Some Girls Do

Chapter Twenty-one




Hanging Out on the Telephone

The call comes in at three a.m. I’ve been expecting it. Mr Bossy has gone to Chicago on business, and we have a ‘date’ tonight – in other words, we’re doing phone sex.

I’ve been looking forward to his call, and just hearing his voice excites me. He opens with the classic ‘What are you wearing?’ Now, the thing about phone sex is you don’t have to make any effort. You can lie. You can sit there in a face mask and flannel pyjamas, and say you’re wearing a bustier and crotchless knickers, and your lover won’t know the difference. But I think that’s cheating – and, besides, this is for me too, so I want to feel sexy. I’ve set a mood. I’ve taken a long, luxurious bath. The bedroom is lit by candles, music is playing softly and I’ve been sipping a glass of champagne while I wait for his call. I had a Hollywood wax today, and got my hair done, just as if I was going on a real date. And when he asks what I’m wearing I’m telling the truth when I describe the black chiffon baby-doll he likes so much with the matching G-string. I chose it deliberately so he can picture me clearly. He’s seen me in it many times and knows just how much cleavage it shows, and that he can see my body through the sheer material.

When I ask, he tells me he’s wearing silk pyjama bottoms. I smile, knowing he’s worn them to please me because I like to watch him undress. I tell him I wish he was here to touch me, and he says I’ll have to stand in for him, please myself the way he would if he were here.

‘Lie back on the bed,’ he says, ‘and take off your knickers.’

I do as he tells me, wriggling out of the G-string while holding the phone to my ear with my shoulder.

‘Spread your legs,’ he says, and I do. Since I can’t give him an actual visual, I do the next best thing. I tell him that I got waxed today and I am completely bare. I describe how soft and smooth my skin feels, and he groans into the phone.

‘Oh, baby, I wish I could see you right now. Touch yourself for me.’

I start to stroke myself. ‘Are you wet?’ he asks, and his voice is thick and hoarse.

‘Yes,’ I whisper. ‘I’m so wet.’

‘I’m so hard for you, baby.’

‘Show me,’ I say. I hear rustling and I know he’s pulling off his pyjama bottoms. I can imagine his cock – I know how hard and thick his erection is. I can see him in his Chicago hotel room, naked and beautiful, and the longing is almost unbearable. ‘I want you so much,’ I whimper.

‘Ssh, baby, I know. I want you too.’ I take off the baby-doll on his instructions, and we’re naked together, separated by an ocean. He tells me what he would do if he were here, how he would touch me, and I touch myself the same way. I hold the vibrator close to the phone when I switch it on, knowing it’s a turn-on for him.

‘Let me hear you,’ he says, when I come, and I’m loud, gasping and screaming into the phone. A moment later he comes and I hear his groan across the miles, feel it deep inside me. I lie back on the bed, panting as the little aftershocks course through me. For a moment we lie there in silence, listening to each other breathe.

‘So, how was your day?’ he asks eventually, and we start a low, murmured conversation that soothes me.

‘Sleep now,’ he says at last, in that masterful way of his. ‘I’ll call you tomorrow – same time, same place.’

‘I’ll be here,’ I say.

I can’t wait …


‘So, Luca’s your f*ck buddy!’ Yvonne didn’t waste much time before cutting to the chase the following day. ‘When did this happen?’

‘Just in the past few weeks.’

‘And you’ve been seeing him? Like, more than once or twice? Unbelievable!’

‘Thanks a lot,’ Claire said drily.

‘Sorry – no offence. It’s just Luca doesn’t usually like to repeat himself, if you know what I mean.’

‘Well, it’s not serious or anything.’

‘I know that,’ Yvonne said. ‘I mean, it’s Luca.’

Her dismissive tone was getting on Claire’s nerves, but she stopped herself jumping in and defending Luca because she knew Yvonne would take it the wrong way. Still, at least now that it was out in the open, she didn’t have to think of an excuse to talk about him with Yvonne.

‘What’s his surname, by the way?’ she asked.

‘Why?’ Yvonne narrowed her eyes suspiciously. ‘What do you want it for?’

