The One That Got Away (21 page)

After about the 20th dress she looks at me
and says, “Bella, come and help me change into the next one will
you?” I nod and follow her into the changing room. We get the
giggles as she gets stuck in it and I can’t find her amongst all
the ruffles and lace. “The zip is stuck,” she yells laughing
hysterically. I try to disentangle her but there is so much fabric
it is almost proving impossible. After about 10 minutes I succeed
and she emerges very red in the face and laughing fit to burst.

“
I don’t
think I’ll have this one,” she says gulping for air, I nod and
laugh saying, “Can you imagine Boris trying to get you out of it on
your wedding night. That would be a sight I would pay to see.” She
laughs and picks up another one. “How are you B? I haven’t seen you
in ages.”

“
I am fine,
just busy with work as usual, although I do have some gossip.” She
freezes holding the dress in front of her and grins excitedly, “Go
on spill.”

“
Well I saw
Nathan with another girl, apparently they are dating.” Her hand
flies up to her mouth and Phoebe’s eyes widen in shock. Taking her
hand away she says, “Oh my God, was it strange seeing them, did she
look like you?” I grin. “No on both counts. In some way I am glad
that she looks different to me. It would be a bit creepy if he went
for someone like me, don’t you think?” Phoebe nods and then says
softly, “Are you sure you didn’t feel a tinge of regret? It must
still be weird seeing your ex with someone else, especially as you
were supposed to be the one trying these dresses on in the first
place.” I shrug my shoulders and picking up the dress I play with
the luxurious fabric. “I suppose it did feel a bit strange.
Although I have never thought that your wedding was supposed to be
mine. I mean I never really got into it in the first place and I
always associated it with you anyway.” Phoebe’s eyes soften and
dropping the dress she races over and hugs me to her. “I love you
B, I am glad that you’re happy. I couldn’t bear to be this happy if
you weren’t.” Tears come into my eyes and we both stand here
blubbing on each others shoulders.

We hear her mother shouting, “Hurry up in
there. You’ll be at your first anniversary at this rate.” Pulling
apart we grin at each other and get back to the serious business of
choosing the dress. Phoebe ends up choosing one of the first ones
that she tried on. It is white silk with a lace bodice. It is tight
fitting at the top and then flows out from the hip. The train is
long and covered with lace and it is simple and elegant and she
looks like a supermodel. We all cry in the end and the shop
assistant opens another bottle of champagne. Phoebe then gets me to
try on every bridesmaid dress in the shop. She has decided that I
will be the only adult one and her two nieces will be the flower
girls. We decide on a beautiful deep blue silk dress that mirrors
her dresses style and the shop assistant shows me some shoes that
she can have covered in a matching fabric. Decisions made we all
head out to the local Italian restaurant for a well earned lunch,
although we are feeling a little bit merry from all of the
champagne.

The wedding is now 8 weeks away and we all
chat about what there is left to do and what we still need to buy.
Phoebe has most things covered and it is just up to me to organise
the Hen night.

After floating around a few ideas we decide
to go paintballing followed by a barbeque and then out on the town
to the local nightclub. Phoebe has prepared the list of friends
that she wants to come and I say that she can leave the rest for me
to organise. Laughing to myself I think of her wish to go
paintballing. Most people would prefer a spa break but not Phoebe.
After saying goodbye to her mother and aunt we head off home and
decide to watch Bridesmaids on DVD.

Chapter 29

Ben and I have a rare day off together and
are going clay pigeon shooting. I told him ages ago that I would
like to try it and he surprised me this morning with it.

Luckily we only have to drive for about half
an hour and then we are there.

We drive into a large country estate and I
feel very excited at the prospect of trying something new.

There is a group of other people waiting and
we all introduce ourselves. They seem like a good bunch and we soon
find out that many of them are also here for the first time.

