Transformers

For some reason, I didn't say 'no' and said we'd meet again at the next Quiz and see how we got on. I hated myself for being too nice and wondered what the hell I was going to say to get out of it. I texted Mags and Heidi and told them they were interfering old witches and got sarcastic comments back.

As I got to town, I decided I couldn't be bothered to shop. Besides, it was a nice day and the Welly had a lovely riverside garden. A nice pint of craft beer and a Cajun chicken wrap sounded like just what the doctor ordered. I tried to tell myself there was absolutely no other ulterior motive in eating there but failed miserably.

I was crestfallen as I stepped up to the bar and saw a young lad I didn't recognise. He was obviously new and struggled with the till. I watched him dithering until I heard a soft voice from behind him. "You ok there Ben?"

He looked up at her with relief in his eyes. The girl that had just ordered a Cajun wrap and a pint of craft beer also had relief in her eyes. Trini tapped the screen a few times and put him right. "Where you sitting, Alice?"

I told her I'd be outside and she said she'd bring it out when it was ready. Today her white top was completely off the shoulder and her hair in pigtails so as she turned away, I could see that the tattoo began at the nape of her neck and ran along her left shoulder. From there, it turned down across her shoulder blade and I could just discern a darker line through the material as it wound across her back, but the exact course of it was hard to follow.

I watched the swans and the ducks as they paddled along the river and as I sipped my drink, wondered what I was going to do with Jonathon. The town clock chimed for three o'clock as a hand reached down in front of me. "Enjoy your meal, Madam -- you'll be pleased to know it wasn't me that cooked it!"

I smiled up at her. "Thanks Trini -- can't be worse than me!"

"Wanna bet? I could burn water, me!" She sighed and flexed her long neck. "Was that the three o'clock chime?" She glanced at her watch. "Yeah, get in! Break time. Could do with some air."

Seeing my chance, I nodded to the seat opposite. "Join me? Be nice to catch up."

"Yeah sounds good - just get myself a soda and lime and I'll be with you!"

My heart began to beat a little faster as I ate my wrap. I knew I didn't have a cat in hell's chance of anything happening with her, but I could fantasise. By the time she returned I had all but finished my meal.

She sat down and stretched again, looking at my plate. She pointed to the few stray fries I had left. "Shouldn't really, but if you're not having them..."

I pushed the plate towards her. "Go for it, I'm sure a few won't undo the good work."

"Mmm, bloody hell, even knowing what goes on in our kitchen, they're good!"

I took a drink. "I know why you did it, but if you don't mind me asking, how did you do it, Trini?"

She rubbed her forehead and stared out over the river. "Sheer fucking determination, Alice." Her voice went quiet. "Like I said the other night, I needed to get rid of the poison." She began to tick off on her fingers. "Crash diet, ran around the Common until I was sick, cut out the booze. Contact lenses, spin class, detox, fat burning... I'll run out of fingers in a minute. Did weeks of those courses they do on the Common on Sunday mornings with the ex-military guys. Lugging tractor tyres knee deep in mud is not good in early March. Nearly fucking killed me, but hey, I got through it."

"You should be proud. Hell of a transformation!"

She shook her head sadly. "Still nothing to show for it though. There's been interest, but... sort of, once bitten, twice shy, eh?"

I felt for her. "Yeah, been there to a degree -- I know where you're coming from."

Her eyes misted over as she gazed out across the river once more. "He's still the only one, Alice. My first and my only. I was so young; so fucking stupid."

I barely knew what to say. I had passed the time and shot the breeze with her occasionally over the years, but she had never opened up to me like this. "Trish told me you lost the baby. Must have been tough."

"Yeah but maybe for the best, eh? With a father like that and an idiot mother, they'd probably have ended up in deep shit." She paused for a moment. "Anyway, I'm not wasting any more time or thoughts on the arsehole, so here's to the future, eh?"

She held up her soda and we clinked glasses. "Cheers, Trini. Brave girl, hope it all works out for you."

As I put my beer down, she reached out and picked it up. "Cheers, Alice. Thanks for noticing and thanks for caring." She took a huge swill of my beer and grinned. "Can't toast the future with bloody soda water, can you? Don't worry, I'll bring you a freebie when I go back in."

