Close Observation Ch. 16

'What's the plan?' asked Ron.

'I'm going to have enough money to buy property, in London, and I'm going to be completely financially independent and secure. The eighteen grand a year is a part of that though, without it, I'd have to work for longer,' said Vicky.

'I hope it works out; I really do. I want you to be able to meet someone and not be worrying about: how will he react when I tell him... does that make sense?' said Ron.

'It makes sense, and thank you, Mr Ron, but I think I may have met someone already,' said Vicky.

'Oh really? Gossip! Who is it?' Ron asked. They laughed.

'I'm not saying a word,' said Vicky.

'Go on, tell your uncle Ron,' said Ron.

'No, not a chance. You remember the last guy? He was drooling all over me at the gym, and we started seeing each other and it was great, and I started thinking about where our kids were going to go to school. Then he ghosted me, just disappeared, and it bloody hurt. So, I'm not saying a word about this one because it could end tomorrow,' said Vicky.

'He's a lucky man,' said Ron.

'Who says it's a he?' said Vicky.

'Whoever, they're lucky,' said Ron. He meant it, he thought the world of Vicky, and he wanted things to work out for her.

'Thank you, Mr Ron,' said Vicky. She touched his arm again. 'So, what's going on with you and Marie?'

'What? Nothing,' said Ron.

'Annabelle said you kissed her. She said it was like something out of a film,' said Vicky.

'I just kissed her good night, she was pissed up, I'd had a bit to drink...' said Ron.

'Well Annie said if you kissed her like that, she'd marry you,' said Vicky.

'I didn't think it was a big deal. I didn't think anyone would remember,' said Ron.

'Well, if it was anything like Vicky described, I'd assume that Marie remembers,' said Vicky.

'She's been different with me,' he said.

'I bet, Mr Ron,' said Vicky.

'Have I fucked things up?' asked Ron.

'No, why would you have fucked things up?' asked Vicky.

'I might have fucked up the relationship,' said Ron.

'Or it might go somewhere else,' said Vicky.

'I can't compete with this girl at her work, and there's some other stuff, that you don't know about... and I can't tell you,' said Ron.

'You can compete with anyone, Mr Ron, and there's no reason why you can't get Marie,' said Vicky.

'Thank you,' said Ron.

He remembered when he could feel the piss coming out, when he was in the car with Marie. He could still feel what it had been like. It had felt warm on his legs.

'You hang in there, you. That girl needs someone like you,' said Vicky.

'Thanks Vicky,' said Ron.

***

When they got back, Annabelle and Caroline were at home. They were sat apart from each other on the big settee by the front window, which surprised Ron. Normally, whenever Caroline was here, she seemed to be either sat on someone's lap or actually in bed with someone having sex.

Both girls greeted Ron and Vicky warmly. They were drinking white wine. Vicky kissed Caroline on the mouth. Annabelle got up hugged and kissed Ron.

'How's Mr Ron?' she asked.

'Good thanks. How was your day?' asked Ron.

'Lovely thank you, yours?' said Annabelle.

'Not too bad,' said Ron.

'You've been watching the Vickster getting fucked,' said Annabelle.

'And pissed on,' said Vicky.

'Ah, so this was the one. How did it go?' asked Annabelle.

'How did it go? It went one thousand, six hundred quid... Right, I am tired out. I'm going to hit the hay if it's alright with everyone,' said Vicky.

Caroline got up and they left the room together.

'Mr Ron,' said Annabelle.

'Yup?' said Ron.

'How are you?' asked Annabelle. She was smiling at him.

'How am I? I'm fine,' said Ron. He was surprised by the question.

'The other night, that kiss, Mr Ron. How are we feeling about that? Have you seen Marie?' asked Annabelle.

Ron felt the burning sensation, the Marie sensation. He shouldn't have kissed her like that. He'd had a drink, he hadn't thought about it, he'd just done it. He'd thought she either wouldn't remember or would just put it down to the booze.

'I knew you liked her... Vicky said something. I didn't realize you liked her that much though... Ron and Marie, up in a tree...' sang Annabelle.

'Fucking hell,' said Ron. He could feel himself going red.

'Don't be embarrassed, it was beautiful!' said Annabelle.

'Annie, I love you, I do, but please, please, please, could we forget about the whole thing? Can we pretend it didn't happen?' said Ron.

Annabelle seemed disappointed.

'I love you too Mr Ron. Of course, we can forget about it. I was hoping to see some romance, that's all,' said Annabelle.

'That's not happening,' said Ron.

'Why not?' asked Annabelle.

