She looks at me, ‘Gabe’s favourite.’

‘Yeah when I was six.’He pouts.

‘So, you’ll not be wanting any then?’

‘Oh mother, you know I do, let us in.’

The opulence of Maddie’s townhouse takes my breath away. We come through the entryway where I am greeted by a wide open staircase painted black, in a room containing a vast sofa and leather tub chairs. The decor is what I’d expect to see in a palace, with classical architrave and bespoke lighting. However Maddie walks past all this and takes us through to another lounge with brown leather furniture. There’s a huge zebra print rug on the floor and artwork of safari animals. The plain white of the fire surround and built in cupboards ensures that the accents that could be too much, instead blend beautifully.

Gabe and his mother carry on bantering for a few minutes whilst she fixes the lemonades. They have a lovely, seemingly healthy, rapport and it’s so obvious that Gabe is idolised. He doesn’t know how lucky he is.

‘You have a beautiful home, Maddie.’

‘Oh thanks sweets. I can’t take the credit for it though, it’s all my Interior Designers doing. I just give him a few ideas and off he goes.

‘I still think you should downsize mother, you could get lost in this place.’

‘But I love the space. I never get bored with what I have.’

‘How big exactly is this?’ I ask.

‘Seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms over four floors. I even have an elevator.’ Maddie loves this home, you can tell with the gleam in her eye.

‘Far too big for one person.’

‘Who says there’s just me? I could have a string of lovers living in the different bedrooms. They could be hiding out in the closets as we speak.’

‘Well, yes I guess there could be, as we know how good you are at keeping things secret,’ snaps Gabe.

There’s an uncomfortable silence, so I just jump right in.

‘Gabe’s curious, about Issy. Why you did it? Kept it from him.’

Maddie turns to him, but when she speaks she addresses me as well. I’ve not known this woman long but I like her already. She has guts.

‘Gabriel. It may be that all those years ago I made a huge mistake and if I did then boy am I going to spend a long time regretting it. Issy came to me a broken young girl, remember, not the confident woman you’ve seen now. She was at her wits end, carrying a baby that she didn’t want, but felt unable to abort or give away. I helped her, set her up in a small apartment at first.’

‘Bet she couldn’t believe her luck.’ Gabe drawls.

‘She started helping me around the house as she insisted on doing things in return. She took over managing my accounts as I’m useless with that sort of thing. She showed a true talent for it and so I looked after Sam whilst she went back to college and trained to be an Accountant. You can take that look off your face Gabriel, she has not helped herself to any of my money. In fact she actually showed me how to make more with what I have.’

‘Well she lives in a pretty upmarket residence now, so she got money from somewhere.’

‘I have given her some money towards the upkeep of my grandchild, but not much. Issy works and her husband is wealthy. I’m grateful that she’s stayed local to me. She could have chosen to move away when she met Mike, but she didn’t. Sam is the spitting image of you, I adore him. I’d be heartbroken if he wasn’t around. You and Christopher are all grown up and barely give me a thought any more.’

A look of guilt flashes across Gabe’s face.

‘Oh honey I’m not asking for you to ring once a week, I expect you to make your own way in life. But other than my social circle it’s nice for me to have a young one around, until,’ her voice lowers, ‘You have your own family.’

I shift uncomfortably in my seat and Gabe rubs his chin.

‘Right.’

‘Anyway, they’re just around the corner and I pop around, but Sam really does see Mike as his Dad. I know he’s your son and it’s a lot to ask of you, but please don’t go making waves for that family. They’re pretty perfect, they really are.’

Gabe rubs his brow,‘The thing is mum, that by you involving yourself in that family, it makes it pretty hard for me to stay away, doesn’t it? How can I, knowing you get to see my son week in, week out, but I can’t?’

She sighs and her eyes well up, ‘I know. This is such a mess.’

I interrupt,‘I’ve told Gabe to spend time thinking about things, that it’s too soon to make decisions.’

She nods, ‘I think that’s really good advice.’

‘I want to see him though mum. Just remind him I’m your son. I won’t tell him I’m his dad.’

‘I thought you’d want to see him.’ She stands up, ‘I’ll go give Issy a ring.’

‘Is there a park nearby, where maybe we could meet you tomorrow? After Gabe finishes work? I was thinking that I need to talk to Issy, so maybe we could chat, while you two spend some time in the park with Samuel.’

‘I’ll see what she says.’ She leaves us alone.