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  Sexy? Oh, yes, Gaëlle thought, thinking of the trim silhouette and neat breasts she had seen in the showers at the gym. She closed her eyes. Jérôme would have made a great story out of Maya’s genealogy, she was sure. Could she do the same? It would be fun to try. Gaëlle knew that the background to Maya’s parentage was quite simple. Her mother, a young Norwegian woman who had come to study in Toulouse, met, fell in love with and married a handsome young Greek, who was there for the same purpose. The result had been Maya. Gaëlle shook her head. She wanted something more exotic than that, romantic though it was.

  There was something about Maya’s profile that made Gaëlle think of medieval Byzantine icons. Of course, she thought, that’s where it would all start, with the Varangian guards. The story immediately came to life. One of the legendary Norse guards at the court of Byzantium wooed a pretty Greek serving maid. After rescuing her from untold perils—Gaëlle decided she didn’t have time for those details at the moment—he married her, to produce a lovely daughter called Maya.

  Growing up in the heady atmosphere of what had been Constantinople and would become Istanbul, Maya caught the eye of a pirate. When Maya had to accompany an elderly maiden aunt on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the corsair seized his chance. The images scrolled across the inside of Gaëlle’s eyelids. A swift galley stalking the rolling tub of a cargo ship carrying Maya, and a sudden raid whisking her away to Algiers. But clever Maya turned the tables on her captor. She’d fallen in love with the pirate at first sight, when their eyes met in the great covered market of Byzantium, and now, she took advantage of her abduction to seduce him.

  Gaëlle could picture Maya, naked but for a floating gauzy skirt slung low on her hips, completely absorbed in her performance as she danced, bewitching her chosen man. Gaëlle could almost hear the Arabic music as Maya twirled, her bare breasts glistening with perspiration, the golden tassels, which adorned her nipples swaying, as she entranced her defenceless Barbary pirate.

  Gaëlle opened her eyes again, happy with her version of events. Was that image ever in Maya’s mind? It would be interesting to know. Gaëlle had met Maya’s husband Eric, a primary school teacher, and had liked him. No pirate chief, he’d seemed very sensible and down to earth, possibly not the sort of man to be happy that his wife was listening to crazy erotic experiences. On the other hand, Gaëlle reflected, how evident to others had Jérôme’s fascination with sex been? And her own?

  So, Gaëlle concluded, it would be Maya’s friendship that she would be putting to the test. The next challenge would be finding an occasion for this crucial one-to-one. She was hoping to get Maya on her own. She didn’t want to be asking her in front of the others, not only because they might feel left out, but also because of the subject matter she needed to raise. Also, there was a possibility that Maya might turn her down. She was frantically busy, as usual at the start of each new school year.

  Before she could find an opening to start the conversation, circumstances overtook Gaëlle. She was about to get into her car after a gym session, when she heard a voice calling to her from the other side of the car park. Gaëlle turned, to see Maya trotting towards her.

  “What’s the problem?” Gaëlle asked.

  “Pig of a car won’t start. I told Eric I thought something wasn’t right yesterday and he said he’d look at it. But I bet that looking is all he’s done!”

  “Problem solved. I’ll take you home,” Gaëlle reassured her. “Then I’ll bring Eric back to your car and he can deal with it.”

  “Gaëlle, did I ever tell you you’re an angel?” Maya exclaimed, as she fastened her seat belt.

  Gaëlle made her way through the rush hour traffic, half her mind on how to broach the subject she needed to discuss. Eventually, she just had to be blunt about it. “Maya,” she started. “I need to spend some time talking with someone I can trust not to judge me. Will you listen to me while I tell you all sorts of stuff that you may find weird?”

  “Weird stuff. Don’t tell me, let me guess…I know! You’ve been persuaded to join some peculiar religious cult,” Maya said. “It’s either that, or it’s sex. Which is it?”

  “The second,” Gaëlle admitted.

  “And just why am I not surprised? Bearing in mind what I know of you, my dear,” Maya smiled. “And mind that bus.” Gaëlle, rather surprised, had to brake hard. She was really too close.

