Jack roared with laughter.
“Some people get violent when they’re drunk. Some get maudlin. Apparently, I just turn into a pillock. Whatever you do, don’t let me have any more beer.”
“Nah, bollocks to that, mate,” Jack said. “Push on through it. More beer!”
***
At the end of the night, after Dan and Rebecca had left, Jack and Emma were in the kitchen, finishing clearing up.
“I think that went well,” Emma said, as she loaded the dishwasher. “So lovely to actually see people face to face again.”
“Too right,” Jack agreed. “Bit of a surprising afternoon, too, though. All that stuff Dan was talking about.”
“Oh, yeah,” Emma said. “I have to say, when I first asked Rebecca how they kept their place so tidy, that was not the answer I was expecting.”
Jack scraped debris off plates into the bin, and stacked the plates on the counter near the dishwasher for Emma to load. “Wouldn’t really have pegged Dan to be into all that nonsense.”
“‘Nonsense’?” Emma said, with a slight catch in her voice.
Jack didn’t notice. “All right. Poor choice of phrase. You know what I mean, though. It’s a bit weird, right?”
“Well…” she said, straightening.
“You don’t think it’s weird?”
“I think it’s a clever way of keeping their sex life varied and interesting, and a varied sex life is a good thing.”
Jack was surprised. Emma hadn’t expressed these sorts of sentiments before. “You think our sex life needs more variety?”
She picked up the plates he’d stacked, and started slotted them into the dishwasher. “Well, we have gotten into a bit of a routine. And–” She looked like she was going to say something else then stopped.
Jack frowned. Where was this coming from? There it was again, that nagging feeling that he was coming up short in the bedroom. “Hang on, are you saying you’re finding sex boring? Or that you’re not enjoying it?”
Emma stood up, and retreated into the corner of the working top, hugging her shoulders. “No, of course I’m not saying that. I like having sex with you. I love having sex with you. But we’re in kind of a rut, doing the same thing each time. And some nights I’m in the mood for that, but other nights I’m in the mood for something else.”
Jack crossed his arms. “You’ve never mentioned that before.”
“Of course not,” she said, throwing her hands in the air. “Look at you! We’re just talking in the kitchen, and as soon as I mention I’d like something different, you’ve gone all defensive. You’ve tensed up and everything, like you’re getting ready for an argument. If I brought it up while we were doing it, it would completely kill the mood.” Her voice softened. “And I don’t want that. I want you to be enjoying it, too.”
“Okay,” Jack said. “Fair point.” He made an effort to uncross his arms, and tried to relax a little. He thought about what Dan had said, about making sure Rebecca was fulfilled. “I’m sorry, Ems. I’m listening now. What is it you do want?” He reached out to her, touching her shoulder gently.
She too relaxed a little. “Like I said, some variety would be good. But, also….”
“Go on.”
“I know it sounds silly, but I’m kind of embarrassed to say what I want and when I want it.”
That sounded ominous. “Is it something kinky?”
She shook her head. “No, that’s not the point. It’s not what I want that’s embarrassing — it’s the asking part.” She shrugged. “Like I said, I know it’s silly, but I feel embarrassed asking. This thing that Rebecca and Dan do, I think it would kind of….” She paused, looking for the right words. “It would give me permission to ask, if you know what I mean. It might help me to not be embarrassed to tell you. I know it’s silly.”
“Hey,” he said, giving her a hug. “It’s not silly.” He was reminded about Dan’s comments about role-playing, and being willing to do what Rebecca said she wanted. He braced himself, looking down at the blonde head that had buried itself in his shoulder. “So, no judgement. Tell me. Do you want to try this Servant Day thing?”
She nodded, and looked up at him. “I think I do. No, wait, that’s not right. I do want to. I really want to try it. Is that okay?”
What the hell? he thought. How bad could it be? “Sure, Ems. We can give it a go.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Two goes,” she said.
“Sorry?”
“We take turns, once each.”
“Okay,” he said, nodding. “Two goes.”
She gave a cry that was part pleasure, part gratitude, part relief, and flung her arms around his neck. “Oh, thank you! You’ll love it, I promise. We don’t have anything on for next Saturday night, so let’s say that you be the servant then, and afterwards you let me know when you want to return the favour.” She squeezed him again. “Thank you!”
That all happened a bit fast, Jack thought, feeling a bit of mental whiplash, but he said nothing, and hugged her back. Suddenly, his bubbly little lady was back again, and everything was all right once more.
“This tidying up can wait until tomorrow, can’t it?,” she said, breaking the hug,
“I guess so.”
“Good. I have to be honest, I thought that this Servant Day idea was the most sexy thing I’ve heard of in a long time. I talked to Rebecca a bit about it too, and I’ve been horny all day.” She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down to her. “I could really do with us going to bed right now.”
Jack wasn’t going to argue.
***
In the week that followed, Emma was like a changed woman. She’d always been a bubbly personality type, but his agreement to experiment had ignited something within her — she was giddy, excited, like a child who was going to Disneyland for the first time. And she was very affectionate, always finding excuses to make brief, intimate physical contact. It was somewhat startling. In a good way, but still a surprise.
There were other signs. He kept sitting down on the sofa next to her, and she’d snap the laptop shut. “No peeking!” she’d cry. And at intervals during the week, several parcels arrived. When he innocently asked what they were, Emma simply smiled in a secretive fashion, and said that he’d find out at the weekend.
He was beginning to wonder what he’d let himself in for.
***
On the day after their barbecue, Emma arranged a call with Rebecca — the first of several that week — and asked for advice. Rebecca was delighted that their efforts at convincing Jack had been successful — at least, successful enough that Jack was willing to try.
“What do you need?” Rebecca asked.
“I don’t know. I don’t really know where to begin,” Emma said.
“Okay, well, I can give you some examples of what I’ve had Dan do, if that would help?”
“Sounds good,” Emma agreed. “It might give me some ideas.”
So Rebecca ran through a number of imaginative activities where she’d been able to take advantage of Dan to her heart’s content. She also gave Emma some basic advice.
“Safety. Make sure you don’t have him doing anything where distractions are going to be a risk. And, obviously, make sure that whatever costume you choose doesn’t present a problem, either.”
“Such as?”
“Well, don’t have tasks that involve lots of spray of cleaning chemicals or hot cooking fat or things like that, if there’s lots of exposed skin. Make sure people outside can’t see in. If you’re using any kind of restraints, make sure you can release him quickly if necessary.”