He absolutely knew his way around her body though – no surprise given his medical background and the fact that he’d been doing this a lot longer than anyone else she’d ever slept with.At first, she’d wondered if the twenty-odd-year age gap would be an issue, but she’d decided to be open-minded for three reasons: he was a doctor and, weirdly, that was sexy to her; it was the first time a customer in her shop had ever asked her out; and even in his smart suit, she could see his wide shoulders, chunky biceps and would have bet her last orchid that under that shirt there was a six-pack.Looking at his naked abs, she confirmed that she’d been right.
Now that she’d satisfied that curiosity, her next question was, what did they do now?After sex with Ewan, she’d either fall asleep, put earphones in and watch Real Housewives of Anywhere on her laptop, or, if he was snoring, she’d go downstairs, make a cuppa and call Estelle for a blether.
If circumstances were different, she’d definitely be in the bathroom, with the tap running, so that Ray couldn’t hear her on the phone to Estelle right now, giving her a blow-by-blow account of what had just happened.And yes, they would have had a pre-planned code word prepared in case Estelle had to come and rescue her because Ray was a weirdo, a disappointment, or he’d already given her the ick.
Sometimes she wondered whether she missed Ewan or Estelle more.The two most important people in her life, gone at the same time.Amber still wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to put her heart back together after that.
‘You’re deep in thought,’ Ray commented, still tracing her clenched stomach.
Oh crap – that was worryingly close to ‘what are you thinking?’and she was fairly sure that replying honestly with ‘I was just pondering the loss of my husband and best friend’ might be a bit of a passion killer.
‘Sorry, I just… I was thinking I haven’t had a morning like this in a long time.’It was close enough.‘And I was wondering what we do now?’She’d tried to deliver that with coy, teasing flirtatiousness, but she was pretty sure she missed the mark and just came off as clueless.Thankfully, he didn’t seem to mind.
‘Well, I was thinking…’ He pushed himself up on one elbow and then leaned over and kissed her, slowly, passionately.She hadn’t been deprived of oxygen for that long since she tried to get the hang of scuba diving on a holiday to Fuengirola in 2016.He then moved above her and left no doubt as to exactly what he thought they should do next.Bloody hell.And was it wrong that her first thought was to wonder if he’d popped a Viagra when he pulled up outside in his flash car?She hadn’t had sex twice in quick succession since… since… maybe ever.
Still, she happily went along with it, because, if nothing else, she could distract him long enough for her to unclench her stomach and buttocks, then re-clench when they were back in his eyeline.
Viagra or not, she appreciated both the stamina and the second run through the instructions for the air fryer.She was now fairly certain she could rustle up chicken nuggets without checking the settings.Push there.Pull like that.Turn over.Nearly there.Almost ready.Yeah, that’s hot.
And it was.She was having a perfectly lovely time.She just wasn’t sure that it was… fulfilling.Deep.Comfortable.Or even fun.It all seemed a bit sterile and he hadn’t seemed to notice or care that she hadn’t got to the orgasmic bit on either attempt.
Maybe she was doing it wrong, given that she didn’t have his wealth of experience or his variety of partners.On their first date, a couple of months before, they’d covered all the factual stuff.She’d shared her relationship history – a few boyfriends, then marriage at twenty-three, which seemed so young now, but back then she’d thought she knew everything.
Ray, on the other hand, had been married twice, had several long-term relationships in between, and she was under no illusion that he’d been active on the dating scene, based on the flower orders he’d placed with her alone.
When they concluded – ding ding – round two, she’d learned her lesson from the first spin round the block, so this time, she made sure to flip up the edge of the duvet so it was in the right position to pull over her mum tum.She told herself this would pass after they got more familiar with each other.In a couple of months, she was sure she’d be wandering around naked, with absolutely no trace of self-consciousness.
Wait, did that mean she thought they’d still be together in a couple of months?She’d told him right at the start that casual sex wasn’t her thing, so over the last two months, they’d got to know each other over a few lazy brunches when Ewan had the kids.Then there had been at least one dinner every week.And daily FaceTimes.And so many texts she was almost late getting a ‘congratulations on your triplets’ bouquet with three balloons to a woman on the baby ward at Glasgow Central last week and, let’s face it, if anyone deserved a bunch of winter blooms, it was a woman who’d just pushed three humans from her body.Anyway, all the romantic foreplay had clearly won Amber over, because when he’d asked her if she would consider dating him exclusively and taking their relationship to the next level, she’d heard herself agreeing.Twenty-four hours later, here they were – naked and definitely next level.