Our
instructor explains how it all works and we follow him out to where
we will need to stand. Ben looks excited and his face mirrors mine
as we grin at each other. It is ladies first so I follow the two
other ladies who appear to be quite good at it. I take the gun in
my hand and follow the instructions. I am wearing ear defenders and
feel quite nervous. I hope that I don’t show myself up. I shout,
“Pull,” and they release the clay. I take aim and fire - and miss.
Gritting my teeth in determination I shout again and fire, this
time I graze the side of it. The force of the gun pulling against
my shoulder is intense and I am not sure how many more I can do. I
take a break and let the other ladies have their go. Ben comes over
and tries to help me with some tips. I shake him off, determined to
do it on my own. He laughs and walks away to watch. When it is my
turn I listen intently to the instructor and once again take aim
and fire. This time I hit it and I watch it splinter and fall to
the ground. I feel exhilarated and grin over at Ben who applauds me
grinning.

Then it is time for the men to have their go.
The other men go before Ben and get about half of their shots on
target. I watch Ben wondering if he will do as well. I am
absolutely amazed when he shoots every one of his clays and they
explode in mid air. Even the Instructor is impressed and I raise my
eyes up laughing at him. Cockily he comes over and lifts me up and
spins me around. Laughing I say, “Typical. Is there anything that
you aren’t good at?” He grins. “I thought you knew that by now.” We
have a few more goes each and then go back for the lunch provided.
The other couples joke around with us and we have a great time.

On the drive home I say, “Thanks Ben, I
really enjoyed that. It’s good to get out in the fresh air and that
was something I have always wanted to do.” He smiles happily. “It’s
great to see you enjoying yourself. We should do it more
often.”

Soon we are back at his house. We spend the
evening in front of the TV with wine and a pasta dish for supper.
These are the times that I love the best. Just chilling out
together on our own; shutting out the world. I love the feel of him
close to me. It makes me feel safe and secure and I am so grateful
that he came back into my life. He rubs my arm as he watches the
TV.

I snuggle closer and I feel him tense up
beside me. I stroke his leg and move my hand further up, enjoying
knowing that he is hardening next to me. His hand grasps mine and
he pulls it away and twists me around to face him. His eyes darken
and he looks at me with lust in them. Pulling me towards him he
kisses me deeply and passionately. Then he pushes me back on to the
settee and pins me against the upholstery. He says in a low husky
voice, “So you want to play do you?” I smile seductively up at him
and run my tongue over my bottom lip, which I know drives him mad.
His eyes burn into me and his breathing intensifies. I move my leg
up so that it caresses his and stare into his eyes, willing him on.
He gasps and runs his hands down my legs and hitches my skirt up,
staring at me the whole time. With my free hand I cup the back of
his head and draw it towards me and tease him with my mouth.
Groaning he pulls me towards him and kisses me passionately. In no
time at all he has removed my clothes and I his and I pull him
tightly against me, aching for him. Pulling back he slows the pace
until I am almost weeping with frustration. I can tell that he is
doing it on purpose. He knows that I need him and he is making me
wait. I try to pull him against me but he resists and I am left
pleading with him,

“
Please Ben,
now, hurry.” He laughs softly and spins me around onto my side
facing away from him. He holds my body against his and let his
hands go to work. He nuzzles the back of my neck and there is not
any part of me that isn’t alive to his touch. When I don’t think
that I can take anymore he spins me around to face him and I feel
him inside me, moving slowly at first and then more urgently. We
cling together moving together as one until we feel the release
together, our bodies combined in one earth shattering
explosion.

Afterwards I lie against his chest and feel
him stroking my back. I never want to leave this position and I
cling to him. Soon he lifts me up and carries me to the shower. As
the hot water cleanses us he strokes my face, looking at me gently.
“What was that all about?” he says softly. Sighing I say, “I just
love you so much Ben. I don’t ever want that to change.” Pulling me
towards him he looks at me lovingly. “Move in with me Bella. This
is your home now, don’t leave.” I pull back and look up into his
eyes that are filled with love. Nodding at him I say, “Ok, I will.
But not until after Phoebe’s wedding. It feels like that would be
the right time.” He smiles and nods in agreement and then kisses me
passionately, the water still coursing over us. Still soaking wet
he carries me to the bedroom and once again makes love to me gently
and with so much love that I almost cry. I know that I am home.
This is where I belong.