We sat chatting amiably for another ten minutes and I gave her a very sanitised version of my trip to Paris. As the clock chimed once more for the quarter hour, she stood. "Cor, Paris eh, you lucky old moo! That seems a bloody long way off at the minute! Oh well, tea break over, back on yer heads, eh?" She picked up my now empty plate. "Damn - fries and beer. I'll have to work harder at my spin class tomorrow."

Something clicked in my head. "Spin class, where d'you do that?"

"Six Elms Leisure Centre, eleven o'clock. Bloody hard work but does the job!"

I nodded. "Hmm, might give it a go myself."

She reached down and kissed me on the top of the head. "Yeah, be nice to have some company. Thanks again, Alice. Hopefully see you tomorrow!"

As she went back inside, I involuntarily put my hand to where she had just kissed me. I whispered at the closing door. "Not hopefully, Trini -- definitely."

Four

I glanced across at her, head down, ponytail swirling, legs pumping. Sweat was pouring from her and her legs were a blur. If we had been out on Six Elms Common instead of inside the Leisure Centre at its southern edge, she'd have been going like the wind. Instead, her spin bike shook beneath her as the instructor yelled out encouragement.

As the torture came to a blessed end, I slumped against my handlebars, heaving for breath. Even Cami and the girls had never got me into this state and as I staggered to the changing rooms, I felt as I had done when I struggled to walk home after my birthday treat.

At least that night had some pleasure in it.

Trini laughed as she caught up with me. Her grey lycra top was clinging to her in a most alluring fashion and she had recovered quickly and was barely out of breath. "Don't worry, it gets easier!"

I slumped down in front of my locker, unable to respond as my chest heaved. Finally I regained some composure. "Shit, that's gonna hurt in the morning!" I puffed out my cheeks as she sat down on a bench opposite. "Who am I kidding - it bloody hurts now!"

The only thought I had in my head was that soon I'd be rewarded with a view of Trini's new, improved body as she showered, and I would get to see just exactly where that amazing tattoo ended up.

As if she read my mind, Trini glanced around the changing rooms. "Busy today. Most of the spin class usually head straight to the pool for a cooldown."

I glanced around and pointed to a sign on the changing room door. 'Pool closed for essential maintenance -- apologies for the inconvenience.'

"Bugger. May have to shower at home now. I was going to head straight to my afternoon shift at the Welly but that'll make me late."

As she stood, a girl I recognised from around town emerged from the shower room and pointed back. "Spare one down the end, Trini."

I tried not to stare too hard as she thanked her, peeling off her wet top and unhooking her sports bra. I saw those lovely breasts fall free and was just thinking about how it would feel to nuzzle in between them when a gaggle of older women piled in through the door and stopped dead in the space between Trini and me. To my frustration and annoyance, they stood there, blocking my view of her and babbled on about the pool being closed.

I cursed as the girl walked to the shower with a towel across her shoulder, obscuring the path of the tattoo. Suddenly aware I was being very obvious in my rubbernecking, I got undressed as the older women filtered away, still twittering to one another.

By the time there was a shower free for me, I crossed with Trini as she emerged and she had her towel wrapped around her like a sarong. All I could see was the top left portion of the tattoo once more and by the time I had showered myself, she was fully dressed and about to leave.

"Hope you enjoyed it, Alice. See you Wednesday as usual, I suppose?"

I told her that enjoyment hadn't really been part of the equation and she left, laughing. I thought ruefully that it was good to see her laugh, but I'd rather have seen her naked.

My cycle home was a little more sedate than the spin class, but no less painful and my bottom ached from the thin saddle of the spin bike and my legs protested at yet more pedalling. But that was nothing compared to my disappointment that my hour of torment had only been rewarded with the briefest of glimpses of the new, improved Trinity Watson.

The Wednesday Quiz was also as painful as I expected. They had engineered it so that Jonathon was sitting next to me and all evening, I kept getting meaningful looks from Mags or Heidi. When he went to the bar in the interval, both of them pounced.

"Come on then, when you going out with him?"

"He's hot, Alice -- if I wasn't married..."

"Get yourself back in the game, girl!"

