“I’ve got a brand-new pair of roller skates
-Melanie Safka
and you’ve got a brand-new key
I think that we should get together
and try them on to see.”
And then the day came that changed everything. If Camilla hadn’t been sitting in the apartment alone that afternoon, the story may have ended differently. As it was, a storm was about to descend on Cowper St, and Camilla unwittingly stood at its epicentre.
The day had begun like any other. Each of the girls had risen in their own time, eaten, showered and left to attend work or university as their schedule demanded. By lunch, Camilla had returned and had barely had time to pour herself a drink of water when there was a knock at the door. Unthinking, Camilla headed back to the door and opened it to her as yet as unseen caller.
The woman who stood before her was older than Camilla, but not old. She could have been in her late twenties or early thirties; it was hard to tell. Her clothes were neither formal nor fully casual, so her fashion did not give Camilla any visual clues as to her profession.
Camilla would not have called her ugly, but she was something less than plain. If she had been a man, Camilla may have given her a four out of ten. On her best day with makeup and a stylist, a five would still be her limit.
It didn’t help her cause that her hair, though styled, was unkempt. Not terrible; just messy. And her glasses were a practical choice, not a stylistic one. But it was eyes that really let her down. They may have usually been green, but that day they were puffy, rimmed with red, and angry. Her entire face seethed with hate.
Before Camilla could say a word, the woman spoke.
“I’ve got a bone to pick with you,” she spat.
Camilla was in shock. Was this some kind of joke or had some crazy person just broken into the apartment complex?
“I know everything about you,” the woman continued. “Don’t think I haven’t been asking questions of everyone who knows you.”
Camilla felt perplexed. What had she done to this woman that had her so animated?
“It’s been happening in here, has it?” The woman continued.
Camilla did not know what the woman was talking about. She said, “Excuse me, but I think you have the wrong person.”
“Oh, you think so, do you? Well, I followed you in here so I know I have the right person, Alison!”
Camilla breathed a sigh of relief. Whoever this person was, at least Camilla knew it had not been her that caused the offence. And even if Alison had upset this woman, her decision to confront Alison at her flat was still out of line.
“I’m very sorry, but I don’t know who you are or why you are upset, but I think you should leave now,” Camilla said, standing her ground.
“You don’t know me, but I know you…you,” the woman seemed lost for words. “You, floosy!” She shook with rage and it was only then that Camilla took notice that the woman carried a crumbled length of paper that looked like it could be one long spreadsheet.
And with that, the penny dropped. Could this be the infamous Beth that Christian had told Alison about? How was it he had dated such a person for five years? And how was it she had been the one to dump him? He must have the patience of a saint.
Camilla had had enough. “Excuse me, madam, but you have the wrong person. I am not Alison and even if I were, I believe that you have crossed the line. You trespassed here with the intention of confronting a person whom you disagree with. That is assault under common law. Combined with your trespass, you are likely looking at a court appearance if you do not vacate the premise immediately!”
The woman seemed lost for words. A dawning sense of her mistake grew in her red eyes.
“You are not Alison?”
“No, I am not.”
“You, I mean, she…” the woman looked at the number on the door and then back down the hall from the way she had entered. “I’m so sorry,” she said. And turning her head, she retreated out of the apartment block and out the door. As Camilla watched the door close, she thought she heard the woman cry.
That night, Camilla filled Alison in on the confrontation. Between Camilla’s account and Christian’s description, it almost certainly had to have been Beth. That she had been checking up on Alison and felt the need to drive all the way to Sydney to confront her only confirmed Christian’s stories of Beth’s downward spiral.
Fortunately for all, Alison had not been home. Had she been, it was impossible to say what Beth would have done. Camilla had endured the storm and had masterfully diffused the situation.
Alison was utterly grateful for Camilla’s handling of Beth. Not that Alison wouldn’t have stood up for herself, but if Camilla’s account was true, then Beth’s mistake may have finally woken her up to her irrational obsession.
Camilla and Alison talked long into the night. As they spoke, it dawned on Alison that she had not spent enough time with Camilla before then to call her a friend. She wished she could have that time back, especially now that Camilla’s time in the flat was due to soon end. When Alison eventually retired, she knew she had just fixed one problem and found a solution to another.
After her late night, Alison rose late the next morning and wondered out into an apparently empty flat. Not having the strength or will to study, she skipped class that day and lounged about doing nothing productive.
