She returned to the shop where she found the same assistant waiting to help her with her choices. It actually turned out to be less embarrassing than she thought it might be until she left the shop with a huge bag emblazoned with the shop’s name. Everyone would know where she’d been. She reassured herself that the rest of the world was not there to monitor her shopping. She had returned to her car when her phone pinged, Lizzie.
She smiled. She had been far from a lady that morning and was sure real ladies did not frequent sex shops. Tasha laughed at the image in her mind of Jim’s moods making people cry.
With a frown, she reread the part about Alex and Donny and wondered if Jim was capable of just leaving something alone, apparently not. She did smile to herself as she realised loose lipped Lizzie, for all of her indiscretion might prove to be a very valuable ally, in the nicest way possible in giving her the inside track on who was doing what while she and Jim were forced to be apart.
Tasha grinned as she realised just how like her father Lizzie was; so sure of herself, so open, maybe too open.
She went home via the supermarket and arrived home to find Lucy already there.
“Hi,” called Lucy as Tasha appeared in the open plan lounge/kitchen.
“Good day?”
“Yes, great. The store were so pleased with the photos from yesterday they want a Tasha Winters range for next season and Susie has suggested me as lead designer on it.”
“Wow.” She was beyond happy for her friend, but wasn’t sure if she wanted to be involved in a Tasha Winters collection as it would undoubtedly enforce another separation from Jim and she was struggling with this one. That was without considering how Jim might feel about a whole collection of clothes for her to model.
“You don’t sound too thrilled about it. You could make some decent money and it could be fitted in around any acting work,” said Lucy cautiously as she took in her friend’s less than enthusiastic expression.
“Yeah, I suppose. They can put the details together and send them through to Angie and I will look at it, but I don’t think Jim is too thrilled about me being on show, full stop,” she admitted, knowing he was totally appalled at the idea of her being on show at all.
“How was your evening?” asked Lucy changing the subject, mainly to avoid a ‘you haven’t known him long and how dare he dictate what you do or don’t do’ conversation.
“Interesting. I sent Jim some of the photos Jake took and we had our first video date,” she revealed with a beaming grin and a wiggle of her eyebrows.
“No way. You mean a date as in sex, right?” Lucy’s eyes widened.
“Yes,” giggled Tasha, blushing.
“Oh my God, Tash. How was it?”
Tasha laughed with a flush to her face. “Seriously hot. It was beyond anything I’d imagined.”
Lucy shook her head but wore a smile and gestured to the shopping bag from the sex shop Tasha kept telling herself wasn’t really a sex shop as such. “Repeat performance on, is it?”
Tasha blushed again. “Oh yes. But have you ever been in one of those shops?”
Lucy nodded at her friend’s shocked expression and tone. “It’s not a den of depravity, Tash. It’s a High Street store. No blacked out windows or dirty old men in raincoats. I buy underwear from there, amongst other things.”
Lucy poured two large glasses of wine. Tasha accepted hers, a couple wouldn’t hurt, she wasn’t number six and she wasn’t an alcoholic.
