“You made it then?”
I turned it its direction, and as I suspected it was Colin, Tom’s dad.
“Yes, I did. How are you?”
“I’m fine.” His voice dropped slightly. “All the better for seeing you.” He paused slightly then continued in a low voice. “I’m looking forward to later.”
I smiled, conscious of how close a few people were but trying to ignore them. They probably weren’t paying attention anyway. “I bet you are. Bought me anything nice?”
He was just about to reply, but a woman passing spotted him and said hello in a fairly theatrical way. He returned the greeting and looked to be about to turn all his attention in her direction when she fixed me with a smile and then asked, “and who are you speaking to?”
I smiled back politely, waiting for Colin.
“Oh, this is, er, Claire, isn’t it?”
I nodded. I could see the woman glance down at my dress and body briefly, her expression seemed quite neutral but it was clear she was taking it in.
“She’s one of my new neighbours, though it’s the first time we’ve met, isn’t it?”
It seemed a slightly weird detail to add but I, of course, went with it. “Yes, that’s right.”
“Pleased to meet you, Claire.” There was a pause before she carried on. “What Colin should be saying is that my name is Leslie, I’m your hostess for the evening.”
That would make her Luke’s wife, of course. She was an elegantly dressed woman with long slightly greying blonde hair, probably somewhere in her late forties. She seemed younger than Luke but not massively so.
“Oh, it’s nice to meet you. You’ve got a lovely home.”
“Thanks.” She seemed to take the compliment with genuine pleasure.
“And it’s nice to see some of the younger residents of the estate taking an interest in these gatherings.”
“Yes, I, er, was invited by Colin’s son, actually. Tom. He’s around somewhere.”
Leslie looked in Colin’s direction with a quizzical look on her face.
“Well, he’s just stepped out, I think, hasn’t he?” Colin looked in my direction, hoping for support. “He’ll be back later.”
“Oh, yes, that’s right. He did say something.”
“Ah right, well.” She looked at both of us unsure for a second then smiled again. “You young people, eh? Always up to something. Well, I hope you enjoy the party, Claire, if you’ll excuse me.”
I nodded and she was on her way, introducing herself to the next group of people along.
“Sorry, Claire, but Tom isn’t getting here until later. He’s round at his friend’s house at the moment. Jim, if you know him?”
“Oh, right, I did meet him once.”
“Right.” I could see him looking at me, perhaps wondering how well I knew his son in reality.
“So, have you and Tom hung out much?”
“Oh, no, not really. Like I said he saw me in the garden. From his room, I think, then came round and introduced himself.”
“Tom?” He seemed surprised.
“Yes. We spoke a little bit and then we hung out another time. He invited me round to play some game and I figured why not. Jim was there and it was alright but, you know, a little boring.”
“That sounds like them.”
I felt bad speaking about Tom and Jim like that, but it seemed best to play down our relationship without trying to pretend we’d never met. I was fairly sure that if Tom did turn up he wouldn’t be immediately blurting out what we’d really been up to either.
“You look great, by the way.” Colin’s voice had dropped even further.
“Thanks.”
“It’s a lovely dress.”
“It is.” There was a pause, it didn’t seem like Colin was about to fill it. “Will you be making me take it off later?”
He looked shocked and glanced around him. His reaction was fuelling my desire to go further.
“It’s alright, no one is listening.” It seemed to be true, we were just one conversation among many.
He turned back to me, smiling slightly nervously and obviously trying to play it cooler. “I, er, I might.”
I smiled, it wasn’t the most confident reply ever but it seemed he was learning.”Well, you should make your mind up soon.” I moved away from him as I replied, it seemed sensible to not spend all my time talking to him given what questions might arise later.
I spent most of the next twenty minutes chatting to an older woman who apparently lived several doors down from me. It was a nice, perfectly normal conversation about the neighbourhood and, after hearing that I was starting soon, how much fun she’d had in her time at college. It was almost a surprise to have an interaction that wasn’t centred around my body.
Even then about halfway through I happened to look up and notice Geoff across the room looking in my direction. We made eye contact though there seemed to be no reaction on his part. He had his arms around a slim, blonde woman who seemed to be roughly his age. She was wearing a pretty great dress, light green and figure hugging and I assumed it was his wife. I smiled at him and then looked over to the woman, hoping he’d catch where I looked. There was still no reaction and after a little while he looked away and I went back to my conversation about the local parks.
I was keeping an eye on the time, and a little while before I figured I needed to make a move I casually drifted away from the woman I’d been talking to. I made my way back to the kitchen acting as if I wanted a drink and I noticed that Luke, Colin and Geoff didn’t seem to be around. Quite possibly they had already gone wherever it was we were going to meet. I still felt pretty calm and confident, but there was also a feeling of excited anticipation starting to grow. I looked around the party enjoying the sensation of having a risky, naughty secret over all of them. I found myself catching the eye and smiling at Luke’s wife who was chatting with a group of women, it felt even more fun.
Then, when I thought there should be do doubt Geoff would be in place I quietly slipped back into the corridor, and, when I was sure no one could see, back into the utility room. I’d judged it well and Geoff was there waiting.
“I thought you weren’t coming for a moment.”
I smiled at him, hopefully slightly seductively. “I didn’t fancy being the one hanging around here. I didn’t want someone else coming in and asking what I was up to.”
He shrugged. “The door locks.” He leaned across me and showed me the catch. “Someone with the key can open it from the other side, but it’s only Luke and his wife who have them.”
I nodded. “Good to know.”
“Ready?”
“Yes. Where are we going?”
He smiled. “This way.” He opened the door, appeared to check if the coast was clear, then looked back to get me to follow. I quickly did so and we went in the opposite direction to the kitchen and quickly turned a corner and up a flight of steps. At the top we crossed a landing into a small hall and Geoff tapped lightly on a door, there was a reply from inside and he went in. I followed.
It was immediately obvious we were in what was likely the master bedroom of the house. It was very spacious and there was a well appointed en suite bathroom to one side. Colin was sat in a small sofa by the window, and Luke was smiling a welcome from near the end of the bed.
“Claire, glad you could make it.”
I looked around before replying.