Fur Coat No Knickers (21 page)

Walking back into the vast lobby I realised I was a completely different person from the one who had been sitting in that chair, only a few hours before, bristling with anticipation. Yes, I had experienced everything I had expected and more, but at the same time, it hadn’t turned out any
thing like I had expected it to. Here I was, slinking out of the hotel alone, like some guilty hooker.

The smartly dressed doorman opened the door for me and gave me a kindly smile as he showed me to the waiting cab. It was all I could do to hold back the tears, which were building up in my eyes.

‘Airport, please,’ I said to the driver, keeping my head down and staring at the blank screen of my phone on my lap.

Come o
n, Tara,
I said to myself, in a vain bid to gee myself up.
You hate goodbyes anyway.

I’d just have to console myself with the flashbacks that continued to send my stomach flipping with fuzzy wuzzy sensations in my lady-garden. That, and the fact that Trav
is would definitely have to pay for the wedding now - to make up for letting me down on our first proper date.

[Text to Travis]

I’m so sad that we didn’t get to see each other before I left for the airport. About to board, hope your meeting is going well. Call when you can xxx

Right up until the moment I boarded the plane, I honestly believed he would call. But he didn’t. I tried switching my phone on and off, but there was still nothing wrong with it. He just wasn’t calling. I kept it turned on right up until the moment when the trolley-dolly hissed to me that the seatbelt sign was on and we were preparing for takeoff - so all electronic devices had to be switched off. I needn’t have worried though. The phone would have stayed resolutely silent. When I flicked it back on after we landed, there were still no new messages or missed calls.

Amazingly, by the time I arrived back home I’d managed to get myself into a better place emotionally. Yes, I was exhausted and every part of my body ached, but it was worth it
- Travis was worth it. After a few stretches to straighten my back out, I had managed to convince myself that poor Travis would have been suffering as much as I was. There I was, cursing him while he was stuck in a boring meeting, desperate to see me and hating himself for letting me down like this. What was it he said? Yes, ‘leaving me was the hardest thing he had ever had to do in his whole life’. Why had I been so hard on him?

I just wished he would call
, though,
I thought as I placed my phone beside my bath and eased myself into the hot, bubbly water for a well-deserved, long soak. I looked down at my body where he had laid his, just a few blissful hours ago and closed my eyes. I smiled and drew in a deep breath. I wanted him in my life, now more than ever.

After my
long bath, I wrapped my Castle Clontarf dressing gown around me and lay on the sofa, ignoring all calls from friends and family. Eventually, I drifted off.

[Text from Travis]

Hi babe sorry it’s so late, had a mad busy day. I hope you got home safely Xxx

Checking the time on the phone, I saw it was midnight. He had certainly taken his time getting back to me.
The cheek of him,
I thought.
I’ve a good mind to tell him to feck-off with himself.
But to be honest though, I just felt so happy to have heard from him at last.

[Text to Travis]

Thanks so much for such a lovely time. I’m home safe and sound. Can’t wait to see you again xxxx I’m still awake if you want to call?

CHAPTER TEN

I’d been back at work for three days and still had no contact from Travis whatsoever, which left me more than confused.

The last time I’d spoken to him he’d been climbing out of bed with me, after the most incredible night of sex. However, I didn’t dare tell anyone he’d not spoken to me since (except for a brief text complaining that the hotel had tried to charge him for a bathrobe he hadn’t bought).
How do you tell a man that you stole his bathrobe so you could retain his scent?
There was no way I could admit that I had taken it, but I did phone the hotel and pay for it on my (already dented) credit card. I begged the receptionist to tell Travis there had been some sort of admin mix up and they had made a mistake. She must have thought I was
nuts.

My phone never left my side. I
n a desperate bid to be strong, I did resist texting him, but it was nearly killing me.

‘Tara, darling,’ said James, clearly about to begin ye
t another tactic to cheer me up after I’d spent another day moping about the Salon. ‘You know that New Year’s resolution we all made last month? About going to the gym? Well, I’ve found the perfect class for us all. It’s street dancing. Jackie, Jayde, you and I are all going, so go and fetch your gym kit and we’ll meet you there at 6:30?’

‘Ummm… not sure if I’m in the mood James,’ I said, feeling rather flat.

‘Of course you are, Tara, you want to be in shape for Travis, don’t you?’ James said, waving away my objections. ‘He will be constantly surrounded by rugby groupies looking to sample what he has on offer. You’ve got to keep in shape, okay? Fabulous. See you there.’

Just as I was about to tell James to bugger off
, my phone received a text message. It was all I could do to stop myself shrieking.

