Page 12 of Private Pleasures

“Omigod!” Nora gasped. What had happened to her? What the hell had happened? Who had turned off the television? The remote lay on the table next to a melted pint of caramel praline ice cream. “Omigod!” she said again. She distinctly remembered turning on the television. She remembered kneeling before it. Matching her hand to Kyle’s and being with him. There. In that gorgeous apartment with the incredible skyline view.

But it was obviously a dream. It must have been. None of it had really happened. It couldn’t have. Stuff like that didn’t really happen. She had let her imagination run away with her. But she suddenly smelled the fragrance of gardenias on her skin. No! It was a dream. But then why was her hair damp, and why did it smell freshly washed?

Nora tried to stand up, but fell back into her chair. Her legs were weak. She was taken aback by the slick and salty taste in her mouth. By the fact her vagina was very sore. Like she had had sex. Lots of sex. The house was quiet. Outside it was still dark. The clock on the fireplace mantle struck the half hour, but what half hour? Reaching for the remote, she turned the television back on and saw that it was four thirty in the morning. Where had she been for the past eight and a half hours?

Nora turned the set off again, and sat in the dark of the den. It hadn’t been a dream as much as she needed to believe it had been. It had all been very real. Kyle and Rolf had taken her a total of four times. Nora could never remember being fucked more than once in a night in her whole life. And she had been so wanton. She shivered with the chill of the predawn hour. Her brain felt as if it were going to explode with the knowledge of what had happened to her during these past few hours. She had to stop attempting to analyze and understand it or she was going to go nuts.

Nora breathed slowly, deeply, in an effort to calm the frantic beating of her heart. Then she attempted to stand up again. This time she was successful. No lights, she thought. If anyone is up peeing and sees lights at this time of morning, they’ll come running over. I can’t face anyone right now. Carefully she made her way from the den to the center hall of the house, and up the stairs to her bedroom. She literally fell into the bed and was instantly asleep.

She didn’t awaken until the sun was shining brightly in the room. She didn’t need to look at the bedside clock. It was after noon. The sun only came into the bedroom in the afternoon. She rolled over onto her back. She was exhausted. And she was still sore. She hadn’t ever in her life had such a workout as she had last night. And she smelled of sex. She hadn’t smelled that odor in years, but it wasn’t a scent you forgot. I want to go back, she thought. But Jeff would probably come home tonight because she had made him feel guilty yesterday. And she couldn’t go to The Channel if J. J. was in the house. What was today? Oh, shit! It was Tuesday, and she hadn’t put the garbage out for the weekly collection. If Jeff came home, he’d bitch at her over it. She’d have to make a dump run so he didn’t know.

The school Athletic Association awards were Friday. Jeff would definitely be home then, because how he appeared to the public was very important to Jeff. And he’d probably stay for the weekend. Could she annoy him enough so he’d go back to the city, and his girlfriend? Maybe. Maybe not. Damn! She really wanted to go back to The Channel. The place was an aphrodisiac and she had been quickly hooked.

Nora got up and showered, soon smiling at the dried semen she found in her matted pubic hair before she stepped beneath the water. It had been real! Oh, yes! It had been very real, and she could hardly wait for it to be real again. She winced as she accidentally banged her elbow on the tile wall. It was like bathing in a coffin, she thought. No lights. No view. She needed to talk to Carla. Getting out of the shower, Nora wrapped herself in a towel, grimacing as she realized that her body was back to normal! The sides of the fabric didn’t overlap on her frame.

I don’t have to be fat like this, she thought. I’ve really let myself pork up in the last few years. I need some exercise. Maybe I’ll start walking with Carla. I hate the way I look in my clothes. My height is all in my torso, and so is the fat. She pulled on a pair of cotton briefs, fastened her bra, squeezed into her stretch jeans, and yanked a bright yellow T-shirt on over her head. Then perching herself on the edge of the bed, she called Carla.

“Hi, it’s me. We’ve got to talk before the kids get home from school. Yeah, I’m here. Just barely. Come on over. I’ll get out the wine. It’s afternoon, and I need wine.”

Several minutes later Carla Johnson came into the kitchen with a plate of turkey sandwiches, and sat down at the table across from her best friend. “It’s only one, and I’ll bet you haven’t eaten. You’re going to be sick as a pig if you drink wine on an empty stomach. You went to The Channel, right?” she said matter-of-factly.

“I went to The Channel,” Nora said. “Perfect night for it. Jeff stayed in town. First time I didn’t mind he did. J. J. stayed at his girlfriend’s house to meet some bigwig from State.” She sipped the wine nervously, and then began to eat one of the sandwiches, surprised to learn she was very hungry.

“Well?” Carla demanded, cocking her head to one side, her brown eyes curious. “What did you find there? And did you like it?”

“It’s my dream apartment,” Nora began. “The one I’ve always talked about. It is so beautiful there, and I’m not a plump matron pushing fifty either. I am this sexy redhead about thirty. And I had sex with two men. Wild animal sex!” Nora laughed.

Carla grinned. “I wouldn’t tell this to anyone else but you and the others,” she said. “I’m Captain Raven, the pirate queen. I sail the Caribbean, and have sex with whoever takes my fancy. Two nights ago I captured an English vessel bound for the Indies. There was a very handsome and wealthy young duke aboard. He was willing to do anything I wanted him to do to effect his release. At first he was quite difficult, but I made him walk the plank. When we fished him out he became much more reasonable.”

She giggled. “Isn’t The Channel great? We can have all the sex we want without venereal disease, AIDS, unplanned pregnancies, or guilt. I don’t know who invented it, but it’s terrific, and we owe them a vote of thanks.”

“Nothing is for free,” Nora said slowly.

“We pay for it,” Carla replied glibly. “You’ll see it on your cable bill. Movie. Three ninety-five.”

“Doesn’t Rick wonder about all those movies?” Nora asked.

“Nah, I pay the bills,” Carla said. “And I took the twelve-dollars-a-month deal.”

“I thought you loved Rick,” Nora said.

“I do love Rick, but sometimes I want a change. I want to be young and sexy again. Doesn’t everyone? I mean, hell, men do it with different women. Why are women expected to confine themselves to only one man? At least our generation thought that way. Tiffany loves her harem romance novels, so she’s the sultan’s favorite. Rina won’t say.”

Nora laughed. She couldn’t help it. “Yeah, I’d expect Tiff would be the sultan’s favorite. Carla! It was so real! I mean I’m actually sore.”

“It is real, girlfriend. Now tell me how many times you did it with them, and who are they?” She leaned forward eagerly, her brown eyes sparkling.

“Four,” Nora said, blushing with her memories. “Three times with my lover. His name is Kyle, and he’s absolutely hunky. The last time was with my masseur. He’s blond, has an Austrian accent, and is named Rolf. Kyle watched us while we did it, but he got jealous, and put his dick in my mouth. We all came together! It was so wild, but then suddenly I was back. God, Carla, I want to go back there!”

Carla grinned. “I am so glad you had such a good time,” she said. “You’re a whole different person today. How long has it been since you and Jeff were intimate?”

Nora sighed. She had never wanted anyone to know, but what difference did it really make now that she had The Channel? “Five years,” she said softly.

“Jesus!” Carla swore. “Your husband really is a prick.”

“I can’t go back unless I’m alone in the house,” Nora said. “I wouldn’t want J. J. to find me, or see what’s on the TV when I’m there.”

“That’s right. The only television you’ve got is in the den,” Carla said. “Hell, Nora, get a TV for your bedroom.”