The One That Got Away (9 page)

In the end we decide to go to the local town.
Instantly I love it. The shops are full of Christmas goodies and I
decide that I really should buy some presents. We split up and I go
around with Melissa. She is good company and laughs as the men head
off without us.

“
What do you
bet that they end up in the pub and buy nothing?” she says grinning
at me. “All of my months salary,” I laugh. We find some lovely
things and I enjoy spending time with her. She gives me some great
ideas and before long we have lots of bags of purchases. “Come on
Bella, let’s grab a coffee and text the boys to join us,” she says
as we come across a welcoming looking coffee shop. We are relieved
to sit down and get our coffees and settle down for a chat. She
leans towards me and smiles. “Nathan is such a great guy, you two
make a lovely couple.” I nod and smile at her. “Yes he is. I just
wish that we saw more of each other. We are supposed to be planning
a wedding and haven’t even had time to set a date.” She looks at me
sympathetically. “Is it because Ben is keeping him busy with the
project?” she says looking intently at me. I hadn’t really thought
about it but as she said it that way it makes me wonder if Ben has
done it on purpose. Then I feel silly and push the thought out of
my head. He wouldn’t care if we were apart or together. He has a
lovely girlfriend and a fantastic life after all.

I smile. “I’m sure it’s not. I think it’s
just one of those things and I suppose we had better get used to
it, after all not every couple works together and they still manage
to find the time.” She looks pensive. “I wish that I saw more of
Ben. He is always working and our time together is so few and far
between. Even when we are together he seems distracted.”

I look at her with mixed feelings. Part of me
is glad that they don’t spend much time together and the other part
of me identifies with it. We are not so different really.

The men suddenly appear and Melissa and I
exchange looks at their lack of shopping. “Don’t tell me,” she says
laughing, “You went to the pub.” Ben laughs and kisses her on the
cheek. “You know me so well darling. You girls look like you had
fun though.” Nathan raises his eyes. "I thought we were saving up
to get married. This has put us a year behind at least judging by
the amount of bags here.” Melissa pokes him looking annoyed. “Most
of them are mine actually. Bella was very restrained. By the way
Nathan you had better start working harder to finish that project
so that you can help Bella with the wedding plans. They don’t plan
themselves you know.” Nathan looks suitably chastised and we all
laugh at him.

Once we are back at the lodge we head off to
get changed as we are going to the local pub for dinner. Nathan
flops down on the bed and pulls me on top of him. “Do you know what
Bella, I thought that I would enjoy this weekend but all I really
want is to spend it in bed with you.” I roll off of him and think
about his words. Turning to look at him I say, “What is it you love
about me Nathan? I mean sex aside what do you love most?”

I can tell that I have taken him by surprise
and he looks at me with a startled expression. Sitting up he takes
my face in his hands. “Bella, you are my world. I love spending
time with you. You make me laugh, I enjoy your company. I love how
you look after me and I couldn’t imagine life without you - oh and
the sex of course. I fancy you rotten and just want to make love to
you all the time.” I think about what he says and smile at him.
Inside though I feel uneasy at his words. A few weeks ago I would
have been more than happy to hear him say all those things, but now
they seem superficial. As I think about the last few weeks since
our engagement, I try to remember when we just sat and spoke about
our hopes and dreams. We talk but we don’t have very deep and
meaningful conversations. There is still a lot about him that I
don’t know and the same for him about me. I suppose I never thought
about it before but Ben’s words about love and memories keep on
playing on my mind. Nathan kisses me and pulls me down on to the
bed. He makes love to me tenderly, whispering that he loves me as
he brings me to a climax. I want to feel close to him again, I
don’t want any doubts; he is my soul mate and the one I love.
Surely it is normal to have doubts. We have a lifetime to get to
know each other after all. However it troubles me that as I close
my eyes and feel him inside me, it is Ben’s face that I see in my
mind.

Chapter 11

We all have a great time at the local pub and
drink far too much wine. Nathan is at his best in such social
environments and keeps us all in stitches all night. He is very
attentive and it reminds me once again why I love him so much. The
food was amazing and feeling very merry indeed we head back to the
lodge. I feel sorry for Ben as he has had to drive all weekend and
so couldn’t drink.

