Web of Desire (2 page)

‘I don’t go shopping,’ Mandy returned, deciding to retaliate. ‘I mean, I did today but … I get my boyfriend to do that.’

‘Really?’

Mandy giggled. ‘I’m far too busy to traipse around supermarkets and catch buses,’ she said, sipping her drink. Round one to me, she thought happily. ‘Surely you don’t do your own shopping?’

‘God, no. I have a cleaning woman. She also does the shopping.’

Mandy didn’t want to play a game of one-upmanship, but she couldn’t admit to doing her own shopping and lugging carrier bags home on a bus every week. Paula obviously lived in a different world. Mandy knocked back her drink and reflected
dolefully
. A Mercedes, a cleaning woman, travelling abroad … Wondering where she’d gone wrong, she went to the bar and ordered another vodka and tonic. She was going to run out of money if she wasn’t careful. She could only afford four drinks, and would have to pace herself.

‘Allow me,’ the man who Paula had pointed out said, taking his wallet from his jacket pocket.

‘Oh, thank you,’ Mandy breathed. ‘That’s very nice of you.’

‘You’re a very nice girl. I’m Gary, by the way.’

‘I’m Mandy, pleased to meet you.’

‘Er … are you staying with your friend for the evening or …’

‘Yes, yes, I am.’

‘Maybe we could have a drink together one evening?’

‘Well, er …’ Mandy bit her lip and glanced at Paula. ‘I’m not sure.’

‘You must think me rather quick off the mark. It’s just that I’ve been watching you and … well, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. How about tomorrow evening?’

‘Maybe,’ Mandy said hesitantly. ‘I’ll have to see what I’m doing.’

‘Here’s my number.’ He passed her a business card. ‘Give me a ring, OK?’

‘I will,’ she said, gazing at the card. Gary Moore, accountant. ‘Thanks. Well, I’d better be getting back.’

‘Ring me tomorrow, OK?’

‘OK.’

Returning to the table, Mandy couldn’t believe that she’d been asked out. And it had happened so quickly. He was in his late twenties and very good-looking, and Mandy wondered whether she should phone him. Feeling confident as she sat opposite
Paula
, she grinned. Paula’s eyes darted between the man and Mandy, and she was obviously curious. Round two to me, Mandy thought, sipping her drink and waiting for the inevitable question.

‘Do you know him?’ Paula finally asked her.

‘Gary? Yes, yes, I do,’ she replied triumphantly.

‘Why didn’t you say so when I pointed him out earlier?’

‘I didn’t realise that you were talking about Gary. I thought you meant that other man.’

‘Is he an old boyfriend, or what?’ Paula persisted.

‘Sort of,’ Mandy replied mysteriously.

‘He’s very good-looking. Why don’t you ask him to join us?’

‘He’s with his friends. Besides, I want to catch up on your news and chat about the old days.’

‘Do you still see him?’

‘I’m seeing him tomorrow evening. So, tell me about your business. What is it that you import and export?’

As Paula rambled on, Mandy kept one eye on Gary. Returning his smile, she felt her stomach somersault as she imagined going out with him. Things couldn’t have turned out better, she reflected. Chatting to a handsome young man when Paula was watching … Luck was definitely with her, she thought happily. If only she could afford to get out more. It would be nice to go out and meet people and enjoy life for a change. All work and no play wasn’t a good thing. All work, and no pay.

‘And that’s how I got where I am today,’ Paula said, breaking Mandy’s reverie.

‘Sounds interesting,’ Mandy commented.

‘Do you have your own house?’

‘Yes, I do,’ Mandy replied. ‘Well, it’s a flat, a maisonette.’

‘Oh, I couldn’t live in a flat,’ Paula returned. ‘Don’t you find it claustrophobic? I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have a garden. Especially in the summer.’

‘I don’t have time for gardening.’

‘Neither do I. That’s why I have a man who comes round once a week. He cuts the lawn and keeps things nice. I really couldn’t be without a garden.’

‘I was thinking about moving,’ Mandy lied as the alcohol went to her head. ‘But I decided to stay where I am because I don’t have the cash at the moment.’

‘It doesn’t cost much to move house.’

‘No, no … I don’t want another mortgage.’

‘Oh, I see. Well, er … you must be doing well if you’re thinking of buying a place for cash.’

‘It won’t be for a while, yet. What’s your house like?’

‘Very small,’ Paula replied, much to Mandy’s surprise. ‘I rent out my big house,’ she added. ‘I decided to live in the smaller one because I don’t need six bedrooms. I’ll get another drink. I won’t be a minute.’