It must have looked as if I was watching a tennis match -- my head snapping from one to the other as they fired staccato phrases at me, not really expecting a response. How could I tell them the only person in the room I was even vaguely interested in was behind the bar, and tonight resplendent in that silvery-blue top again - this time accompanied by a pair of very alluring stretch leggings. Mine were not the only appraising looks she was garnering and she looked utterly sensational. I could see Jonathon getting a good eyeful as she served him and thought it would be ironic if I blew him out and he ended up with my new fantasy girl.

At the end of the night, we decided to change our name from 'The Three Witches'. It hardly suited us anymore and Heidi's new suggestion of 'Nearly Second Last' seemed much more appropriate.

As the girls headed home to husbands and children, Jonathon asked the inevitable question and to my horror, I found myself saying I'd meet him for a drink the following evening. He lived in a neighbouring town, the next stop on railway line into London, and we chose a pub we both knew.

All day, I wanted to call or text him to plead a prior engagement, but that was too cowardly. If I was going to do it, it needed to be in person. In the end, it was quite a pleasant evening, and he was good company. I liked him, but there was no attachment. He seemed the sort of person that would be a good friend but that was as far as it got with me. I sensed he was interested, but after a couple of drinks and a pretty good Turkish meal, I knew I was going to have to let him down gently.

Inevitably, his flat was on the way back to the station, and when he inevitably offered me a coffee, I decided honesty was the best option. "Look Jonathon, it's been a lovely evening, but- "

He cut me off. "It's ok, Alice. I can see you're not interested. Just worth a try, that's all. I've had a lovely evening whatever."

I took him by the hand. "Thanks, and I just want you to know that it's me, not you, yeah? You're a lovely guy and not so long ago, I'd have taken you up on your offer." I hung my head. "But sorry, Jon -- I'm not looking for a lovely guy these days. Mags and Heidi don't even know yet, but something happened when I was in Paris, and I'm looking for something... well, different now, if you catch my drift."

He sucked in breath. "Wow, I've had a few rejections, but that's a first!" He smiled at me. "Well, good luck in your search. I suppose I'll let you girls get back to being 'The Three Witches' again."

"No, don't do that Jon."

He kissed me on the forehead. "I know why they invited me, and it wasn't for my football knowledge. No, I've changed the dynamic - time for me to bow out, I think."

I gave him a hug and felt like crying on the train home I was so ashamed and embarrassed.

Of course, Mags and Heidi were dying to hear the gossip of the evening. When I told them to get there early for next week's Quiz, I think they thought they'd be getting a salacious tale of all-night bonking and a whirlwind engagement. At least I had time to work out how to enlighten them.

But first, I had to get through another spin class. I could only book a block of six, so I wasn't going to waste my money, no matter how much it hurt.

And of course there was the alluring thought that maybe I'd get more than just a tantalisingly intimate glimpse of Trini.

As it happened, I got more than a tantalising glimpse of her, but I also did something so utterly stupid, it made how I felt after my rejection of poor Jonathon seem like pure joy.

The class was as brutal as the first time and I still couldn't catch my breath as we walked down the corridor to the changing rooms. I sighed in relief when most of the women in the class changed into swimming gear and headed for the pool. Within two minutes, it was just Trini and I sitting opposite each other, me calling her a liar as there was no way it felt any easier.

As she stood laughing, tugging off her sports top, I held my towel to my face to hopefully cover the fact that I was staring at her intently. When I could tear my gaze from those amazing boobs, glistening with her sweat, I traced the line as the tattoo curled up in a widening arc from just beneath her bellybutton to curl around her tummy and wind around her hip. As she turned away to get something from her locker, I now took in the full, sinuous curve of it as it snaked down from the nape of her neck, along her shoulder before looping down across her back, to her right buttock via her midriff.

It was utterly gorgeous, composed of moons and stars, with filigree comet trails and it almost looked organic as it wound across her skin. I had seen a lot of tattoos that disgusted me and just looked plain wrong. This looked like it was meant to be there -- almost as if she was born with it.

It took me a moment to realise she was smiling at me over her shoulder. I quickly composed myself. "Sorry, Trini -- didn't mean to stare, but it's just lovely."

She turned back to me, covering herself with her towel. "Thanks. I always wanted one but... he... said it would make me look like a cheap tart." She shrugged and laughed. "Typical me -- I only wanted a tiny little starfish of something, but when the chance came, I overdid it as usual!"