[Text from Travis]

Hi babe, I miss you & love you. Sky Sports tomorrow. Live match. Watch it. I’ll scratch my nose to say hi xx

…

[Text to Travis]

Omg, so pleased to hear from you. I love & miss you too!!!!! XXX Can’t wait to watch you and the match.

Xxxxxxxx

…

[Text from Travis]

How about me popping by after, gorgeous? It’s not that far from you and we’ve got some unfinished bus
iness… ;-)) xx

…

[Text to Travis]

What??? Yes, yes, yes!! When? Where? Are you serious?

Xxxxxx

…

[Text from Travis]

Yep, I’m serious, we fly over to London tonight ready for match tomorrow xxx

…

[Text to Travis]

OMG!!! What time do you think you will be here?  Shall we go for dinner? What type of food do you like? Soooo excited! xxxxxx

…

[Text to Travis]

Did you get my text? Xxxxx

…

[Text to Travis]

Tried to call you 100 times, can’t get through! Can you please let me know ASAP, OR I WON’T BE THERE, ALL DRESSED UP SEXILY, WAITING FOR YOU! XXX

…

[Text from Travis]

Hi gorgeous, sorry, it’s mad busy, I will call you when I’m on the way to you. What sexy clothes are you going to wear? xx

Huh! I will let him know when I know myself.
It’s funny that when I mentioned not being there he magically responded. I clearly needed to get better at the whole
treat ’em mean, keep ’em keen
tactic
.

Feeling lik
e a completely different person (now that I had heard from my love), I turned around to face my colleagues with a beaming smile.

‘Right everybody!’ I announced with a big smile on my face. ‘Who wants to see rugby players getting all hot and sweaty?’ For once, I immediately had James’ attention and the girls weren’t far behind.

‘We’re all going to watch my husband-to-be on Sky Sports,’ I grinned. ‘We can watch it here in the Salon, but afterwards you’ve all got to feck off, because he is coming here to whisk me off as a romantic gesture and then have rampant sex with me.’

With that, I grabbed m
y stuff and marched out of the Salon, leaving everyone speechless at my transformation. I didn’t care. I had less than 24-hours to get into shape. Sod the dance class though. I didn’t have weeks to hone my body. I needed to fast track my glamour. Heading towards the shopping mall, I quickly called Travis to ask his preference of food so I could book a restaurant but, just as per usual, his phone was going straight to voicemail.

[Text to Travis]

Good luck tomorrow, darling. I can’t wait to see you on TV. (And in the flesh) :-) Xx

Arriving at the mall, I headed straight for Ann Summers. I wasn’t messing about. Walking purposefully around, I surveyed the lingerie on the rails with deep intent. As I headed through the shop, I couldn’t help but notice the merchandise seemed to grow more intriguing the further back I went. A black leather whip caught my eye.
Hmm,
I mused, my imagination boggling for a moment. Alongside the whip was a PVC catsuit, also in black. Strategically placed beside it was a matching pair of leather handcuffs. A whoosh of domineering thoughts overcame me.

I should whip and tease that gorgeous fecker into place. I could dominate him for a change.
My mind flashed to images of Travis tied to a bed, unable to move. This was somewhat appealing on more levels than one.

That’s what you get for being a gorgeous, inconsistent pig,
I giggled to myself.
On second thoughts, he would probably love that.
Okay, well so far, that’s the favorite scenario for tomorrow night. I made a mental note of this scene, but couldn’t stop myself wondering what the Big-Man upstairs would think of me.

As my eyes then traced over to the next section, my softer, more feminine side
came out. My eyes dreamily gazed upon a row of soft, feathery boas in a spectrum of beautiful pale pinks and whites, laid out beside matching frilly bras and lacy knickers. Walking down the row, I slowly caressed and ran my hand gently across the array of fluffy fabrics, imagining what they may feel like on.

What to choose?
I was awful at making decisions lately. Far too loved-up for my own good. Completely baffled, I stood back, feeling dizzy with the choices in front of me. I really needed some advice.
Do I go hardcore (with a few Hail Mary’s for my sins)? Or girly? Gosh, where would he take me this time?
I had to be prepared for anything.

I sighed deeply as I tried to organise my muddled thoughts. Then, just as I decided the only thing for it was to try
everything on that Travis might like, I was distracted by a noisy customer.

‘Well,’ continued the tall, tanned, blonde, tattooed, mid-thirties hunk, ‘she’s kind of
this
big.’ Without a trace of embarrassment he was cupping his hands on his own chest in an effort to show his girlfriend/wife’s breast size, which was apparently considerable.

‘What do you mean,
her
back
size?’ he asked, confused; clearly in answer to the questions of the bored-looking assistant. ‘I don’t have a clue, does it really matter? She’s… well, err…
her
size, over there.’