‘What do you think I want it for?’ Claire laughed. ‘Identity theft? It’s not top secret, is it?’

‘Why don’t you ask him?’

‘I will. I just keep forgetting.’ And it wasn’t really the sort of thing you could ask someone mid-shag. It seemed a bit late at that stage to be worrying that you hadn’t been properly introduced. She’d have to pay more attention to the signatures on his paintings the next time she was in his flat.


‘Okay, I’ll tell you,’ Yvonne said. ‘But I’d better not find you doodling it in your copybook and trying it out with your own name.’

‘Promise,’ Claire said, rolling her eyes.

‘It’s Ffrench-Carroll.’

‘Hmm,’ Claire smiled, cocking her head thoughtfully. ‘Claire Ffrench-Carroll. That has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?’

‘Don’t make me regret telling you.’

‘Mrs Ffrench-Carroll. Luca and Claire Ffrench-Carroll. Where’s my copybook? I feel a doodle coming on.’

‘Seriously, Claire—’

‘You’re too easy.’ Claire grinned. ‘He mentioned that his mother had written a book, and I thought I might check it out. That’s all, okay? Nothing sinister.’

‘Oh! Yeah, she wrote a book about Luca,’ Yvonne said, grimacing as if she’d detected a bad smell.

‘It’s about adopting Luca and his sister, isn’t it?’

‘Well, that comes into it. But it’s mainly about how she wasn’t able to bond with Luca and never felt any connection with him.’

‘Oh, God.’

‘It was a big bestseller at the time, apparently. I vaguely remember my mum talking about it. It was quite controversial. She got a lot of praise for being so open and honest about her feelings. But some people thought she shouldn’t have written it – including Luca. It’s a very touchy subject with him.’

‘I’m not surprised. That’s horrible.’

‘I know. It must be awful to have your mother telling the whole world that she doesn’t love you.’

‘What’s it called?’

‘The Stolen Child. And her name is Jacqueline Ffrench, if you want to look it up. The Carroll bit is his dad.’

‘This came for you,’ Tom said, emerging from the back room and handing Claire a large parcel.

‘Oh, thanks,’ she said, taking it from him. It felt like books, but she couldn’t imagine who would be sending her books when she worked in a bookshop. Curious, she opened it carefully. She gasped as she lifted out a beautiful, cloth-bound limited edition set of Dorothy L. Sayers’ mysteries in an illustrated slip cover. She didn’t have to open the card inside to know who they were from. It simply read: ‘Thought of you and found these. Mark x’


At ten minutes to eight that evening, Claire sat on the end of her bed trying to relax. But it had been rather stressful getting ready for tonight, and instead of feeling sexy, she just felt frazzled. She had gone for a bikini wax at lunchtime, deciding she should make an effort. Reading over one of her blog posts about phone sex, it seemed unfair, disrespectful even, not to go to the same trouble for Luca as she had for the fictional Mr Bossy. But it was a lot easier to write about this stuff than it was to achieve it in real life. She had barely had time to squeeze in the salon visit at lunchtime and hadn’t been able to grab a sandwich.

Then she’d had the ordeal of vibrator shopping after work. It had taken her ages to get up the nerve to go into the shop, and all her dithering meant that she had got home late. The weather had turned bitterly cold, and fighting her way home against a vicious wind had only added to her weariness. She cooked and ate dinner with her mother, and had only just finished clearing up in time for Holby City. It was a solitary pleasure for Espie, so Claire didn’t have to make any excuses for holing up in her room. But she had no time for a long, leisurely bath or even a quick shower before it was time to sit on the bed and wait for Luca’s call. She poured herself a glass of wine and brought it up to her room, hoping it would help her relax and get in the mood.

She was sure her mother wouldn’t budge for the next hour, but she took the precaution of locking her bedroom door anyway. Then she took a big gulp of wine, set the glass on top of the dresser, and set about finding something to wear. As she frantically opened drawers, rooting through piles of M&S cotton knickers and black woolly tights, she felt hot and bothered, but not in a remotely sexy way. Unfortunately, her underwear collection bore absolutely no resemblance to that of her alter ego. There were no see-through baby-dolls or lacy G-strings. There was nothing here that would give any self-respecting bloke so much as a semi. She wished she could just get into her pyjamas. But she wanted to do this properly.

