Transformers

I caught a later train that Wednesday, hoping the usual table would be free. It was, and it was a relief when the lad who had served me a couple of Sundays earlier was behind the bar. As I turned towards the table, the girls came bustling in, all ready for me to give them the dirty details. I handed Mags my pint and turned back to get their drinks as they claimed the table for 'Nearly Second Last'.

My heart sank as I saw her standing there in her silvery-blue top and leather skirt, hair up in a long chignon. Hands on hips, she sucked in her lips and flared her nostrils and turned to the young lad who was now collecting glasses from the bar. "Lady needs serving here, Ben."

She shot me a look of pure malice and stormed off.

I was barely in the mood to face a gushing duo of matchmakers and make my admission, but I thought at least it couldn't make the week any worse.

Heidi took a sip of wine and grinned at me. "So, Jonathon's cried off tonight. Wear the poor lad out, did you?"

As I had been with him, I decided to be straight up with them. "No, Heidi. It was a pleasant evening with a very nice guy. But ladies, there's something you need to know." I took a deep breath. "Something happened to me in Paris, and since then all I really want is a pleasant evening with a very nice girl."

There was stunned silence for a moment and my two friends looked at each other with open mouths. I decided to press on. "And not with two lovely married ladies I've been mates with for years, you understand."

Finally, Mags broke the silence. "Well it explains one thing."

"What?"

Heidi laughed. "The fact that last week, for an hour and a half, you virtually ignored me, Mags and Jon and only answered two questions -- wrongly, I might add."

Mags chipped in. "And in all that time you couldn't take your bloody eyes off a certain, how shall we say it? A certain... re-invented barmaid, maybe?"

"Oh shit, was it that obvious?"

"Obvious? At one stage, I thought I was going to have to go down to the river and ask one of the narrowboat owners if I could borrow a windlass so we could wind your bloody jaw back into place!"

"Oops."

"Yes, oops. And poor Jon -- what did you say to him?"

"I told him straight and he was fine about it. And don't 'poor John' me. You fucking well set it all up - I didn't ask for it, Mags!"

Anyone who saw us falling about laughing would never have guessed I had just come out to two long-term friends. After the initial shock wore off, I was pressed into telling them all about what really happened in Paris. Luckily for me, the Quizmaster came round to collect our entry fees and give out our question papers. "Phew, saved by the bell!"

Heidi looked at Mags. "She's not getting off the hook that easily. Mum's got the kids this weekend as Alan's away. You up for a bit of storytelling?"

It only took one quick phone call and Mags' little one was added to the list of kids Heidi's mum would be looking after on Friday night. Suddenly I was staring down the barrel of an evening recounting my Sapphic adventures in the French capital to my two best mates over wine and a Chinese takeaway. The thing that pleased me the most was that neither of them said a word about it. They just accepted it and we continued on as though nothing had changed.

At least we did until half time in the Quiz.

Mags went to get us a second bottle of wine and as she came back, I saw Trini weaving between the tables collecting glasses, giving everyone a sparkling smile and a cheery word. I assumed she'd avoid us -- or more specifically, me - but I was wrong. Mags and Heidi got the smiles, I got the same look as earlier.

She took our empties and put them in her plastic carrier, asking the girls all about the kids and how they were getting on. She kept chatting for what seemed like ages and I was praying for her to go when she gave me a little reminder about my misdeed.

She looked at them but pointed at me. "Should have seen her on Sunday, girls. Slumped against the wall of the shower, hardly able to move after spin class. Bloody knackered, she was!" As they all burst into laughter, she became serious and looked at me. There was a definite message in her words.

"So, got over it yet, Alice? Feeling ok now?"

I swallowed hard, feeling very uncomfortable. "Yeah, all good thanks Trini. You?"

She stared at me for a moment. "No, not really. Fucking awful session and I still feel like shit after it. Just can't seem to wash it out of my system. Know what I mean?"

And with that, she scurried off back to the bar leaving me feeling utterly devastated. For the second time that night, my friends sat there open mouthed. Before they could speak, I got up, biting back tears. "Sorry girls, not feeling too good at the moment. See you Friday, yeah?"

If Trini had rightfully made me feel bad, it got worse when I reached the door and for some reason, I looked back. She stood behind the bar with a little smile on her lips. She flipped her middle finger at me and turned away. I'm not sure how I managed to get home without breaking down, but once back in my bedroom, I started sobbing and it took a very long time to stop.