The weeks fly past and it is soon Phoebe’s
hen party day. We are all getting a mini bus to take us to the
paintballing centre and they are providing a barbeque afterwards.
Even her mother and auntie are coming and I can’t help laughing at
the thought of them on the rampage.

There are about fifteen of us which include
Phoebe’s cousins and friends from work. Boris’s cousin is also
coming who is such a Sloane ranger. She has even worn her pearls
and an Alice Band. Phoebe can’t wait to plaster her in paint to
rough her up a bit.

I really like Camilla. Despite the fact that
she is so posh she has a wicked sense of humour and is hilarious
with her one liners. She is married to a Lord so she is really Lady
Camilla, but she doesn’t want anyone to call her by her title as
she just wants to blend in with the crowd. We all split up and then
the fun begins. I am so competitive and throw myself totally into
it. I take no prisoners and strive to shoot everyone. Phoebe’s
mother and Auntie are hilarious and can’t quite seem to grasp the
concept. Every time they are shot they pretend to die and make a
big song and dance about it. We are all soon in fits of laughter
and totally covered in paint.

It seems to fly past so quickly and soon we
are all crowded around the barbeque, ravenous. I sit on the ground
next to Phoebe and we enjoy our burgers and beers. We feel quite
manly sitting there in our camouflage get up and we clink our beers
together in a toast to Phoebe and Boris. Then Phoebe raises her can
and says, “To my best friend. May we always be together.” As I
clink her can my eyes fill with tears. Hugging her to me I almost
sob as I say, “I love you Phoebe. Thank you for being the best
friend that I could ever wish for. I am going to miss living with
you.” She looks at me and we both burst out crying. Her mother
comes over and shakes her head. “Come on girls; don’t cry it’s
supposed to be a happy occasion. Things change but your friendship
won’t.” Sniffing we nod at her and then Phoebe pulls me up. “Come
on Bella, we need to go and get ready to paint the town red.”

We all go back to Phoebe’s mother’s house to
get ready. She cracks open the Champagne and we are all soon
merry.

Later that evening the mini bus takes us to
Casanova’s, the local nightclub. Despite the fact that most of its
clientele are under 18 we all hit the dance floor with abandon.
Camilla is almost out of control and we laugh hysterically at her
robotic dancing. I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun
out with my friends. It’s like we are teenagers again dancing
around our handbags. We even get hit on by some guys who try to
engage us in conversation, but we are having none of it. The place
is packed and there isn’t much room to dance but we still manage to
dance for most of the night. Phoebe shouts in my ear, “B, follow me
to the loo will you, I’m dying here?” I laugh and we push our way
towards the ladies. Typically there is a queue so we wait in line.
“I’m shattered,” Phoebe says raising her eyes up.

“
I can’t
believe we used to do this every weekend.” I laugh and nod in
agreement. “We had fun though didn’t we?” She laughs and links her
arm in mine. “Let’s make a pact that we will still have our nights
out when we are old and grey.” Grinning at her I say, “Old yes, but
grey Never!!” We remember that we always said that we would rather
have pink or blue rinses than grey hair and we laugh
together.

I take a selfie of us with my phone and send
it to Boris and Ben. That will annoy Ben I think laughing to
myself. He was a bit put out that I was going to a nightclub. I
think he has images of guys grabbing us on the dance floor for a
snog like in the old days. Almost immediately he texts me back
saying, “Behave yourself otherwise I will have to punish you.” I
grin to myself. He really is such a control freak; well I will give
him food for thought. I text back - sorry too late x-

Phoebe is looking at me in disbelief and I
crack up laughing. I shout in her ear, “got to keep them on their
toes.” She shoves me and we fall into the ladies laughing
hysterically. I see another text from Ben and I shiver in
anticipation as it says - You have been warned. I’ll pick you up
later. As if, I think. We won’t even get home until about 3am. Even
he isn’t that weird. As we get back to the dance floor we nudge
each other and fall about laughing. Camilla is on the dance floor
snogging some unsuspecting guy whose hands are all over her. Phoebe
and I look at each other in disbelief. If only her husband could
see her now.