As we arrive back Melissa puts her arms
around him and kisses him. “Thanks darling. I have had a lovely
weekend. Why don’t we finish it off by having a few drinks here?
Then you can have a few and try to unwind.” Ben smiles at her
indulgently and says grinning, “What she really means is that she
doesn’t want the party to end and can I crack open some more
bottles.” We all laugh and she pretends to be annoyed. Ben lights
the fire and Melissa goes off to change into something more
comfortable - as she put it. Nathan sorts the drinks out and I
follow Melissa’s example and change into my jogging bottoms and
sweatshirt. I put on my slipper boots and feel instantly more
relaxed.

However my idea of something more comfortable
and Melissa’s are obviously two different things. We all look at
her in amazement as she enters the room in a pair of silky pyjama
bottoms, matching top and fur trimmed cardigan. Nathan looks gob
smacked and Ben looks at me and rolls his eyes grinning. She goes
up to him and drapes herself around his neck and presses herself
against him. Gazing up at him she says softly, “Love you honey,
thanks again for a super time.” Then she kisses him which makes it
quite uncomfortable to watch as I feel like an intruder. Nathan on
the other hand can’t take his eyes off the pair of them. Ben pulls
away gently. “Come on let’s have a drink and make the most of our
last night.” She giggles and I notice that she is well on the way
to being drunk.

Sitting in front of the fire we snuggle up to
our relevant partners. I see that Nathan is also knocking the wine
back a bit and feel a growing sense of dismay as he is not good
after too many drinks. I myself am also feeling giddy and decide
that I had better not have any more if I don’t want to be ill in
the morning.

As we all sit there I notice that the
conversation is getting louder and louder, or is it just because I
have drunk so much/ Nathan suddenly spies the hot tub and shouts,
“Let’s all jump in the hot tub. It would be a shame to waste it.
Bella grab the wine and we can have a sort of pool party.” Melissa
jumps up in excitement clapping her hands and Ben laughs at her
enthusiasm. I however shake my head and say, “No Nathan, I haven’t
got a swimming costume and it is freezing outside. I would rather
stay by the fire.” Nathan races over to me laughing. “Come on
Bella, you’re not an old married woman yet, live a little.” He
grabs hold of me and throws me over his shoulder. “Nathan stop it,
put me down!” I shriek praying that he is not going to do what I
think he is. However my instincts were right and he jumps into the
hot tub fully clothed and throws me in with him. The shock of the
water drenching through my clothes and the effect of the alcohol
renders me speechless. Before I can react he crushes me to him and
kisses me passionately. He has me in a firm grip and I can’t get
away.

I hear Melissa laughing excitedly and before
I know it she has also jumped in shouting to Ben to grab the wine.
As Nathan releases me and I come up for air, I see that Ben has
also jumped in fully clothed and Melissa is sitting in front of
him, his arms wrapped around her. Everyone is laughing and after
the shock of it all I realise that it is actually really hot in
here and see the steam escaping off the top of it into the cold
air.

We settle down laughing and take it in turns
to drink from the bottle. Sitting opposite Ben and Melissa I feel
quite uncomfortable watching them. He is massaging her shoulders
and she is obviously relishing it. Her eyes are half closed and she
is pulling at her bottom lip with her teeth. The cardigan has gone
and her thin satin top is leaving nothing to the imagination. I can
feel Nathan tense beside me and looking at his expression I can see
that he is also feeling the effects.

Ben looks at me the whole time that he
massages her, his expression drawing me in and holding me under his
spell. The alcohol is starting to have an effect and I feel totally
out of it, but I cannot look away. I can feel that Nathan is
mesmerised by Melissa and I suddenly feel the need to interrupt the
proceedings. I cough and say, “Actually I am feeling quite tired
now. I think that I’ll have a shower and head off to bed.” Nathan
looks at me with annoyance. “Come on Bella, don’t break up the
party. Have another drink and we can play a game.” Melissa, pulls
away from Ben and says with excitement, “Yes, come on Bella. What
did you have in mind Nathan?” Grinning he says, “What about spin
the bottle?” “Yes!!” she yells loudly. There are certainly a few
empty bottles around and still quite a few full ones.