  “And why was it so easy to work out that sex came into it?” she asked.

  “Surely you didn’t seriously think that your sex life with Jérôme went unnoticed? Just to see the pair of you together should have required an adult certificate, sometimes.”

  “But you only ever met Jérôme at dinner parties or at the gym!” Gaëlle protested.

  “And it entertained both Eric and myself to watch you, and wonder what you’d been up to or what you were planning. I’ll give you an example. Do you remember Eric’s fortieth birthday party? Think back to February three years ago.”

  “Three years ago! Only very vaguely.”

  “What were you wearing?”

  “Ouf! No idea. Nothing special that I can remember.”

  “You had a dark blue silk dress, not your shortest, I’m sure, but still quite showing a lot of leg.”

  With the dress as a clue, Gaëlle recalled the occasion. On their way to Maya’s, for some reason, or perhaps for no reason at all, Jérôme had suddenly stopped the car by the roadside, whipped Gaëlle’s dress up and her knickers off and buried his face in her sex. She’d had a glorious orgasm.

  “What was all that about?” she’d asked when she’d recovered.

  “Nice dress, nice body, lovely lady,” he’d replied. “I just felt the urge and hoped you wouldn’t mind.” Gaëlle came back to the present and frowned. How could Maya have known about that? She opened her mouth to ask, but Maya got there first.

  “You think I don’t recognise the scent of a woman on a man’s lips?” Maya said. “When you arrived and Jérôme kissed me, I knew straight away what he’d been doing, and very recently, too!”

  Gaëlle blushed crimson.

  “And you hadn’t had time to put your knickers back on!” Maya said. “Once I’d guessed what you’d been up to, it was easy to spot them, scrunched up in your hand.”

  “I was very conscious that we were late. You must’ve thought we were awful,” Gaëlle said, as she turned onto the road where Maya lived.

  “Not at all. It just confirmed what I’d always suspected about you two. But let’s find a time to have our conversation properly, shall we? I’ve got meetings all this week, but we’ll fix up a time for me to come round to your apartment after work, and you can tell me anything you want.”

  Gaëlle stopped in Maya’s drive and was promptly submerged in a tide of small children. Maya clapped her hands, teacher-style, and her eight-year-old twins, plus their three little friends, formed a neat line for kisses from Gaëlle.

  “Auntie Gaëlle, will you come and say hello to the puppy?” chorused the twins. She was dragged off to the kitchen and dutifully admired the little dog.

  “Gaëlle. How nice to see you,” Eric said, coming through the back door carrying a fuel can. He kissed her on both cheeks and gave her a quick hug. “I gather that the twenty-first century has defeated Maya yet again,” he added with a twinkle. “Thank you for rescuing her.”

  “The car’s out of juice?” Maya asked, incredulously.

  “I imagine so. Again,” Eric confirmed. “I said three days ago that it was very low. For a competent professional woman, you have the most amazing ability to ignore the fuel gauge in your car.”

  Gaëlle took Eric back to the stranded vehicle. He poured fuel into the tank. The engine started first go, and he drove off. Gaëlle went home, wondering just what she was going to say to Maya the following Monday.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “So, just what is it you want to tell,” Maya asked, settling herself in an armchair facing Gaëlle, who was in her usual place on the sofa. Maya had arrived later
than she’d hoped, caught out by yet another school emergency. Gaëlle had had to calm her friend with tea. She couldn’t face opening herself totally while Maya was exuding so much nervous energy.

  “Well, as you’ve already guessed, Jérôme and I had a very intense sexual relationship,” she began.

  “Would it be easier if I tell you what I know and what I’ve deduced?” Maya asked. “As long as you don’t get offended if I’m wrong.”

  “It might save time,” Gaëlle agreed. “Off you go.”