I had barely recovered by the Friday night. To have her remind me of the incident so publicly stung like hell, but she had done it in a clever way and it felt even worse than if she had confronted me with it head-on.

When I told the girls why I had left so suddenly, they were shocked. Close to tears, I tried to justify myself, but I knew there was no way I could. When I finished, Mags refilled my glass. "Want me to have a word with her?"

I shook my head. "No, thanks Mags. I think I've burned my bridges. Best not go to spin class again, eh?"

"Think it would be better if you did. Let her see you're not some sex-crazed monster who only wants her body!"

I gave a little laugh. "Girls, the trouble is, I do want her body and when I tell you all about Paris, a sex-crazed monster is going to seem like a new-born puppy in comparison!"

At least that got us laughing again and I tried to forget the Trini incident as I had them on the edge of their seats with what Heidi ever-after called, 'The Salacious Tale of Alice's Four Month Lesbian Orgy.'

When I finished, Mags drained her glass and blew out her cheeks. "Ice, eh? Never thought of it as a sex-aid."

"Certainly not candle wax!"

"Bloody hell, Bell -- what turned you into an insatiable little hussy?"

"Got any pictures?"

They were off again with their tennis-match volleys, alternating with each other from side to side. Once they started, I always let it run its course. Finally, Heidi held up her left hand and pointed to her nether regions. She pulled a face. "Can't imagine having a whole hand up there."

"Can't be worse than having a baby..."

"Sez you who screamed the place down and vowed never again..."

"Ok, ok, enough, girls. When the hand is attached to a lovely little French-Mauritian girl with skin like café au lait, words cannot describe, ok?"

Mags looked at Heidi. "What was it like when that girl fingered you in the final year of school when we had just turned eighteen?"

"Do not go there, Magdelena!"

Now I was intrigued and laughed. "No, come on girls -- I've given you chapter and verse. Fair's fair."

"Fuck off, Bell. No way!"

Mags pointed at her, grinning. "She and a girl called Faith Emery had a big row one day about who was the best kisser, so Faith decides she's going to show her. Pinned her against the gym wall and gave her tonsils a right tickle. Just for good measure, she popped a finger inside, wiggled it around and gave it a good old lick."

I burst out laughing. "Oh my God, what happened?"

"She spat it out and said she'd stick to boys in future."

I was in my element. "No, I don't care about her, what about this little tart?"

Heidi was pensive for a moment, then grinned. "She was a damned side better than my bloody boyfriend at the time!" She went quiet and gave the wall a nine-yard stare. "It was nice. Sometimes I wish I'd done something more about it." She shrugged and smiled at me ruefully. "Live that little part of my life for me, eh Alice?"

With the girls off the leash, we drank so much I virtually crawled home afterwards and Saturday was a write off. I came so close to giving the spin class a miss, but in the end I went.

Trini took a bike as far away from me as possible and studiously ignored me. I thought of showering at home but wanted to show her I could be trusted. She changed at the far end of the room, but as she walked to the shower, it was clear she was taunting me. Whereas before she had wrapped or draped a towel over herself, she now trailed it by her fingertips as she sashayed up the changing room like a catwalk model, swinging her hips and making her boobs swing provocatively. I tried not to look, but I was damned if I did and damned if I didn't.

My locker was next to the entrance to the showers. As she passed, I kept my head down and whispered, "I won't do it again, Trini. Honestly."

She stopped but never looked at me. "Fucking right you won't. Once was one too many times." She stood there for a moment giving me a clear view of her tattoo and her lovely bottom before she disappeared into the showers.

I waited until she had finished before I did the necessary and once again, I returned home wishing I had not gone in the first place.

The next few weeks followed the same pattern -- Trini cold-shouldering me in the pub and acting provocatively at the spin class. I got into some pretty heavy stuff with Cami and Maxine by mail and one night, Maxine and I set up a Facetime session in which we showed each other almost anything but our faces.

I was relieved when my last spin class came around and I seriously thought of pulling out of the Quiz team; or at least getting the girls to meet up somewhere else. Trini made me feel extremely uncomfortable in her presence and I just wished she would accept my apology and move on.