'She's after someone else,'

'The fucking doctor in work? How are they going to compare to you, Ron? Asked Annabelle.

'That's a nice thing to say, Annie, thank you,' said Ron.

'If you kissed me like that, I would have to insist that we walked off into the sunset together,' said Annie.

'I don't know if Marie's thinking on the same lines,' said Ron.

'Well she should be,' said Annabelle.

'Thank you,' said Ron.

'You're welcome Mr Ron,' said Annabelle.

Ron walked towards the back of the front room, heading off to bed. He stopped when he remembered something Vicky had said to him earlier.

'Annie, did you need me for something? Vicky mentioned something,' said Ron.

'I did indeed, yes. I wondered if you'd accompany me back to that club, but... there's a hitch with that,' said Annabelle.

'A hitch?' asked Ron.

'Yes... I invited Marie to come. You know she's been down in the dumps a bit, she's got the thing at work, and she's got essays to write, and she split up with that little tosser, so I said, come to the club, let's have some fun. I was drunk, it was when we were in bed. Now, I don't want to go unless you're with me, and she said she wanted to come, but how would you feel about it?' asked Annabelle.

'Well, it'll be like getting fucking tortured, but I don't want either of you going there without me, I don't want anyone trying anything,' said Ron.

'Will you be ok?' asked Annabelle.

'It can't hurt any more than being there when she's with punters,' said Ron.

'I suppose not,' said Annabelle.

***

Katie rang in the morning. Ron's phone rang when he was running by the river. He didn't answer it but rang her back when he got home.

'How goes it?' asked Ron.

'Don't ask,' said Katie.

Ron thought she sounded different. He thought she sounded stressed.

'That bad?' asked Ron.

'Can I see you?' asked Katie.

'Certainly, do you want me to come later?' asked Ron.

'No, before that. Are you free now? I'm in Knightsbridge,' said Katie.

'I can come up there. What are you doing in Knightsbridge?' asked Ron.

'I'm shopping. Kwame said to treat myself with the money I don't spend on coke,' said Katie.

'Are you buying Knightsbridge then?' asked Ron.

'Very funny. Are you coming up on the tube?' asked Katie.

'Yeah,' said Ron.

'Ok. I'll be outside Harrods, the side exit. I'll wait there for you,' said Katie.

'Right-oh,' said Ron.

***

It was yet another hot day, and the pedestrianised side street beside Harrods seemed to be providing some welcome shade for shoppers and tourists. Katie was sat on one of the benches. Ron didn't think she looked happy. She was looking down at her phone. She happened to look up as Ron went towards her, noticed him and got up. Ron thought she'd lost more weight. He thought she looked gorgeous. Her hair was that vivid, dyed, cherry red colour.

'Hello you,' said Katie.

'Hello. How's it going?' asked Ron.

'No coke since we saw Kwame. Hardly any booze. I'm bored and fucking stressed in equal measure. I've been feeling a bit down, Ron,' said Katie.

'There's a pub on Sloane Street, let's go there and have a chat,' said Ron.

'Ok. We can't stay long. You've got Layla and Annabelle in Victoria at twelve,' said Katie.

Ron looked at his watch.

'We've still got a bit of time,' he said.

They went up the side street, past Harrods. Soon they were surrounded by tall Knightsbridge redbrick buildings. There were some impressive sports cars parked outside them.

'I'm impressed that you're off that stuff,' said Ron. He really was. He'd been surprised to find out how much cocaine she'd been using.

'It hasn't been easy,' said Katie.

They turned right, then left, then went around the corner onto Sloane Street. Ron remembered traipsing round the shops with the Japanese woman he'd minded (and whose name he realised he'd forgotten). It was almost like a traumatic flashback, and Ron wondered if it was worth bringing it up with Marie.

They crossed Sloane Street at a zebra crossing and went into the pub, The Cheltenham Arms. It felt cooler inside. The pub was busy but they walked through and found a table at the back. Ron didn't want anything to drink. He bought Katie a coffee.

'Have you seen much of the girls?' asked Ron.

'No. Hardly seen anyone at all,' said Katie.

'Are you trying to keep away from people for a bit? Asked Ron?

'I'm trying to keep away from booze, so I'm not going out much. I would have liked some company. Not much luck, though,' said Katie.

'You haven't seen Caroline?' asked Ron.

'No. I wanted to, but she's always so busy she doesn't seem to be up for anything in the evenings,' said Katie. Ron thought of all the times Caroline was at their place in Pimlico in the night.

'Layla?' asked Ron.