  Maya cleared her throat. “When I used to teach history, we always started by examining the evidence,” she said. “So, here is an analysis of Gaëlle, a woman who is successful, attractive and intelligent and is a good friend to more people than she realizes. When dressed for work she’s a model of professional decorum. However, we have visible proof that there is another side to her personality. She takes great care to maintain her body. Nothing unusual there, many of us do. However, when she’s naked in the changing rooms, it’s impossible to miss that she depilates her pubic hair entirely.” Maya paused. “I know that the last bit isn’t true at the moment, but that’s how I think of you.” She went on. “At least one witness—that’s me by the way,” she interjected— “has observed that sometimes there is a glint of gold down there, hinting at some jewellery, perhaps?” She looked up at Gaëlle. “Correct so far?” Gaëlle nodded.

  “So we go on,” Maya continued. “Now for some less tangible bits of evidence. One witness, that’s me again, has noticed that whenever there is a nice-looking woman getting changed, Gaëlle takes more than a passing interest. She’s even been seen to hurry into the showers to get a closer look!”

  “Do I do that? I’d no idea!” Gaëlle exclaimed, blushing.

  “Don’t panic. I’m pretty sure nobody else has noticed,” Maya reassured her. “Next, we move to when Gaëlle is dressed to go out. She leans toward little dresses that cling, or reveal, or are rather short. Given the body and legs she has, that isn’t surprising. She enjoys having her body on display, it seems. If that’s true when out with the girls, we can only speculate on how she might dress on those occasions when it’s just her and Jérôme.”

  “You’re speaking of Jérôme as if he were still with me,” Gaëlle commented.

  “Oh, he’s still with you all right, just not physically. That’s why I’m happy to have this dialogue with you, although it seems to be turning into a monologue. Sorry, but in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m a teacher.”

  Gaëlle couldn’t help laughing at Maya’s gift for defusing potentially intense situations.

  “I view the past year as an anomaly in your life, from a physical viewpoint,” Maya told her. “And if this tête-à-tête allows you to pick up where you left off, I, for one, will be only too delighted. Finito. Right, your turn.”

  “Your analysis is quite accurate as far as it goes,” Gaëlle said, examining the lacquer on her toenails. She wasn’t ready for eye contact yet. “First, to confirm your guesses, yes, the depilation was a sexual preference. And yes, I did have a piercing, through my clitoris hood as a matter of fact, although it’s healed up now. I used only to wear a small ring whenever I was at the gym, so I could tuck it away. I didn’t think anyone had noticed. It’s true that I like attractive women, but looking is only the initial element. You’re quite correct about the clothes. I have some very revealing things that I wore for, shall we say, special occasions with Jérôme…and sometimes not only Jérôme.”

  As she was speaking, Gaëlle felt a lead weight forming in her belly. This was the moment when Maya either ceased to be her friend, told her she was a fantasist, or accepted her for what she was, a woman who enjoyed sex with other people even though she was married. She looked up at Maya, whose face was thoughtful.

  “This discussion is becoming more serious than I was anticipating,” Maya said. “I was expecting you to tell me that you were missing having sex with Jérôme, and asking what I thought about your having sex with someone else. And of course it would be fine, if you ask me. But it isn’t as simple as that, is it?”

  “Not at all simple. Shall I tell, or would you rather not know?”

  “Oh, Gaëlle, Gaëlle! I’m your friend.” Maya shook her head. “I love you dearly, but how little you know me. How can you think I wouldn’t want to know anything that helps you?”

  “Forgive me. I’m ashamed. I’d never realised quite what a good friend you are to me until this moment,” Gaëlle exclaimed.

  “Forget shame. When you and Jérôme were together, you hardly noticed anyone else. It was lovely to see, even when you were struggling to keep your hands off each other,” Maya teased. “Now tell me what you want me to know. I’m all ears.”

  “Right…So…My sexual experience started when I met Jérôme,” Gaëlle began. “But he always insisted that what I did was my own responsibility. Now, I want to find out if I’m brave enough to do some of the same things on my own.”

  “Such as?”

  “Can I ask you a question or two, first?”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Have you ever been naked in public?”

  “Does topless at the beach count?”

  “Not really.”

  “Then it’s no, never. Why would I?”

  “I have, and I can tell you it makes me tingle all over. Have you ever dressed in a way that allowed people to see more of your body than you usually show?”

  “Not since I was younger, before the children. Once.”