Again, she completely ignored me during the class and sat at the front, pedalling like a woman possessed. Glad my six-week course from hell was over, I followed a middle-aged woman into the changing rooms and she stopped dead in her tracks as she saw a notice on the door. "Oh fucking hell, not again. This place just gets worse!"

She turned to me. "Fucking showers are out of order again! What do we bloody-well pay for here?"

Somewhat relieved, I opened my locker and stuffed my outdoor clothes into my bag, ready to head home. As I straightened up, I jumped as I heard a soft voice in my ear. "Guess it's back to mine for a shower then, hey?"

I closed my eyes for a second in disbelief. I turned to see her standing there, biting her lip and trembling slightly.

"Trini, are you serious?"

"You heard me."

She turned on her heel and walked out of the changing room. In a daze, I gathered up my bag and followed her down the corridor. As we reached the main door, she pointed across the carpark. "Car's over there." She set off at breakneck speed.

"My bike..."

She shouted back over her shoulder. "It's locked isn't it? Come back for it."

I had to run to catch her up and got into the passenger seat of her little beaten up old banger in a complete tizzy. In her panic, she missed the gears and we lurched off across the carpark as she cursed and shook in the driving seat to the sound of grinding metal.

"Trini..."

"Don't say a word, Alice Bell. Please don't speak or I'll fucking well lose it." As it had been in the shower that fateful day, her voice sounded constricted. For fear of putting the kibosh on whatever was going to happen, I kept silent.

She pulled up in a small housing estate a mile or so from the town centre after a white-knuckle ride of a journey. "Should walk it really, but..." She seemed to be talking to herself and she was clearly nervous as hell.

I followed her down the short garden path, my heart now hammering, wondering how this was going to play out. She opened the front door and walked straight upstairs, beckoning for me to follow. At the top, she pointed to a room on the left. "In there."

Completely bewildered, I walked into the room and took in her bed with a huge bear staring out blankly from the pillows. It was sparsely furnished but looked comfortable enough and looked like maybe she was beginning to put her stamp on it after her wilderness years. I stood, still in a state of shock, wondering what she had planned when I heard the shower kick in somewhere down the hall.

I barely heard her call my name over the sound of the water. I dropped my bag on the floor and carefully arranged my sweaty gear on top of it. With bated breath, I walked into her bathroom. The shower was a small cubicle in the corner and she had her back to me.

When she spoke again, her voice was flat and emotionless. "Like the first time."

I held my breath for a second and tried to recall what had happened back at the leisure centre. I couldn't remember it word for word, but hoped I'd be close. Almost in the same state of panic she was exhibiting, I stepped forward and put a fingertip on her hip, trying to remember what I had said.

"This really is one of the most beautiful tattoos I've ever seen, Trini."

I held it there for a moment then reached up and arranged a swathe of thick, wet hair over her shoulder. I ran my finger down the back of her neck and followed the path I had followed five Sundays earlier, tracing the delicate filigree of the exquisite artwork that adorned her back. As I got to the point where she had tried to stop me previously, I paused.

She took in a deep, shaking breath. "Erm, Alice..."

"Yes Trini?"

It came out in a breathy little pant. "Don't fucking stop."

I was barely able to think straight as I continued on, this time running my finger along the full extent of the tattoo, around to her bellybutton. I put my hands on her waist again, holding her for a moment before I slid them down onto her hip bones. This time, as I slowly pulled her back against me, her voice was a tremulous whisper, not a shout of scared desperation. She ground her buttocks hard against my pudenda. "Oh fuck, Alice!"

The feel of her hot, wet cheeks sliding across my nether regions was electrifying and as she pushed back, I reciprocated with a slow, lascivious grind of my own, my tongue now tracing her tattoo as the water splashed down on us.

I kissed her on the shoulder as I had done in the Leisure Centre, but this time there was no elbow in the guts to put a premature stop on proceedings. I squeezed her heavy breasts gently and she moaned softly, her hands now flat on the wall of the shower, supporting herself as she pressed back against me.

I slid a hand down between her legs and she shuddered at my touch, her fingers squeaking against the wet, tiled wall as she tensed. Cupping her wet bush, I gently massaged it with my palm, my fingers touching her fat, prominent clitoris. She let out a little gasp, her left cheek now pressed against the tiles, her long hair matted around her face, eyes screwed tightly shut. I worked on her for a moment, letting her get used to the feel of someone else's hand down there, making sure I took in every nuance on her face as I opened her up and slid a finger inside.