Nathan carries on, “We have to spin the
bottle and whoever it points to has to do what the person who spun
it says. If they can’t they have to take a swig from the full one.
If they do they have to take two.” Feeling worried I look at Ben
who is smiling at them. He looks at me and raises his eyes in a
challenge, obviously noticing my discomfort.

Nathan says, “I’ll start.” He leans out of
the tub and spins the bottle on the side next to the tub. It points
to Ben and we all laugh. “Ben, take your top off.” Nathan says
laughing. Ben does it with good grace and throws the wet top over
to the side and then takes two swigs of wine from the bottle. He
then spins it and it points to Melissa. He grins at her
mischievously. “Tell everyone your middle name.” She shrieks and
shakes her head and we all laugh. After a few seconds she whispers,
“Maude.” We all laugh and she turns red with embarrassment. It is
her turn and it points to Nathan, “Take your trousers off.” She
shrieks and then proceeds to chant, “Off, off, off.” This is easy
for him and he gladly takes them off. He drinks some more wine and
then purposefully spins it back to her. We all laugh and he says,
“Now your turn to take off an item of clothing, your choice.”
Suddenly I feel uncomfortable. I look at Ben and his expression has
turned more serious. Melissa however just laughs and staring hard
at Nathan she takes off her top, looking at him defiantly. Then she
grabs the wine and drinks several mouthfuls whilst looking at him
all the time. I blush with embarrassment and Ben takes his T shirt
off and puts it over her head.

“
Ok enough of
this game.” he says, and I can tell that he is annoyed. Melissa
laughs and says, “Spoilsport. Come on let’s get out and dry off by
the fire.” She jumps out and wraps herself up in a towel and the
rest of us follow suit. I feel as though things are a bit awkward
now and jump up. “Look guys, I am just getting a shower to warm up.
I won’t be long.” Before anybody can comment I race from the
room.

As the warm jets of the shower hit me, I try
to take everything in. Things are getting way out of hand and I am
annoyed with Nathan as after all Ben is still our boss. As I dry
myself I hear the door open and am surprised to see Melissa
standing in the doorway. She looks at me guiltily. “Sorry Bella, I
don’t mean to disturb you. Please come back, we won’t play any more
games and can just have hot drinks if you would prefer. It’s just
that I need Ben to relax more.” She sits on the edge of the bed and
sighs. “It’s just that we never have much quality time together and
even this weekend he hasn’t even made love to me once.” I flush
feeling embarrassed. The last thing I want to hear is about their
sex life. She doesn’t seem to notice my discomfort and carries on.
“If I can just get him a little bit drunk he may relax more and
forget about work. I am sorry if I have embarrassed you, but that
was all for his benefit. I just want him to want me.”

I sit down next to her and smile
sympathetically. “Ok Melissa, whatever you say. I am sure that he
loves you though, it is obvious to anyone who sees you.” Melissa’s
lip trembles and she looks very vulnerable. I jump up and take her
hand. “Come on lets get back to the guys.” She smiles at me
gratefully and leaving my hair wet I follow her out to the
others.

Nathan cheers as he sees us coming and pours
us both another large glass of wine. I notice that he is still well
over the limit and is starting to slur his words. Ben looks at me
questioningly and I just smile and sit back down next to
Nathan.

The evening continues and Nathan and Melissa
get onto the subject of computer games. They obviously share a love
for them and talk incessantly about the latest one. Ben rolls his
eyes and grins. “Come on Bella, let’s go and make some coffee. I
think that they could use it don’t you?” I follow him into the
kitchen and help him make the drinks. “I am sorry about Nathan,” I
say in a quiet voice. “As you know he can over do it a bit, but he
means no harm.” He looks at me steadily but doesn’t reply.

Soon the fire and the hot drinks have an
effect on me and my eyes start closing. Nathan is still raring to
go and doesn’t notice as he is still chatting away to Melissa. Ben
does though and says, “It looks as though Bella needs her sleep.”
Nathan looks over at me. “Ok honey, I won’t be long.” Ben looks
surprised and I flush with embarrassment. “Goodnight everyone
thanks for a lovely evening.” They all say goodnight and I turn in
grateful to get into bed as I am exhausted.