I had been on a dating site for about 6 months but without any success. I wasn’t really looking for anything long term but you know how it is, occasionally after a few drinks and a while on the internet, you tend to gravitate to meet (or meat) sites. I paid my cash for a reduced rate membership and surfed a few times. Just as my membership was about to expire, I received a message in my inbox. My first reaction was to ignore it as a site bot, trying to encourage me to sign up for another 6 months. The message said that before her membership expired, “Helen”, 45, from locally in Kent would like to meet with a man for some wild times. She made her picture available and was an attractive, averagely built girl wearing a vest and denim.
Well, believing that this was an automated bot, I wrote the following. “If you want some wild times, try finding a wild man and let yourself go with an ad venture in the real world”.
The message was not supposed to be anything other than a childish remark to a nonexistent entity. I wasn’t surprised to see an almost immediate response into my inbox from “Helen” which said that if I was wild enough, she could tame me along with a mobile number. Always a bit wary of phone numbers which can drain my PAYG credit, I responded with my number only. I had little credit left on that phone, which I rarely switched on and would soon discard the sim card in any case. I then went to bed, slightly the worse for wear and without a second thought.
The following morning was my first day back on shift. I worked until it was time to go home and that was the first time that I had a chance to check my personal emails. My inbox had its usual selection of junk and one from the site. I pressed the link and went straight into the messages. “Helen” had left a message saying “Playing hard to get? Don’t be too hard to get or you will miss out. Check your voicemail”. It was at that point that I started to think that I had not been speaking with a bot. I went home and eagerly switched my ‘other’ phone on. It soon showed that I had a voicemail message so I listened.
“Hello Mark, this is Helen from the site. If you get this message, please call me back, but not before 10 in the evening.” She then left her number again. Her voice was a little nervy with a south eastern vibe. I sat around for a few hours and by 10, I had decided to call. The worst thing that could happen would be that I wasted 10 minutes of my time. I tapped out the number and after 4 rings, the phone was answered. It was the same voice as I had heard on the message. I introduced myself and said that my name was really Mark.
She said that her name was really Helen and that she was not overly serious about meeting anyone for long term fun as she was now attached but “it was complicated”. We spoke for a while about our relative lack of success on the site and as we began to hit the limit of our conversation, I had to ask what her “complication” was. She said that while she was happy with her partner, the partner couldn’t always give her what she wanted physically. I then enquired what that was but she said that it was something she would rather leave alone until she knew someone. She then asked if I liked talking with her and I replied that within our 10 minute conversation, I was happy but a chat with a stranger on the phone would not be a benchmark for judging compatibility even if I was happy to meet with someone who was partnered up. As the conversation was reaching its logical end, I said that she could call me again if she wanted but I would prefer an earlier chat as I needed to be up early. We said out goodbyes and I thought that this was the end of it.
I decided to let my phone run down and went to bed. Within 5 minutes, I received a picture message with the following script “Well if you do want to chat with me, then perhaps we can meet up”. The picture was another one with Helen in a vest and denim. I thought for a second and realised that she did not have a picture of me so I responded with a picture of me taken by my niece at a family do in a vest and shorts.
“Very nice” in a text appeared 30 seconds later followed by another picture, which looked like a selfie, showing Helen on a beach, lying on her front with no top and a green pair of bikini bottoms. I responded with “Looking hot” and “got to go now….”
The next text appeared immediately. “We need to meet up…are you free tomorrow evening?”
Well, I decided that while she seemed pushy, I would meet just to see how far this would go. I had no thought for her partner, simply that maybe something may come of this for me. I responded with an invitation to meet at the Costa in the local services at 7 and went to bed.
The following day I went to work, left at 6, went home, showered and switched on the phone. A message said “see you at 7” and I dressed, got in the car, drove over and pulled up at the services. I went to the coffee bar, ordered a hot chocolate and sat down. I was 15 minutes early.
Just before 7, a woman approached me. She was about 5’7” tall, stocky but not fat with short blonde hair shaven into a flat top. She was wearing a vest and loose cargo trousers with DM’s. As she reached my table, I saw Helen walking in behind her, wearing jeans and a vest. As she reached the table, she said “Hello Mark, this is my partner, Kaz….”
I was a little nonplussed but motioned for them to sit down. After a couple of seconds I asked if they wanted a drink but they declined. We began to chat and I told them that it was a bit of a shocker as I was not expecting what I had seen. Kaz apologised and then told me that Helen was looking for a man for occasional company as long as there was nothing more than that. I wasn’t confused but a little taken aback. I then asked what Kaz wanted and she said that she just wanted Helen to be happy with her. I then sat sipping my drink while they chatted about what they both wanted. I then asked Kaz how she could judge whether someone could be trusted and she just said that she knew. The women then chatted some more while I polished off the drink and Kaz then said quite bluntly that I could come back to theirs if I wanted to.
I didn’t think twice about it. Kaz said that if Helen drove back in her car, she would jump in and guide me, although it was just around the corner. Within a few minutes, I pulled up outside a small terraced house and parked across the drive as directed, just as Helen was getting out of her Ford. Kaz got out and I locked the car and followed them into the house.
I entered the house straight into a small living room with a staircase up one side and a kitchen visible through a door to the rear. Helen beckoned me to sit down on the sofa, underneath the wooden open stairs and I complied. She sat down at the other end of the three seater and Kaz stood in the doorway to the kitchen, offering me a drink. I accepted some orange juice and she sat down on the single chair in the corner. I decided at cut to the chase and asked “How is this going to work then?”
Kaz said simply that if I was happy, then Helen and I could have some time together. I looked at Helen and asked if she wanted this to happen and she simply said “Yes please”. I took one last sip of my drink and put the glass down on the floor to the side…………………
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