Fortunately, Gary called out goodbye as Paula took her empty glass up to the bar. The last thing Mandy had wanted was for Paula to start chatting to him. This really was a game of one-upmanship, Mandy reflected.
I don’t need six bedrooms
. She’d always got on well with Paula at school, and she felt that they were still good friends, but she didn’t like having to lie to the girl. At least she’d not had to lie too much about Gary. She was going to see him tomorrow – that was no lie.

‘He really is dishy,’ Paula said, placing her drink on the table and retaking her seat. ‘You don’t want to let that one go.’

‘I like to keep him hanging around,’ Mandy breathed. ‘He has his uses.’

‘I’ll bet he has. I’ll tell you what I’m going to do when I go to bed tonight.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Get my vibrator out and enjoy several good orgasms.’

‘Oh, er … right,’ Mandy stammered, wondering what to say.

‘My vibro is better than any man.’

‘I used to think that, until I met Gary,’ Mandy said, with another giggle.

Mandy enjoyed the evening and swapped phone numbers with Paula before leaving the bar. She felt a little apprehensive about going out with Gary, but she knew that she shouldn’t back out. It was time she had some sort of friendship with a man. Her thoughts turning to sex, she imagined Paula using a vibrator. Mandy had masturbated regularly throughout her teens, but the urge had left her a couple of years ago and she’d neglected her feminine needs.

Back at her flat she made herself a cup of coffee and checked her emails. The landscape gardener had accepted her offer and had sent several photographs for the web site. At least she’d make a little money. She climbed the stairs to her bedroom and slipped out of her clothes. Eyeing her reflection in the full-length mirror, she reckoned that she had a pretty good figure. Her long dark hair framed a pretty face and cascaded over her well-formed shoulders. Her breasts were small but firm and nicely pointed and she was slim with shapely hips. No, she wasn’t bad looking at all. Maybe the time had come to rediscover her sexuality.

Sprawled out beneath the quilt in her double bed, Mandy wondered what it would be like to use a vibrator. She hadn’t given a thought to sex for so
long
that she’d forgotten what an orgasm felt like. Her fingers toyed with the swelling lips of her vulva, pulling and kneading the soft cushions of flesh rising either side of her wetting sex crack. She parted her legs wide and ran her finger up and down the hot valley of her vagina. She was surprised by the hardness of her clitoris, the wetness of her opening vaginal entrance. Her vaginal muscles tightening, her juices of desire flowing, her clitoris calling for her intimate attention … Whether it was the effect of the alcohol or the thought of going out with Gary, she had no idea. But she felt sexually alive for the first time in years.

Her sensitive clitoris responded to her intimate caress and she breathed heavily, arching her back as the sensations permeated her young womb. Maybe her life was about to change, she mused dreamily as she reached beneath her thigh and slipped two fingers into the wet sheath of her tight vagina. Meeting up with Paula had opened her eyes to the world outside. Working from home and rarely going out, she’d become insular in her thinking. All work and no play, she reflected. All work and no money. No sex.

Her clitoris pulsated and her rhythmically contracting vagina gripped her thrusting fingers. Her orgasm came quickly and shook her young body to the core. Whimpering and writhing in ecstasy as her climax peaked, Mandy knew instinctively that her life was about to change. Chatting to Paula, meeting Gary … Her eyes had been opened, not only to the world outside but to her femininity.

‘Yes,’ she breathed as her naked body shook uncontrollably in the aftermath of her self-loving. Realising how much she missed sex, she slipped her wet fingers out of her sated vagina and pulled the quilt over her trembling body. She recalled her early
days
of masturbation as she licked her pussy-wet fingers and tasted her orgasmic juices. She used to spend her nights masturbating in her bed, fingering her tight sex sheath and savouring the aphrodisiacal taste of her hot cream. At least she’d rediscovered the pleasure of masturbation, she reflected dreamily as sleep engulfed her.

Mandy woke at nine with a start. She’d been dreaming about Gary, his hard cock slipping deep into her tight vagina, his throbbing knob splattering her ripe cervix with sperm. Sitting up in her bed, she looked about her and smiled. Maybe Gary would be fucking her before long, she thought with a rising sense of wickedness. Her inner thighs sticky with her dried sex milk, she slipped out of bed and recalled her amazing orgasm. Feeling as if her feminine desires had woken after two years of sleep, she ran a fingertip up and down her opening vaginal slit and smiled. Her clitoris was swollen, again calling for her intimate attention, and she knew that her nights of masturbation had returned with a vengeance.