  “Was Eric with you?”

  “Oh, yes. It was all his idea. He’d bought me a very short dress with a plunging neckline. I wore it to a party, at his insistence. I spent the evening heaving it down to cover my knickers, then hoisting it back up to cover my bra! Mind you, if Eric had had his way, it would have been my bare bum and my boobs I’d have been trying to hide, because my underwear would have been at home, on the bed!”

  Gaëlle joined in Maya’s laughter.

  “I’ve worn dresses like that,” she commented. “It’s a wonderful sensation. Jérôme wouldn’t have insisted, he never had to insist, it was my pleasure.”

  Maya looked pensive. “How did you avoid being arrested?”

  “I learned very fast to recognize who would appreciate seeing and who might be shocked,” Gaëlle said. “You’d be surprised how many people seemed to enjoy looking at me.”

  “Surprised? Whyever? If a body is going to be put on display, then yours is well worth a second look,” Maya said. “And just how much of this sexy body of yours did you put on show?”

  “Usually it was one part at a time, but there’s nothing that hasn’t been exhibited,” Gaëlle said. She was starting to relax, now that she knew Maya wouldn’t judge her. “At first it was just a flash of bare breasts. The first time I did that was so scary!”

  “You aren’t known as Bare Tits for nothing, are you?” Maya joked. “But when Leila gave you that name, I bet she had no idea how accurate it was! So you went on from there?”

  “Yes, I did, once I’d gathered enough courage. Going out with no knickers on is a fantastic feeling for me. It was especially nice when I was wearing a short skirt or a floaty dress.” A shiver ran through Gaëlle. “And then, when I was confident about showing everything, I wanted to know how it would feel to be touched by some of the people who’d seen. That happened sometimes.”

  “What a surprise,” Maya said, ironically. “An attractive woman lets a man see she’s wearing nothing under her dress and that he’s allowed to touch. Of course, he’s going to say no thank you and walk away!”

  “It’s true. But not just men. Some women liked it, too.”

  “Hence the interest in women on your part?”

  “No, I think that was always there. Bisexual, I suppose, if you need a label.”

  “Is that where the piercing came in?”

  “No, that came a lot later. I’d had a lot of experiences before I was pierced.”

  “What sort of experiences?”

/>   “You remember I said I’d worn some extremely revealing things when I was out with Jérôme?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, on some of those occasions…” Gaëlle paused, then rushed through the rest of her sentence. “I had sex with more than one person. Always with Jérôme as well, though, or nearly always.”

  “With another man? A threesome?” Maya’s tone of voice revealed, if not quite shock, then certainly surprise and intrigue.

  “Or another woman. And a few times with several people at once, or one after another.”

  Maya sat back and breathed deeply. “And there was I saying you were the one who didn’t know me! My best friend’s hobby is enjoying group sex and I have no idea! Whoo!” She blew out her cheeks. “And now? You’re looking to have some more multiple-partner sex?”

  “That makes it sound terribly cold and soulless,” Gaëlle interjected, although she was feeling a warm glow. For Maya to think of her as her best friend was very flattering. “It wasn’t like that for me…or for Jérôme.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound coarse,” Maya said. “It’s rather an eye-opener, though.”

  “I’m quite amazed that you’re still sitting there, to be honest,” Gaëlle confessed. “Most people would have fled from this dreadful depraved woman.”

  “Never say that!” Maya said forcefully. “Nobody has the right to judge you and I certainly don’t.”

  “Thank you, Maya. The thing is, I have an urge to start again. I’m thinking that one day soon, I’m going to be walking down the street with no underwear, to remind me of how it feels. It’s quite possible I could be tempted to let people see, too. But what I really want you to tell me is this, the body I have to put on show, is it still worth looking at?”

  “Haven’t you been listening, Gaëlle? I’ve already said this evening that you’re an attractive woman, and I’ve referred to your sexy body, too. Provided that you can be sure whoever sees you will enjoy the view, then why not? It wouldn’t be my thing, but who am I to judge?” Maya laughed. “Eric would be delighted if you flashed him, I can guarantee!”