The Red Shoes - Alison's Story

31 Pages·2013·0.33 MB·English

by  Shearer Sophie

The Red Shoes – Alison’s Story

The Naughty Nights House Party Series

Sophie Shearer
Copyright: Sophie Shearer
Published by Briba Publishing 2013
© All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be used, transmitted or reproduced in any manner without the express permission
of the author except in the case of brief quotations for the purpose of a review.
This book is fictional and any names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the author's
imagination.

Warning: This book is an Erotic Romance and contains
some sexual content (m-f)
Recommended for over 18’s
Chapter 1

Although she was as anxious as a turkey at Christmas, Alison still felt a shiver of
anticipation as Dominic knocked sharply on the door of the grand looking house.
Would she be able to go through with it; would she be able to have sex with a
stranger?
She was still not convinced this was the right way to go about solving her most
intimate problem. But, in a moment of wine induced bravado, she had agreed to
be Dominic’s partner for tonight and it was far too late to back out now. So she
took a deep breath to steady herself, grabbed his arm and waited; all the while
trying to look calm and confident but, she suspected, failing miserably.
The door was opened by a tall, smiling woman with blonde hair casually twisted
and pinned to the back of her head. She looked stunning in a beautiful figure-
hugging, champagne coloured dress with matching satin stilettos, a long string of
pearls and pearl stud earrings. The slinky fabric of the dress made it very
obvious the woman was not wearing any underwear, but if she’d had a figure
like that Alison knew she would be happy to flaunt it too. Instead she was
brunette, short, and maybe just a few pounds heavier than she would have liked.

“Welcome to our party” the woman said throwing the door open wide. “Come in
and help yourself to a drink. Is this your first time?”
As they stepped into the impressive hall the woman took the printed invitation
Dominic offered and closed the door behind them.
Alison looked at Dominic who grinned at her and said, “No, my first time was
Geoff and Marina’s party last month and I have my invitation for next month,
but it is Alison’s first time though”.
“Are you staying the weekend?” the woman asked.
“No, we can only stay for the evening”, Dominic replied.
“Great, you’ve been before so you know how everything works,” she said to
Dominic without even acknowledging Alison. “I’m Jenny, grab yourselves a
glass of wine, enjoy yourselves and just ask if you need anything. Oh, one more
thing, the rooms on the second floor are reserved for weekend guests but evening
guests are welcome to use the rooms on the first floor. The Play Room is down
the hall if you’d like to join in.”
A loud rap on the door made Alison jump; Jenny excused herself and went to
open it.
More guests; this place is going to be packed, thought Alison as she wondered
just how many rooms this grand looking house had.
“What is the Play Room?” whispered Alison to Dominic.
“It’s the room where lots of people have fun together; we won’t be going in
there,” he replied “unless you want to…”
“No thanks,” she said hastily, “I don’t think I’m ready for group stuff just yet.”
If anyone had told her that she would be going to a Swingers party - ever –
Alison would have thought they had lost their mind. She had even had to look up
the definition in the dictionary to be absolutely sure she knew what one was.
(Swinger: somebody who lives an unconventional and hedonistic life, especially somebody who
exchanges sexual partners with others.)
As far as going to a Swingers party with a man she had only known a short time
– well, that was just madness. But here she was.
Chapter 2