Ray interrupted her thoughts with kisses this time, then pushed himself up on one arm again.It was clearly his party trick.‘I’m going to go grab a shower.Care to join me?’
She was about to refuse when the little voice in her head that was frustrated with her lack of oomph and adventure these days spoke up and told her to shift her naked arse and give it a try.Live on the wild side.Make the most of this sexy adventure.Embrace new experiences.Clearly, a double shag in the daytime hadn’t been enough to shut the voice up.But it had a point.She’d never showered with anyone.Not once.In their early years together, she and Ewan had lived in a flat, where the shower was barely big enough for one of them.When she was pregnant, they’d both found it hilarious that the only workable shower solution was for him to hose her down in the bath.
After that, the kids came and… well, showering became one of the only precious times that she could play music and spend ten minutes uninterrupted by a small child demanding food, water, play or cuddles.
‘Sure,’ she heard the adventurous little voice in her head answer for her.
He climbed out of bed, then reached for her hand, before leading the way.There hadn’t been time to properly tidy the ensuite, so she kept her fingers crossed that he wouldn’t spot her greying bra on the top of the laundry basket, or the two bottles of bubbles left over from when the boys used her shower the other day.The main bathroom in this house only had a bath with a hose, so they much preferred to shower in Mummy’s bathroom.It was cheaper than taking them to a soft play, much more fun, and it ticked the box of getting them clean, so she was all for it.
Ray reached in and turned on the water, then stepped first into the long, narrow shower cubicle before turning to face her and holding out his hand.‘Coming?’
Too late to back out now.She stepped forward, and he pulled her into his body, kissing her again as he stepped backwards so that they were both going towards the large square rain shower and…
Amber wasn’t quite sure what happened next.It was all so fast.One minute they were kissing as they moved, and the next minute, he began to drop.At first, she got the wrong impression and thought her adventurous voice had got her into something that she and her woefully ungroomed legs definitely weren’t ready for, but then she realised that he’d slipped, and the sound he was making was a yelp of surprise, as he continued to fall, almost taking her down with him.She tried to hold him, save him, but lost her grip on his wet arm, and that’s when he banged his head against the tile wall and slumped like he’d been shot by a sniper.
She wailed, reached over him, slammed the water off, then flew down to his level.
‘Ray.Ray!’Panic was rising.Thankfully there was no blood, but he was out cold and she had absolutely no medical experience other than a first-aid course when she was captain of the netball team in the last year of high school.
It was enough to know how to check his pulse.Still breathing.Okay.At least she hadn’t killed him.Oh bugger, this was such a mistake.What had possessed her to do this?She’d had sex one time since the divorce – or technically twice – and she was now close to being the subject of a true crime podcast.
Still frantic, she sprinted out of the shower, grabbed her phone, dialled 999, begged for an ambulance, then raced back to him as soon as they said it was on the way.She checked his breathing again – still fine.Tried to rouse him, but no response.She held his hand for a few moments, then realised that not only was it pointless, but she was still butt naked and there were probably rules against flashing a paramedic, so she really had to throw on some clothes.
‘Ray?Ray?I’ll be right there in the bedroom so just… I don’t know… groan if you need me.’She felt the need to reassure him because she’d heard unconscious people could still hear what was being said to them.Or was that people in a coma?Damn, why hadn’t she paid more attention to Chicago Med?
Unsurprisingly, there was no response, since he was still out cold, so she rushed into the bedroom, grabbed the first clothes that came to hand then threw his stuff into a bag: wallet, watch, phone, and clothes which she saw now had all been carefully folded and placed on the chair beside the bed.She made a note to question the slightly worrying pre-sex folded neatness, if they made it out of this without serious injury or a suspected murder charge.
Back in the bathroom, she kept talking to him while jumping on the spot as she tried to pull jeans onto her wet legs, then clipped on a twisted bra and dragged a sweater over her damp hair.‘Ray, Ray.Please wake up.Ray, please.Wake up.I’m so sorry.’