She tensed once more and there was a breathy exhalation as she released her grip on the wall and slapped her hands back on the tiles with a resounding crack. I bit down gently on her shoulder as I inserted another finger and she let out a little whimper that cut through my soul.

I broke the tense silence that had built up as we embraced. "You ok, Trini?"

She let out a long, drawn out breath. "Oh yeah."

She turned to face me in the confined space, her grey eyes shining. She put her fingers to my lips and closed her eyes. I could barely hear her voice. "I didn't want you to stop that first time, Alice. It felt so good but I was so scared. No-one has wanted to be near me for so long, I just couldn't process the fact that someone might actually like me enough to want to do it."

I put my arms around her. "Yes, Trini -- I like you enough to want to do it. Shall I show you how much?"

At first, she resisted my kiss, but those lovely coral lips were every bit as soft and succulent as I had imagined. I licked along the length of them and ran my hands down her back. As she began to reciprocate, I used my tongue and felt a delicious tingle down below as she flickered hers into my open mouth. The warmth of her breasts as they crushed up against mine sent shockwaves through me, her nipples hardening as we kissed.

I was barely aware of her turning off the water as she pushed me back against the tiled wall. Nostrils flaring, she shook her hair down over one shoulder and crushed herself against me, her muscular left thigh forcing its way between my legs, parting them. As her lips met mine once more, I gripped her leg hard between my own thighs and ground down on her, feeling the slippery wet skin against my trimmed red Brazilian. My hands were on her buttocks, forcing her harder against me. There was a fabulous contrast with the slick, wet tiles at my back and her soft, warm skin between my legs, pressing against my breasts and her long tongue now probing and licking at me.

I let the sensations wash over me as we bounced around the tiny cubicle, sometimes with me taking the lead, but just as often Trini dictating events. I longed to kneel before her and nuzzle into her thick black thatch, but there was insufficient room in the cramped space. Instead I had to make do with tasting her on my fingers and she was every bit as good as I had hoped.

I took her left hand and slipped her middle and forefingers inside me, now absolutely dripping in anticipation. I held her there for two, three minutes, my eyes gazing into hers, letting her get used to the feel as she flexed and wriggled them and I guided her thumb to my clit. Slowly and reluctantly, I pulled them out and held them up to her lips, now glistening with my thick, aromatic juices. She inhaled, shuddering as she did so and flicked out her tongue. She licked at the tips of her fingers before sucking on the end of one. Her breath coming in trembling gasps, she splayed her fingers and nodded to me. I took her forefinger in my mouth as she took her middle finger in hers and we licked them clean before our lips met once more.

We went on for a long time until she reached out, fumbling for something behind me and draped a towel over my shoulders. I barely recognised her voice it was so thick with lust. "Alice, ask me that question again."

"You ok, Trini?"

"Oh fuck, yeah. So fucking 'ok'. If this is what 'ok' feels like... oh, just take me to bed and fucking fuck me, Alice -- come on girl, this is fucking amazing!"

She pushed me back out of the shower and rubbed me dry before handing the towel to me.

I dried her off as best I could and trying to keep a check on my raging emotions, held my hand out to her. "May I have the honour, Miss Watson?"

She took a deep breath then smiled and took my hand, seemingly now more comfortable with her decision and getting more confident by the minute. "You may, Miss Bell." She led me through to her bedroom and picked up the bear from the bed. She waved one of his paws at me. "Cuthbert -- this is my new friend Alice. Every time you ever saw me in this room with that nasty man, I pretended." She put him on the bedside table and smiled back at me. "I don't think I'm going to have to pretend with Alice."

I knelt on the bed and held my hands out to her. "No, Trinity. No pretending anymore."

She took one step towards the bed and froze, a hand covering her eyes. "Oh fuck!"

My heart sank, fearing the worst. "What is it, Trini?"

"Just a minute. Don't fucking move!" She reached into her bag and pulled out her mobile, stabbing at a few buttons and tapping her foot anxiously. "Come on, come on... oh for fuck's sake, pick up! Hi Greg, look I'm really sorry but I just had a bit of an accident at spin class... no nothing serious." She winked at me. "Just pulled something as I was getting into the shower!" She put her hand over her mouth and I could see her shoulders shaking as she suppressed her laughter.