Andrew, Alison’s husband of nearly 25 years, had died in a head-on car crash
nearly 18 months ago. Dominic, who had been a friend and colleague of
Andrew’s, had been at the funeral. She vaguely remembered him as a pleasant
and very attractive man who she had met briefly at some of the business and golf
functions she had attended with Andrew. It appeared Dominic had shared
Andrew’s passion for both work and golf. They’d barely exchanged pleasantries
at the funeral and Alison had not given him another thought.
It had taken her longer than she had imagined to come to terms with her
widowed status; she missed him terribly for the first year. Alison missed the
familiarity of her life with Andrew; missed being part of a couple. She had been
with him nearly all her life; they had been school friends from 11 years old, later
on boyfriend and girlfriend, engaged then married. Neither of them had ever had
any other sexual partners – well, she hadn’t anyway and just assumed Andrew
had been as faithful as she had.
Although Andrew was a good husband and father and Alison thought they’d had
a good marriage, she had conveniently forgotten that, in the last decade, it had
become rather uninteresting.
For a few years before he died it had been rather like living with a brother. Oh,
they’d still had sex, regular as clockwork. Once every two weeks on Saturday
after he had been playing golf and even sometimes on birthdays and holidays.
Yes, they were best friends but their sex life had been boring and predictable.
She supposed it always had been but hadn’t really known any different because
she’d had nothing to compare it with.
She had listened to the stories her girlfriends had told but disregarded a lot of
these as exaggeration. But who knew what happened behind the closed doors of
other people’s lives? Maybe Caroline and Mike actually did do those very
imaginative things over the kitchen table that Caroline had bragged about over
coffee.
With her two daughters away at college Alison spent a lot of time alone and she
was bored. Her sex life had been non-existent since Andrew died; even the once
a fortnight fumble would have been something. Her job at the garden centre was
mundane, her social life was uninspiring and she was feeling old at just 44. She
really needed a bit of excitement in her life.
But just when she had almost resigned herself to dying the same way she had
been born; naked (possibly), knowing nothing and screaming with frustration,
Dominic had turned up again.
One Friday, after taking a half day off from the garden centre where she had
worked for the past sixteen years, Alison was in the supermarket deciding what
exciting delicacy to buy for her solitary dinner when she heard a voice from
behind her.
“Hi Alison, how are you doing,” the voice said warmly. “It’s good to see you
again.”
Alison looked round to see Dominic who she immediately recognised as
Andrew’s friend.
“Oh, hello Dominic, how are you, I haven’t seen you since the funeral” Alison
said smiling up at his ruggedly handsome face. He was taller and much more
attractive than she remembered but, at Andrew’s funeral, appreciation of the
male species had not been the first thing on her mind.
“I’m fine thanks,” he said, “I’ve been working at the London office for the past
year. I’m back in Manchester for a few days to tie up some loose ends on a deal
I’ve just closed. I would have called but didn’t know what to say.”
Alison understood because a lot of their friends had stopped calling and most of
those who did managed not to mention Andrew at all; it was as if he had never
existed.
They chatted for a while about nothing in particular; his job, the weather, her
daughters and the dogs, but Alison was enjoying just talking to someone
different and interesting. She felt very comfortable in his company, which
surprised her because usually she was very shy and tried her best to go through
life un-noticed and anonymous. She had always hated to be the centre of
attention.
“Do you have time for a quick coffee?” asked Dominic.
“I’d love to, I have the rest of the day off” said Alison without hesitation,
thinking it would be a pleasant way to while away an hour.
Dominic was easy to talk to, interesting and, as an added bonus, he was very
easy on the eye.
Another thing in his favour was that he seemed genuinely interested in what she
had to say too; he actually listened to her. In her experience that was a talent not
many men possessed, most were only interested in telling you, in lots of
different ways, how great and successful they were.
Yes, she thought, it would be nice to delay going home to an empty house to
cook yet another dinner for one.
Alison knew Dominic was single, he had said as much when they were chatting.
She remembered he had gone through a messy divorce a few years ago. At the
time and according to Andrew, his ex-wife had engaged the best lawyers in order
to extract as much money as possible in the settlement. She had even sued for
(and won) custody of the dog. Andrew had said with a laugh that Dominic was
more upset about losing his dog than the money or the wife.
So Alison quickly finished her shopping, put the groceries in her car and walked
across the road to the small Bistro where she had arranged to meet Dominic.
He was sitting by the window at a table covered with a red chequered cloth, with
two lattés and two pastries already waiting. He waved to get her attention as she
opened the door. As if she wouldn’t notice him – he was the best looking man
she had seen in ages!
“Sit down,” said Dominic standing up and pulling out her chair, “I didn’t know
how long you could stay and they’re so busy here that I thought it best to order
so we wouldn’t have to wait too long; I hope you like pastries.”
She loved pastries but didn’t often indulge herself; she had her waistline to
consider. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep in shape as she got
older; the pounds crept on without her even noticing and took so much longer to
shift these days. But she had always managed to stay reasonably trim with
regular visits to the gym.
“Thanks,” she said as she sat down, “I love these.” Alison shook out the linen
napkin, put it on her lap, picked up her fork and began to eat her pastry with
enthusiasm.
Dominic chuckled, “I love to see a woman enjoying her food and doing more
than pushing a lettuce leaf and a tiny tomato round a plate”
“A rare treat,” she said happily, “But I’ll have to do extra miles on the treadmill
to work it off.” Alison had never been one to push food round the plate without
eating much, she enjoyed her food. But she only ate sweet stuff occasionally so
she was going to enjoy this pastry.
As she drove home over three hours later, Alison wondered where the time had
gone. She had felt so relaxed and comfortable as they talked and was already
excited at the prospect of lunch with Dominic the following Tuesday.
Yes, he had asked her out on a date; only lunch, but it was still a date!
She felt just a tiny bit guilty wondering what the girls would say if they knew.
Their father had only been gone for a short time. But hey, she was still alive; in
fact as she drove home she felt more alive than she had in years.
Chapter 3

Alison arrived early for their lunch date in the five star restaurant of the hotel
where Dominic was staying. She sat primly with her handbag on her lap on a
comfortable sofa in the bar area and, when the waiter came over, ordered a glass
of wine. She was nervous; what if he’d changed his mind and regretted asking
her.
But right on time Dominic strolled into the hotel bar where they had arranged to
meet, looking extraordinarily handsome in a pair of well-cut stonewashed jeans,
highly polished black brogues and a deep blue sweater with the sleeves casually
pushed up his forearms. His dark hair was still slightly damp.
Wow, she thought, he looks so hot! Alison wondered what he saw in her; he
could have taken his pick from any of the beautiful young things eyeing him
appreciatively as he walked over to her; but she wasn’t complaining…
“Hi,” he said smiling broadly, “You look lovely, I’m so glad you could come.
Can I get you another drink?”
“A glass of red wine would be good thanks.”
Dominic called the waiter over and asked for the wine list. After a brief look he
ordered a bottle of Côtes-du-Rhône. He seemed to know about wine so Alison
was happy to let him choose.
Alison didn’t remember an awful lot about the lunch they ate but she did
remember drinking rather a lot of that very good wine. She also remembered
laughing a lot and having a wonderful afternoon; the time had passed so quickly.
It was the first time she had been out with a man since Andrew died and, as she
had enjoyed herself so much, she really hoped it wasn’t going to be the last.
But, she thought ruefully as she sat in the taxi on the way home, next time she
would go easy on the wine.
The next morning she was dragged reluctantly from a vivid dream of wild sex
with Dominic by the insistent ringing of the phone by her bed.
“Hello,” she croaked into the receiver as the dogs leapt onto the bed and
showered her with enthusiastic wet kisses.