taxi door for her and helped her in. She looked up at me confused,
but nodded as I closed the door and tapped on the roof. I stood watching as she
disappeared, then let out a heavy sigh. Here was me condoning her husband for
being more invested in amassing even more money than he could possibly spend
and ignoring his personal life, when I was just as culpable of the same crime.
I strode over to where James was patiently waiting by the
car and he opened the rear door for me.
‘Morning, Sir.’
‘Morning, James,’ I smiled, as I ducked in and he closed the
door. I waited until he’d pulled out onto the main road before speaking. ‘Thank
you for the paper this morning.’
‘You’re welcome,’ he nodded in the mirror reflection.
‘You’re not going to ask me anything?’ I enquired,
surprised. He’d not been lacking in opinions on Summer over the last few
months.
‘No need to, Sir. I’ve already been put on alert by Mr.
Smith that I’ll be collecting you on Saturday evening, doing a detour to Miss
Beresford’s address and taking you both to Leicester Square in the limousine. The
only thing I’m unclear on, is when I’ve picked you up after the premiere, where
I’ll be taking you both.’
‘Hmmm. I’m still unclear on that myself,’ I sighed. Assuming
she didn’t slap me and force me out of the limo for surprising her, after
ignoring her last email.
‘I’m sure when you’ve both got over the shock of seeing each
other after so long, you’ll soon think of something. If you don’t mind me
saying so, I’m pleased that you’re seeing her again. She’s a very nice lady and
you can’t carry on with this career path forever.’
‘I don’t mind you saying so, she is very nice but
this is nothing to do with me. I couldn’t leave her open to the potential of
that shit corrupting her.’
‘A touch of the green eyed monster then?’
‘I’d have been fine with her going with anyone else, not him, ’
I retorted.
‘Whatever you need to tell yourself to sleep at night,’ James
chuckled. I shook my head. He was too observant for his own good. I’d have
hated seeing her in print with anyone. I checked my phone again, wondering if
Ian had transferred over that message from Summer eight months ago and felt my
heart skip its steady beat as I saw it in my inbox. I took a deep breath before
I opened it to read.
Dear Mr Steele. You may not remember me, but I booked you
for a “Virgin for the Night” fantasy last month.
I might not remember her? Jesus baby, if only you knew the
truth.
I wondered if you’d be able to accommodate me again? I
feel like I have so much to learn and you were so gentle, kind and respectful
that I’d like for it to be you that teaches me everything that I need to know.
You have no idea how much I’d have loved that, I thought
with a sigh, before reading on, trying not to imagine how many hours of
practice she’d put in with someone else in the meantime.
You did so much for my confidence in just one night, I
can only imagine what a few more sessions with you will do for me. I don’t know
why, but I just trust you to take care of me. I really hope that I wasn’t too
inexperienced for you and that you’ll want to take my booking again. I don’t
have a fantasy to play out. I’d just like you to teach me more, I want to learn
everything I can so I know how to please a man. I hope to hear from you soon.
Kind regards, Summer
O trust me, I’ve imagined plenty of sessions, I said to
myself, as I pinched the top of my nose. She needed her confidence boosting and
I’d fucking blocked her email and never replied. What would that have done for
her self-worth? Probably bloody shattered it. Along with her trust in me. She’d
think that she was shit sexually and that was why I’d ignored her, when the
damn opposite was true.
I wiped my face with a towel as I finished a particularly
vigorous workout in my gym. I felt seriously tense, it was already Thursday,
two nights
Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Martin A. Lee, Bruce Shlain