He pointed frantically at a girl the size of a toothpick.

‘Is the underwear for your wife?’ asked a nosey woman standing in the queue. ‘Because if it is… you
really
don’t want to get that wrong,’ she smirked.

Men really don’t have a clue,
I thought, shaking my head as I wandered back to the front of the shop and started my search all over again.
But bless
him
(I turned back around for another sneaky look),
at least he’s trying.

Right, time to focus. Time is of the essence. Let’s see.
To give myself some momentum, I grabbed a couple of items and tried out the colour next to my skin. Black balconnette bra, or a red? Side-tied, bowed, or crotch-less undies? Commando was so much easier, but never, ever, would I be doing that again.

Then, barely thinking about what I was doing
, I marched over and picked up the black, PVC catsuit. I’d barely laid hands on it before an assistant popped out, as if from nowhere, making me jump.  

‘Madame, would you like to try the catsuit on?’ she asked, with a sweet smile. Then, before I could answer, she prattled on. ‘Because of the rubbery texture of this item, we do
recommend a small sprinkling of talc on the inside. They can be quite tricky. Would you like me to fetch some talc for you?’

‘
Erm… not to worry,’ I insisted, feeling a little embarrassed. It felt like I was advertising to the world I was about to have a steamy session of S&M sex. ‘I don’t have that much time. I’m not actually going to try it on.’

‘Would you like me to put
the catsuit to one side for you then?’ she asked, completely unfazed.

‘I’m just going to hold it up against myself, if that’s okay?’ I said, clutching the suit closer to me in case she tried to walk off with it. ‘I'll just try on the other bits I’ve got here real quick.’

Apart from the fact I really didn’t want to admit to liking such an outrageously raunchy outfit, I was afraid the shopkeeper’s white talc would have an adverse effect on my newly applied spray tan. I only had a few hours to get body-perfect. I couldn’t afford any fuck-ups.

I disappeared into the tiny changing room and wrestled my way out of my clothes. I’d hung the catsuit on the hook behind the door and did my best to ignore it
, as I tried on the other, safer garments. After trying on endless sexy pieces, the devil knocked at my door. I turned to look at the slinky PVC suit and swore quietly to myself.
Lord, I will seek forgiveness after I’ve worn it,
I thought, biting my lip hard and blessing myself.

I’d better just quickly slip it on though. I can’t afford to waste any m
oney. I took the catsuit off its hanger. It felt surprisingly cold and slippery. I slipped a foot in each leg hole and I heaved and pulled.
She certainly wasn't kidding about the talc,
I thought, as I yanked the catsuit up just past my hips. I paused briefly to see what it looked like so far.
Hmmm… not bad. Not bad at all,
I thought as I swiveled around to take a look at the back view in the mirror. Still, I did have to see the
whole
thing on to be sure.

The further I pulled
the catsuit up my body the more complicated it seemed to be. I simply couldn't figure it out. There were definitely no zips or buttons. Meanwhile, there was a large opening around the chest, yet a small neck collar. Completely thrown, I lifted up one component after the other of the outfit that flopped around my waist.

Determined not to be beaten, I challenged the seemingly indestructible material. I pulled it back down to waist level and put my arms through
the only two holes I could find - which then automatically pulled the back of the outfit up. I winced as the crotch piece nearly fractured my lady-garden. Straightening up and surveying myself in the mirror, I could see the neckpiece was still flapping.
What the…?

Scratching my head, I wondered how the hell I would ever get the rest of it on. I pulled it back down to waist level and started again. Okay, this time I would put my arms
and head in at the same time.
It’s about co-ordination,
I told myself. With another supreme effort, I tugged the suit so hard that for a moment I thought I dislocated my arm. It really hurt. The collar was now stuck around my nose, I was seriously losing my temper.

‘There must be a fault on this one,’ I cursed, sweating profusely.

But then, with one final yank, the bastard was on.
Ahh, no one messes with Tara; the Sex Goddess.

Feeling not unlike a lump of jelly in a vice grip, I stood back and squinted into the mirror. I
forced myself to visualise the ‘sexy’ me, with bright red, glossy lipstick and come-to-me eyes. To complete the effect, I stood on my tippy toes and ruffled my hair. I roared like a tigress under my breath and pouted at my reflection.

Hmmm.
After all that, I really wasn’t sure. In fact, if I was honest, I looked like a she-devil gone wrong. This outfit probably looks better on a twenty-year old. Feeling turned off, it slowly dawned on me that the catsuit was probably even more difficult to get off than it was to get on. Good job I didn't need the loo. Sod’s law though, the moment the thought entered my head, I realised I was actually busting for a pee.