'I would have loved to have been fucked by Layla, but she's with Marie almost every night now, by all accounts. They are absolutely fucking each other senseless,' said Katie. She was having to talk under her breath in case anyone heard.

Ron didn't like hearing about Layla and Marie. He hadn't realised they were seeing so much of each other.

'How's the Marie thing going? Are you thinking about her a lot?' asked Ron.

'No. I'm really not! One of the only good things about being sober and boring is that my brain seems to be getting straight over her. It's just suddenly stopped making me feel bad, thinking about her,' said Katie.

'Well that's good,' said Ron.

'Are you thinking about her?' asked Katie.

'Yes. So, you've been a bit lonely,' said Ron.

'I have. And stressed, and bored. Everything's more difficult without drugs,' said Katie.

'You're doing great though,' said Ron.

'Thank you. Ron, I need you to meet up with the girls this afternoon to get the money. I've written down how much they need to give you,' said Katie.

'You don't want to be in a bar with them all,' said Ron.

'Exactly. Too much temptation. Can you take care of it for me?' asked Katie.

'Yes,' said Ron.

'Ok. I'll get Vick to text you where they're meeting,' said Katie.

'Sorted,' said Ron.

'Yousef and the Arabs are coming back. They'll be back for three days in a couple of weeks,' said Katie.

'Right. I liked them, I'll be glad to see them again,' said Ron.

'They liked you. They asked Toby if you were straight, did he tell you?' said Katie.

'No. He didn't get round to mentioning that. Will you be working that one?' asked Ron.

'I haven't decided,' said Katie.

***

Annabelle let Ron into the observation flat. She looked like she was all ready to go, which is to say that, to Ron, she looked absolutely sensational. The client had asked for her to be wearing a 'sexy secretary' outfit. Annabelle wore a short, tight navy-blue skirt, navy heels and a black top. She also wore glasses, which for some reason got Ron's juices flowing, the second he saw her in them when she opened the door.

'You look good,' said Ron. He hoped she'd be able to tell from the way he said it that he was understating the case dramatically.

'Thank you, Mr Ron,' said Annabelle.

'Is Layla here?' asked Ron.

'She's finishing her make-up,' said Annabelle.

Ron went around to the box room, as there wasn't a great deal of time before the client was due to arrive. Layla was topless in front of the bathroom mirror; she was touching up her eye shadow.

***

The client was a middle-aged man called Marcus. He was short. He had freckles. Ron thought he was pretty unremarkable. Marcus didn't seem nervous or uncomfortable at all. Ron assumed that this wasn't his first rodeo, so to speak. Marcus was happy to take a shower. He gave Annabelle and Layla an envelope each. While he was in the shower, after they'd counted their money, Layla and Annabelle had a kiss. Ron thought Layla was very attracted to Annabelle, he saw her looking at Annabelle's body. Annabelle was looking at Layla as if she worshipped her, the same way Marie looked at her, and the same way Vicky had looked at Layla.

When Marcus came out of the bathroom, he asked Layla to take all her clothes off. He wanted her to be totally naked. He asked Annabelle to take off everything but her glasses and her shoes. Annabelle did as he asked then went up to him, hugged him and pressed herself against him. He squeezed her buttocks. Layla went up behind Marcus and pressed herself against him. Marcus and Annabelle kissed.

Marcus evidently started to get excited. He put his hands on Annabelle's upper arms and turned her around. He gently pushed her towards the bed. Annabelle giggled as they climbed on to it. She asked Marcus how he wanted her. He said he wanted her "arse."

They'd put condoms on the bed before Marcus showed up. Annabelle picked one up, took the wrapper off and handed it to Marcus before she got on all fours in front of him. He put the condom on and penetrated her anally, and he seemed to do it quite roughly because Ron could see Annabelle wince as his penis went into her. Marcus sodomised Annabelle hard and fast, he came very quickly.

Marcus got himself out of Annabelle. He took the condom off. Layla took it from him and went into the bathroom to get rid of it. Annabelle laid on the bed, but Marcus told her to stay as she was, in the same position, so she got back on all fours again.

When Layla came back out, Marcus said he wanted her to fuck Annabelle with her strap-on. Ron wondered how he knew about the strap-on, he thought maybe there was something on the website about it. Layla left the room to go and get it. She came back wearing it.

Layla put a condom on the strap-on. Ron had seen her do this before. He always thought the condom would split because of the dildo's size, but they never did. Layla penetrated Annabelle, who made a curious sound, something between a gasp and a cry, as the dildo went into her. Ron couldn't tell whether Layla had penetrated her vaginally or anally. Layla gripped Annabelle round the waist; she seemed to really grip her. Ron always, always paid close attention to what Layla did with the girls because he was acutely aware of how much they loved being with her. He thought that this was a big part of things, the way she held them tight round their waists when they had sex. He could see the muscles In Layla's arms tensing as she held Annabelle and started to move her pelvis back and forth against Annabelle's rear, moving the dildo in and out of her.