Deciding that bra and pants was the best she could do, she quickly stripped and put on her nicest set. It was more pretty than sexy, but it would have to do. Besides, it’s what underneath that counts, she told herself, and at least she’d had the bikini wax. She had even let the beautician go higher than usual though she hadn’t had the nerve for a full Brazilian. She sprayed some perfume between her breasts and sat on the edge of the bed with her mobile beside her. She was just pulling her new vibrator out of its bag when the phone rang, but instead of Luca, the caller display showed that it was Mark. She had planned to call him later to thank him for his present when she wasn’t feeling so flustered.

‘Hi, Mark!’ She tried to inject some calm into her voice. ‘Thank you so much for the books. I love them!’

‘Ah, they arrived. Good.’

‘Yeah, I was going to call you later. I—’ She was interrupted by the beep of call waiting. ‘Sorry, there’s another call. Do you mind?’

‘I won’t keep you. I just wanted to tell you that I’m planning a trip to Dublin next Saturday – if that’s okay with you. I mean, will you be free?’

‘Yes, great!’

‘Good. I’ll book the flight, then. I can only get over for the one night, but it’s better than nothing. Anyway, I’ll let you go and call you back tomorrow when I’ve arranged it.’

‘Okay, bye! And thank you so much again.’

She hung up and pressed the button to answer the other call.

‘Hi,’ Luca said.

‘Hi,’ she said breathlessly, holding the mobile to her ear as she slid the vibrator out of the box. Now that she was on the phone to Luca, she realised she wasn’t sure about the etiquette of phone sex. Was it okay to have some general chit-chat first, or would that kill the mood? Were they supposed to get straight on with it? If only Mr Bossy were at the other end of the line – he would know what to do. ‘How are you?’

‘Fine. Are you okay? You sound a bit …’

‘I just had kind of a stressful day.’

‘Do you want to do this? We could leave it till another time …’

‘No, it’s fine.’ She took a deep breath and let it out. ‘I’m ready now.’

‘So … what are you wearing?’

‘Bra and pants. It’s just an M&S set. I couldn’t find anything sexy. But it’s matching and it’s very nice – pink and lacy, and the pants are boy shorts.’

‘Right.’ She heard him chuckle deeply. ‘How much was it?’

‘Oh, I can’t remember. I bought it a while ago, but I haven’t worn it often, so—’ She broke off, realising too late that he was making fun of her. ‘Sorry – too much information.’

‘It’s fine. But we definitely need to do some more work on your chat.’

‘Not to mention my wardrobe. So, um … what are you wearing?’

‘Black silky jocks and nothing else.’

‘Really?’ That didn’t sound like Luca.


‘No.’ She heard the smile in his voice. ‘Really, you don’t want to know.’

‘No, tell me.’

‘A fleece.’

She giggled. ‘Really? Anything else, or just the fleece?’

‘Combats, boots. It’s bloody freezing in here.’

‘Sorry. It was really cold today.’

‘Anyway, I’ve brought the blow-heater into the bedroom, so it should heat up soon. I’ll strip off then.’

‘You don’t have to. We can just pretend.’

‘No, I will. We should do this properly.’

‘Okay. But those blow-heaters are very expensive to run – they use an awful lot of electricity.’

‘Oh, baby, you’re driving me crazy,’ he said flatly. ‘It makes me so hard when you talk about my electricity bill.’

‘Sorry. Okay, let’s start again.’ She took a deep breath and lay back on the bed. ‘I’m wearing a lacy bra and a thong,’ she said, trying to make her voice low and sultry.

There was a moment’s silence, then ‘Claire?’

‘Mm?’

‘Are you doing a funny voice?’

‘Oh! No!’ She blushed. So much for sounding sexy!

‘So you’re lying down on the bed? I wish I was there with you.’