Looking about idly for entertainment, Alison ransacked the pile of Cleos magazines and took them out on to the balcony so she could skim them for new ideas. She’d just opened one up to the sex page and started reading when Camilla appeared from her room and, seeing Alison, came out for a chat.
“Morning, beautiful day,” Camilla said.
“So warm, I could stay here forever.”
“Bit of light reading?”
“Yeah,” Alison replied, absent minded.
Camilla looked at the article Alison had opened a little closer. “Planning a threesome, are we?”
Alison suddenly remembered what page she had opened when Camilla had come out. She supposed she should have panicked and made some lame excuse, but something had come over her in the last few months. And after the events of the previous day, she now looked at Camilla in an entirely new light.
“Perhaps,” Alison said, “are you available?”
Camilla laughed, but Alison was stone-faced and unfazed. She was serious. Fumbling for a reply, Camilla said that she’d think about before retreating back inside.
Alison knew it was a spur-of-the-moment remark, but the more she thought about it, the more she came to think that Camilla was the perfect choice to join her and Christian. First, Alison knew her, so they wouldn’t need to go out somewhere to meet and pick her up. Second, Camilla was attractive and that would appeal to Christian; if he needed any encouragement. Third, Camilla had completed her studies and was leaving the flat at the end of the year, so Alison wouldn’t have to worry about any awkwardness after December.
Camilla was a little rattled after the conversation with Alison. Laughing it off or being outraged didn’t occur to her, and she was neither. A little shocked, yes, but after a day of tossing over Alison’s boldness in her head, Camilla found her mind turning to the substance of the proposition. If Alison was really proposing a threesome with Christian, and he was okay with it, then what would that entail?
Far from repelling her, Camilla tried to think through all the permutations of such an encounter. Obviously, they would all have to be naked in front of each other. That would be easy for them, but Camilla wasn’t in that relationship, so that would be a big step. And after that, Alison and Camilla would have to live together with the knowledge of each other’s bodies and seeing each other immodesty. Also, if invited, then Camilla expected she wasn’t there just to be an observer. Or was she? Who could touch her? Where could they touch? Did she have to touch Alison? Would Christian and Camilla have sex?
A couple of days later, Alison was sitting in the lounge room when Camilla came in. They were alone, but Camilla still looked around before she came over and sat down. They made a little small talk and then the room went silent.
After an awkward pause, Camilla said, “About the other day.”
“Yes.”
“Were you serious?”
Alison paused, “yes.”
“Does Christian know?”
“We have talked about the idea. He doesn’t know that I’ve spoken to you. And I’ve only spoken to you.”
“Have you thought about the consequences: jealousy, awkwardness, etc?”
“A little. The one thing that I keep coming back to is that in a few months’ time, you will have moved out of here and on to the rest of your life. It might sound callous but, in all honesty, we probably won’t see each other again after Christmas.”
“Okay. Thank you for talking about this.”
“One more thing. I asked you because of all the people I know, whatever you decide, I trust you.”
“Thank you. I’ll think about it.”
“And also, because your boobs are smaller than mine!”
The thing that Alison said about their lives inevitably diverging soon had really struck a chord. Camilla didn’t know where her life would take her from here, but chances were that she would never get another offer like this. Not with two people that she knew, which gave a measure of safety. There were plenty of pitfalls, but really all the risk was on their side. It was their relationship; not hers. They would have to carry any potential guilt with them; not her. She wasn’t asking for this; they were.
That night, Camilla invited Alison to her room to discuss further. The mood got serious quickly.
“I’ve been thinking about your proposal, and I wanted to ask some questions,” Camilla said.
“Okay.”
“Have either of you done this before?”
“No, but we have talked about it. We haven’t talked about you. This was my idea, not Christian’s.”
“Okay, this is personal. Do you have unprotected sex?”
“Yes, we have been doing it that way for months. I had nothing before I met Christian and I haven’t picked up anything from him since we started. He is very clean.”
“Is he rough?”
“Oh god no! He takes his time, and he’s gentle, that’s kind of his hook.”
Camilla thought about that and smiled. “Thank you. You’ve given me a lot to think about.” Camilla mulled over the idea for a few more days. She didn’t consider herself a prude. She loved sex and had missed not having anyone in her life. And it didn’t make it any easier seeing Alison so clearly smitten with Christian, who, Camilla thought, was quite the catch. And now that Alison had put the offer on the table, Camilla could finally admit to herself something that she had been denying for quite some time that, in all honesty, she really wanted to fuck him.
Leave a Reply