part of me was starting to worry about getting splinters in my backside.
Then he pulled out and turned me, pushing me back onto the table with one hand and dragging up my skirt again with the other until it was around my waist, before pushing into me again from behind with a sound that came from between clenched teeth. Hitting the table knocked the wind out of me a little, and I felt the rough lichen on the wood under my fingers, bracing myself for each thrust. He was holding my hips, pushing me forward against the table, and his grip was strong and bruising.
In between thrusts I could hear other noises—was that him? It sounded too far away. And then—unmistakable—a woman’s giggle. Someone else was clearly enjoying a turn in the night air, and the playground was apparently the place to be. I didn’t know whether to say something, and I tensed a little; clearly this had the desired effect because at that moment he came, thrusting into me with such force that I felt a sharp stab of pain on the front of my stomach as it grazed against the rough edge of the table.
Immediately, he pulled out of me and did up his jeans, leaving me to stand awkwardly and pull my dress down. I heard him clear his throat just as two figures emerged from behind the slide—the bright pink skirt visible even in this light. And behind Sylvia—holding on to her hand like a lifeline—was Carl Stevenson, looking sheepish and wiping his mouth across the back of his hand.
“Evening,” said Sylvia with a giggle, giving me a wink and heading past us back to the pub.
Hand in hand, we went through the side gate to the parking lot, and back around to the front to look for a taxi. I was shivering again.
“Why don’t you women ever wear a coat, for fuck’s sake?” he said, wrapping his arms around me.
“I’ve got you to keep me warm,” I said, kissing his neck.
That part of the evening was fine. The taxi ride home was fine, particularly as he had his hand up my skirt and was fingering me all the way back to my house.
When we got in, however, something changed.
“I think I’ll go and have a shower,” I said, kicking my shoes off. He was standing in the living room, his face clouded, hands in his pockets.
“I’m going home,” he said.
I came back into the room, not sure I’d heard him properly above the ringing in my ears. “Did you say you’re going home? Why? Aren’t you staying?” I went up to him and slipped my hands around his waist. He kept his hands in his pockets for a moment, and then took hold of my upper arms and pushed me gently but firmly away from him.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, a sinking feeling starting to take over from the feeling of being happily drunk.
He met my eyes at last, and his were dark with a level of fury I hadn’t seen before. “What’s wrong? You really have no fucking clue? Jesus.”
“Lee, tell me, for fuck’s sake. What have I done?”
He shook his head to clear it. “What was all that about, then? Coming out of the men’s room? Accidentally left your pants behind?”
“I only went in there because the ladies’ had a line. Sylvia and I always do that when it’s busy,” I said in a small voice.
“Sylvia!” he exploded. “That’s a whole other issue! What did you think you were doing, kissing her face off on the dance floor? Feeling her up?”
“I thought you’d think it was erotic,” I said, feeling tears starting. This was going all horribly wrong. “It’s not like I’d do anything with her.”
“Oh, don’t start fucking crying,” he roared. “Just don’t dare start fucking crying.”
I bit back the tears. “Lee! I took my underpants off in the bathroom because I knew I was going to come straight out and find you.”
“Yeah, how am I supposed to know that? You could have been fucking anyone in there. You dirty fucking bitch.”
That hit a nerve. “Don’t you call me names, just because you’ve suddenly gotten all uptight! I didn’t hear you complaining when you were fucking me in the beer garden.”
“And then you got your little friend out there, to give us a fucking audience!”
“I had no idea she was there!”
“Do that often, do you, go out there to watch each other? Fuck!”
“No!” This was a bit of a lie. We had done