It took them some time to find the right rhythm. Eventually they seemed to synchronise, and Layla thrust herself in and out. Annabelle had a look on her face that Ron was familiar with; she looked blissfully happy, she looked excited. She looked, to Ron, like she almost couldn't believe how much fun she was having. She gasped when Layla thrust the dildo in, and her eyes seemed to crinkle at the corners when it went as far in as it could go.

Marcus stopped them. They both looked round at him, quizzically. He said he wanted Layla to fuck Annabelle "up the arse." Layla gently took the dildo out. She positioned the tip of it against Annabelle's anus, then eased it into her.

They started slowly. Annabelle was biting her lip as Layla moved the dildo gently in and out. Ron noticed that Layla seemed to be lifting Annabelle's waist, almost lifting Annabelle bodily on to the dildo as she moved it into her. Layla started to speed up, gradually. She asked Annabelle how it felt. Annabelle breathlessly said that it was amazing. Layla asked her if she could go faster. Annabelle said that she could, and Layla sped up. Annabelle wasn't moving herself; she was just letting Layla control her. She closed her eyes. She was still biting her lip.

They seemed to keep going for a long time. Ron could hear their breathing; they were working hard. Marcus became hard again, he masturbated himself as he watched them. When Annabelle came, she let out high pitched, breathless cries. At the end of her climax, her teeth clenched.

Marcus wanted Annabelle to stay on all fours, so Layla couldn't hug and kiss Annabelle. She reached forward and caressed Annabelle's face. Ron thought it was very intimate, and very arousing, the way she touched Annabelle. Annabelle turned her head and kissed Layla's hand and fingers; she closed her eyes as she did.

Marcus had got a condom on. He penetrated Annabelle anally again. Ron guessed that he'd been on the point of ejaculating as he masturbated himself, watching Layla and Annabelle. He sodomised Annabelle for what seemed like no more than a few seconds before he came. Ron thought it was comical, how quickly he'd ejaculated. Annabelle and Layla didn't laugh or react at all. Layla stroked Marcus's back as he pulled out. He wanted Layla to sodomise Annabelle again; so, she did.

***

When Marcus left, Layla came around to the obs room.

'Ron, my lovely?' she said.

'You ok?' asked Ron.

'I'm great. Can we ask a favour?' asked Layla.

'You certainly can. What can I do for you?' asked Ron.

'You're taking us to the meet-up, aren't you?' asked Layla.

'Yes,' said Ron.

'Can we be a bit late? Can we have twenty minutes or so to ourselves before we go?' asked Layla.

'Yeah, no worries. I'll wait in the kitchen. Make sure you shut the bedroom door,' said Ron.

They both left the box room and walked around. Layla went into the bedroom, closing the door after her.

Ron read his book in the kitchen. It was about the fighting in Burma between British and Japanese troops. He didn't think he would have liked to fight against the Japanese. Layla and Annabelle came out three quarters of an hour later.

***

Both the girls had had the money they were supposed to give to Katie with them at the booking. They'd given the money to Ron and asked him to drop them both off at the flat in Pimlico. Ron had taken the tube to meet the others on his own.

They were in a bar just off of the Strand. Ron assumed that the place was very fashionable, because he didn't feel comfortable and he thought a lot of the people looked ridiculous. He could see a young man wearing skin-tight jeans and a blazer. The man had the hair on top of his head tied into a top knot.

Vicky, Caroline, Marie and Emma were sat at a table.

'Ladies,' said Ron.

They warmly chorused greetings to him. Ron had to scout around for a chair to sit on. He finally found one and carried it back over. He sat down next to Emma. She touched the top of his thigh.

'Katie texted to say she's not coming,' said Vicky.

'Yeah, I've seen her this morning. Layla and Annabelle aren't coming either. They've just done a booking, I think they were a bit knackered,' said Ron. He didn't want to say in front of Emma that they'd gone back to Pimlico together.

Ron thought Marie looked uncomfortable. She was doing the thing with her hair again, that she seemed to do when she felt anxious, pushing it back behind her ears. He thought she looked beautiful. He thought she was more beautiful than anyone who'd ever lived or breathed. He'd been thinking about when he kissed her. He thought their relationship probably wasn't going to be the same now, and that made him sad.