"No -- you didn't overdo it -- it's perfect." I felt myself redden. "And that silvery-blue top of yours -- wow, it really gives tantalising little glimpses of it!"

"I know -- naughty, isn't it? Took me ages to find it, but it certainly gets some looks in the pub!"

She headed for the showers and I followed on behind, thinking, 'It certainly does! '

Being a council-run leisure centre, it was not exactly state-of-the-art and the showers were in a long line, not separate cubicles. We showered next to each other, only a couple of feet apart and I hoped she'd take as much time in the shower as I usually did so I could make a full appraisal of her.

It was when she touched my own tattoo that it all started going wrong. As I soaped my matted hair, I shivered as a fingernail gently touched me on my upper arm and I immediately felt a little prickle somewhere lower down. I squinted through the soap and saw her smiling at my Celtic ring, her finger gently tracing the line of it.

"I love that, Alice. Really nice. A Celtic ring, yeah? Where'd you get it done?"

Surprised she knew what it was and still reeling from the fact that she had touched me, I told her I'd had it done in Paris. My mind was racing. Was she interested in me after all?

As she turned back to her ablutions, I reached out and touched her tattoo just above her hip. "Not as good as yours, Trini. It really is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen." Before I could stop myself, I reached up and my finger traced the line of it from the nape of her neck, down across her shoulder blade. I got about halfway when her body tensed.

"Erm, Alice..."

In a blur, I completely ignored her and kept on tracing the line. I just couldn't stop and she tried to pull away as I reached her midriff. I tried to tell myself at the time that I had no idea what possessed me to do what I did next, but I was lying. I knew full well what possessed me. It was pure lust.

In a complete dream, I put my hands on her waist and ran them slowly up across her ribs, pulling her back towards me. As her wet buttocks pressed against my pubic area, a little electric shock ran through me as I pressed my face against her warm, wet neck and cradled her breasts in my hands.

She gasped in shock and I heard her call my name again, but I was completely lost in her and failed to hear the fear and desperation in her voice. I was lost in the wet, smooth skin of her breasts and the hardness of her fat nipples under my palms. I brushed my lips across her shoulder blade, intoxicated by the smell and feel of her.

My moment of sheer bliss was short lived as her right elbow crashed back into me just below the sternum and I flew back against the wall of the shower gasping for breath.

She turned slowly and pointed at me; her voice tight in her throat as she hissed out the words. "If you ever touch me like that again, Alice Bell, I'll put your fucking head through that fucking wall." Calmly, as if nothing had happened, she resumed her showering and I was left slumped against the tiles, fighting back tears.

I turned away in shame and embarrassment and it was far worse than it had been on the train after my night out with Jonathon. I was barely aware of her finishing and closed my eyes as silent tears coursed down my cheeks, mercifully covered by the cascading shower.

When I finally summoned the courage to return to the changing rooms, she was drying her hair and there were now a few more women in there.

I thought she was going to ignore me, but as she picked up her bag to leave, she came close. I expected and deserved a smack across the face, but she merely took a deep breath. "Fucking hell, why Alice? What the fuck was that all about?"

All I could respond with, was, "Sorry Trini..."

"Yeah, right. Course you are..." She shook her head, turned on her heel and left.

I sank down onto my bench and covered my head with my towel. I then whispered the words I had wanted to say instead of apologising. "Why? Because you are fucking gorgeous, Trinity Watson and I think I might be falling in love with you."

After that I felt like crying off from the Quiz. Not only would Mags and Heidi want to hear the gossip, but Trini would be behind the bar and I didn't really fancy facing her. It would have been bad enough after what I'd done to her, but I had compounded the issue for the three nights since by mentally running my tongue down the length of that tattoo as my two inanimate lovers played pretty tunes on my body.

I could barely get her out of my thoughts and realised I was in serious danger of becoming obsessive about her. It got so bad I thought of throwing a sicky and heading over to Paris for a few days, but Cami worked for the same company as me and it was a risk I was not prepared to take.

I craved human touch so much that I even considered calling Jonathon. But that would not have been fair on him and he would have had every right to tell me to fuck right off and when I came back, to fuck off again.