Fifty Shades of Stepford Wives

“How are getting on, do you need anything?” Asked Jessica.

“No, I’m fine thanks,” Emily said with a smile and placed some clothes in the drawer.

“Okay, I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”

Once the three of them had detangled after their session on the patio table they joined Lucy and the freshly climaxed Dani in the jacuzzi. They stayed there chatting for a while James cooked them lunch on the barbeque, after which they lazed in the afternoon sun. It was a blissful day that had flown by in the blink of an eye. Once James and Dani had left for Dinner with Sophie, Jessica made a light salad for dinner for the three of them. They shared a bottle of white wine and happily chatted away. When the wine was finished Emily excused herself so she could unpack her things and then perhaps get an early night, such an eventful day had left her tired.

She had never stayed in a hotel that was this luxurious, let alone been able to call such a place home. Although it would take a little more time before it truly felt like home. She kept stopping to take in the details of her room, touching things and admiring them, as if pinching herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. On the way here this morning she told herself that a little bit of kinky group sex wouldn’t be such a high price to pay for staying in London and avoiding her mother and Craig. As it turned out, the price she was prepared to pay materialised into the best part of the day. So much so that she was looking forward to similar encounters.

The other side of the coin is never far away though. She couldn’t bear to think what her life would have been like if she had turned left out of the service station and headed north that morning. The vision in her mind was of Craig lying on top of her with his breath stinking of beer and stale cigarettes while he pumped away and she prayed for it to be over.

How much of her life had she wasted on men like Craig, hoping in vain that she could somehow change them into a fairy tale prince? How much fruitless energy had she spent trying to please her mother? How much anxiety and stress had she put herself through trying to be the person everyone else thought she should be?

She shook her head in the hope the thoughts would tumble out of her mind and carried on emptying her suitcase.

Sophie was grateful to have found the only black cabbie in London who didn’t waffle on endlessly. She was far happier peering out of the window in silence as the cab made its way through the busy streets of London towards Langan’s. When they stopped in the traffic she noticed a family of Japanese tourists taking pictures of a mundane building that for reasons Sophie couldn’t explain they found worthy of their attention. A small boy who was clinging onto his mother’s hand was frowning as if trying to understand what he was supposed to be looking at. He had no more luck than Sophie in solving the conundrum and his gaze soon caught her staring at him. She smiled and waved, the little boy grinned shyly and gave a cute wave back before being dragged off by his mother.

That was about as maternal as Sophie ever got, much to her mother’s annoyance. To be fair to her parents they more often than not turned a blind eye to her ‘youthful meandering’ as they put it. Which was to say, they hoped that if they didn’t interfere too much then perhaps one day Sophie would tire of her wild ways and settle down with a nice man, preferably a banker from Geneva, and then start a family.

Such was her mother’s desperation for a grandchild that of late she had begun suggesting IVF and single parenthood as an option. Hearing those words from her mother was as much of a shock to Sophie as it must have been for her mother when she caught her having a threesome in the garage with the two men who tended their gardens. After a time her mother even thought the trauma of seeing her daughter being spit-roasted by the hired help was worth it if it led to a grandchild.

Although she was loathed to admit it, the recent absence of her mother’s nagging about settling down with a man had played a part in clearing Sophie’s mind sufficiently to give the matter some thought. A Genevan banker was out of the question, in fact, most options she considered caused bouts of nausea, most, but not all.

Then Sophie burst out laughing.

“You alright luv? Something funny?” said the cabbie.

“Yes, I’m fine. This trip to London has not gone to plan. But it’s just occurred to me that, strange as it may seem, my mother would probably approve of the way it’s turned out.”

“Well that’s nice, it’s always good to keep yer mum ‘appy.”

“Indeed it is,” she said and continued peering out of the window.

