Strangers in my Bed

“Alright, yeah. And what do you want? Claire’s gonna be back in a few minutes, so you need to clear off by then. I did what he told me. She knows now.”

I tip my head a little. “You did what he told you?”

“Yeah. I told Claire, so you’d better piss off soon, because she still thinks I’m dog shit right now.”

I’ve run through many scenarios in my head today, but this most definitely isn’t one I was predicting. It takes me a second to digest what he’s just said.

“Ant asked you to tell your fiancée that you had sex with her wedding planner, is that what you’re saying?”

“Wouldn’t say asked is the right word for it. Like I said. I did what he told me. I told Claire I fucked her wedding planner. She knows now. Job done. Wish I’d never taken his shitty offer in the first place.”

He gets his keys ready to let himself inside, but I step in front of him.

“Piss off,” he says. “Honestly, I’m done with it.”

“Just tell me one thing,” I make sure I meet his eyes. “Did Ant offer you the chance to have sex with his fiancée, or did he charge you for it?”

Lee’s hand pauses with the key ready for the door, looking at me like I’m crazy.

“Of course I fucking paid for it. I’ve got my friend Terry to thank for that one. He gave me the cash as a stag party present. Said it would be my last shot at another girl’s pussy before I had a wife. He thought it was a bargain at a hundred quid. Hardly worth it though, was it?”

I’m reeling. Disgusted. Trying to keep my feet.

I want to punch this piece of shit right in the face, but that wouldn’t help anything.

“You paid a hundred quid to have sex with Cass?”

“Yeah, Cass, whatever her name was. The girl was hot, but not hot enough to take this much shit over. I’d never have done it if I’d known she was Claire’s fucking wedding planner. Believe me, it was as embarrassing for me as it was for her when I saw her in the planning office.” He stares at me. “I didn’t tell Claire about the cash, though. If Ant wants her to know about that, he can tell her the fuck himself. And I definitely won’t be showing her the fucking video.”

A car pulls up next to us in the driveway and Lee curses.

“You need to fuck off now. She’s home.”

The woman called Claire looks suspicious as she gets out of her car. She glances from Lee to me, with wariness all over her face, and I feel sorry for her. She’s worth so much more than the man she’s engaged to.

“The guy was just asking for directions,” Lee says to the woman committing her future to him.

“Right,” she says, clearly not believing him. “I guess you’ll be on your way now, then?”

I nod, with a fresh slam of sickness in my guts. Her fiancé paid Ant to have sex with Cass, and then Ant forced him to declare the truth of it, throwing Cass’s career down the toilet.

I’m so disgusted I could retch, but Claire is waiting for my answer.

“Yes, thanks. I’ll be on my way.”

But as I begin to leave their driveway, I realise I can’t do it. I turn back to Claire.

“Don’t walk up the aisle to this guy. He’s a jackass who’ll fuck you over again. He didn’t even do it because he liked Cass. He didn’t even know her name. She was nothing but a cheap piece of flesh to him, and if he had any respect for her whatsoever, let alone enough respect for you, there’s no way he would’ve done it. Not in a million years. You’re worth more than that, Claire.”

Lee looks like he wants to punch me as much as I want to punch him, but I stare him down like the piece of shit he is, and then I walk away.

I’m too shaky to drive when I get back in my car. The world is spinning, and my breaths are shallow, despising how things are unfolding. I sit there as Claire and Lee retreat into their house, hoping that she values herself enough to give him the middle finger and get the fuck out of there, but somehow I doubt it.

Although my respect for Ant was already pouring down the drain, I’ve reached the end of the road now. He’s been using Cass as his whore, and she doesn’t even know it. It’s absolutely fucking disgusting.

I call up my email account to send her another message, and find there’s already one in my inbox to greet me. I get a twinge of hurt and loss as I see her name.

Hi. I’m ok. I don’t know anything about fraud, but Ant told me you’ve resigned. How are things with you? I’m really sorry about what happened.