After a shower, Mandy dressed in a miniskirt and loose-fitting blouse and checked her emails. The landscape gardener had written again. He’d sent payment in full and was obviously keen to get his web site up and running. Mandy poured herself a cup of coffee and munched on toast and marmalade as she got down to work. Although the money wasn’t good, she felt invigorated. Maybe her orgasm had sparked her enthusiasm. Whatever it was, she worked solidly for several hours and finally sat back to admire her creation.

The landscape gardener was delighted and couldn’t praise Mandy enough, which boosted her confidence no end. When a plumber emailed her that afternoon
asking
for a quote for a web-site design, she stuck to her price. Maybe things were changing for the better, she thought when the man accepted her price and sent the money up front. All work and no play was fine, as long as the money rolled in. But she had to make time for Gary. Gazing at his card, she grabbed the phone and punched in his number.

‘I didn’t think you’d ring me,’ he said in surprise. ‘I mean, I’m glad you did. But I thought …’

‘I know what you mean,’ she cut, in with a laugh. ‘How about meeting in the wine bar this evening?’

‘Oh, er … Right, yes.’

‘Seven o’clock?’

‘Yes, great. I really didn’t think … I mean, an attractive girl like you …’

‘There’s no need for flattery, Gary. I’ve said that I’ll meet you, so there’s no need to sweet-talk me.’

‘No, no, I wasn’t. This has come as a bit of a surprise, that’s all. So, tell me about yourself.’

‘Later, we’ll talk later. I’ll see you at seven.’

‘Yes, right. OK, I’ll look forward to it.’

Heart racing, Mandy replaced the receiver and punched the air with her fist. ‘Yes!’ she shouted. Things really were beginning to look up, and it was all due to Paula. Had it not been for Paula, she’d never have gone to the wine bar. Had it not been for Paula, she’d never have met Gary or masturbated or … Wondering what to wear, she dashed up the stairs to her bedroom and flung her wardrobe doors open. Not too tarty, she told herself, eyeing her miniskirts. There again, not too conservative. Finally deciding on a knee-length skirt and blouse, she spent several hours getting ready. This was going to be a good evening, apart from one problem. She had no money. She didn’t like the idea of having to rely on Gary to buy her drinks, but she had no choice.

Arriving at seven-fifteen, she noticed Gary standing at the bar. Dressed casually in jeans and an open-neck white shirt and with his dark hair swept back, he looked good. But Mandy felt self-conscious, and wondered whether she looked all right herself. She wasn’t used to socialising, and she knew that this was going to be awkward. Already having second thoughts, she bit her lip and began to panic. It had been so long since she’d been chatted up and asked out that she had no confidence in herself. Just act normally, she reminded herself as she walked up to the bar and stood beside Gary. Just be yourself.

‘Hi, Mandy.’ he said, his face beaming. ‘Drink?’

‘Vodka and tonic, please,’ she replied, perching her rounded buttocks on a stool.

‘Wow, you look great.’

‘Thanks.’

‘I didn’t think you’d turn up.’

‘You didn’t think I’d ring you, and then you didn’t think I’d turn up. Have you no confidence?’

‘No, yes …’ he stammered. ‘It’s just that, an attractive young girl like you …’

‘Let’s not go there again,’ she said, giggling as he ordered her drink. ‘I did phone, and I did turn up.’

‘Ice?’ the barman asked her.

‘Please.’

‘So,’ Gary breathed, looking Mandy up and down. ‘Here we are.’

‘You’re not shy, are you?’ Mandy asked him.

‘Well, yes, I suppose I am.’

‘Good, that makes two of us. My heart has been banging and my stomach churning all day. It’s silly, isn’t it?’

‘Not at all. To be honest, I’ve felt the same. Every time the phone rang, I thought it might be you. So, here we are.’

‘Let’s sit at a table,’ Mandy suggested, slipping off her stool and taking her drink from the bar. ‘We don’t want to bore the barman by saying, “So, here we are” all evening.’

Feeling more confident as she followed Gary to a secluded corner table, Mandy thought it odd that he was so shy. He was very good-looking, and she’d imagined he’d have several girlfriends on the go. Perhaps he’s a virgin, she giggled inwardly as she sat opposite him at the table. But he must have had sex at
some
time in his life, she thought. Maybe he was playing at being shy? Maybe he was a married man and …