The last few days had been so hectic that with Emily busy unpacking and Lucy soaking in the bath Jessica found herself wondering what to do with herself. Instinctively she thought of James and headed to his room to make sure it was tidy for his return. The bed was already made, so she cleaned his bathroom and then picked up his clothes from the floor. She held the small bundle to her face and breathed in his scent before discarding them in the laundry basket. Then she went through the rest of the house, ensuring it was as presentable as possible.

She had enjoyed preparing him for his date with Sophie, picking out his suit and shirt and fastening his cufflinks up for him before choosing his cologne. She even tied his shoelaces and brushed him down with a lint cloth before he left. She couldn’t help but beam with pride as she watched him walk off down the driveway with Dani on his arm when their cab arrived.

With the house in good order and Lucy and Emily busying themselves in their rooms she wondered what to do with herself. In a short space of time she had become so accustomed to focusing on James’ pleasure and organising the harem that now she had time to devote to herself she was at a complete loss as to what to do.

The only constructive thing she could think to do was check her emails, something she hadn’t done for a few days. She poured a glass of wine and headed into her office and fired up her laptop. One by one she dealt with the usual mix of junk and things related to the running of the house until she came to an email from Kevin, the man who ran the homeless shelter at the church hall. She made a mental note to speak to James and Lucy about going there to help out one night this week then opened the email. A broad smile spread across her face as she read the message.

“Perfect!” she said once she’d read the attached invitation. “Just perfect!”

Sophie’s first impressions of James were good, he was handsome, well-dressed and seemed fit and healthy. He was perhaps a little young, but not so much as to draw attention if they were seen together. She liked his aftershave too, a nice scent was something that she always appreciated.

As nice as he was though, when the meal began she wondered what had brought four women to devote themselves to him. In other circumstances she’d have thought him to be a con man, some faux Svengali who tricked the feeble-minded into doing his bidding. She didn’t know Lucy or Emily, but she could say without doubt that neither Dani nor Jessica would have fallen for such tricks. Therefore she had to conclude he was the real deal.

Dani had told their story in detail while they ate, how Jessica found him working in a supermarket of all places and guided his metamorphosis until they found themselves living in something akin to Fifty Shades of Stepford Wives. Sophie could have named half a dozen men seemingly more suited to the task than the one who sat opposite her, why they chose him still perplexed her. She understood how it all came about, but for the life of her she couldn’t understand why. It was that intrigue more than anything else that brought her to the point of considering joining the harem. But she was not sold on the idea yet, not by a long shot.

As their meal neared its end the waiter served coffee, once he was gone she asked, “So what can I expect if I join, what is life like in the harem?”

“Well,” said Dani, “It’s early days, we’ve not found a routine yet. But for the most part, it’s life as normal, we’ll still go about our everyday routine but we just make sure we are available for James when he…”

James held his hand up and Dani fell silent. This is interesting thought Sophie, with one wave of his hand and he’d silenced Dani in a very dominant manner, and in public too.

“Everybody joined for their own reasons,” he said, “and we each get something different from the set-up. Tell me, what do you want from the harem?”

“Well I er, I mean what I want is, um, well, the sex sounds good and it sounds like fun and…”

He’d caught her quite off guard, while she stumbled about for an answer he gestured to a waiter and made the universally understood sign that he wanted the bill by miming signing his hand as if it were a cheque. Sophie was quite put out, annoyed even. Why ask such a probing question only to ignore her answer and call for the bill? At that moment, his apparent arrogant behaviour had pushed her to the brink of saying no thanks and walking out in a huff. But his next words changed everything.

“Sophie, I told Dani once that I’m not interested in playing games. I don’t want you to tell me what you think I want to hear. All I want is for you to understand why you’re joining and what you want from the experience. Whatever those reasons may be, so long as you know what they are then that is enough. But I believe that you already know you will join, even if you won’t admit it to yourself. Go home and think about it and then let me know. But we can’t be held in limbo so I want your answer before lunchtime tomorrow.”

She was so stunned she hadn’t time to digest what he’d said and before she knew what was happening he’d paid the bill and she’d promised an answer by tomorrow.