‘Me too.’ She sighed.

‘Take off your bra and touch yourself the way I would.’

She set the phone down on the bed and removed her bra. Then she picked it up again and distractedly pawed her breasts, pinching her nipples while simultaneously smoothing out the instruction sheet from the vibrator on the bed beside her.

‘Talk to me,’ Luca said. ‘Tell me what you’re doing.’

‘I’m touching my, um … myself. I’m pinching my nipples.’

‘Are they hard?’

‘Hm? Oh, yes – very hard.’

‘I’m getting hard thinking about it,’ he said. ‘I wish I was there to suck them into my mouth.’

‘Are you, em … doing stuff?’

‘Yeah, I’m stroking my dick, and—’ He burst out laughing. ‘It’s going a bit longer.’ He giggled.

Claire laughed. ‘Oh, I wish I was there. I love it when it goes longer and fatter.’

‘Hey, are you calling my thing fat?’

‘In a good way.’

‘What are you – what—’ Luca was struggling to speak, but kept collapsing into laughter.

‘Have you taken the fleece off, then?’ Claire asked, which just made him laugh harder.

‘I’m pretty sure that’s a line that should never come up in phone sex. I’m unzipping my fleece,’ he said in a husky voice. ‘And now I’m taking off my – my scarf,’ he wheezed.

Claire was laughing so much that tears were rolling down her face. ‘I can imagine you unwinding it sexily from around your neck.’

‘Okay, maybe we should start again,’ Luca said finally, sobering up. ‘Let’s both get naked.’

‘Okay.’ Claire wiped her eyes and wriggled out of her knickers. ‘Oh, by the way, I got waxed today.’

‘Completely?’ Luca asked hoarsely.

‘No, but a bit more extreme than usual. The girl I go to is always trying to get me to have a Brazilian or even a Hollywood. But I think she was happy that I let her—’

‘Claire,’ Luca said, in a chiding tone.

‘Oh, sorry. It’s sort of a landing strip, and my legs are all smooth and silky.’

‘Mm, I wish I was there to taste you,’ he said, his voice thickening. ‘I’d lick you until you came in my mouth.’

She felt the rush of moisture between her legs at his words. ‘You’re making me so wet,’ she said. At least it was true and she didn’t feel so stupid saying it.

‘It’s making me hard imagining you lying there, naked and spread out. Open your legs and touch yourself.’

Claire did as he asked, her breathing deepening with her mounting excitement.

‘Taste yourself, like I would if I was there.’

‘Um … what? I’m not that flexible.’

‘Lick your fingers.’

‘Oh … yeah, okay.’ She stuck the thumb of her other hand in her mouth, making loud sucking noises into the phone.

‘I know how good you taste,’ Luca said. ‘Tell me.’

‘Oh, er … yum!’

Luca chuckled softly. ‘Claire …’

‘It’s delicious. Mm. Finger-licking good.’

‘You’re not doing it, are you?’

‘No,’ she admitted. ‘Sorry, but that’s just gross.’

‘It is not gross.’ He sighed. ‘Okay, why don’t we play with your vibrator? Did you get one?’

‘Oh, yes.’ She sat up and grabbed the vibrator with its instructions. Step one was putting in the batteries. Batteries! She shunted to the end of the bed, picked them up and tore at the packaging. Of course, it was practically impenetrable. ‘Just hang on a minute,’ she said to Luca, placing the phone on the bed so she could use both hands. ‘Okay, I’m back.’ She balanced the phone against her shoulder while she studied the instructions.

‘What are you doing?’ Luca asked.

‘Trying to figure out how to put the batteries in this thing.’

‘You don’t have any batteries in it?’

‘I didn’t have time. I only got it this evening on the way home from work, and then I had to cook dinner and …’ Once again, she’d strayed into the mundane and was killing the mood. ‘Sorry.’

‘It’s okay. What’s it like – the vibrator?’

‘Oh, it’s … very lifelike, I suppose – except it’s purple.’

‘Purple?’

‘Yeah. There was a choice of purple or pink. Maybe the pink would have been more realistic, though it was hot pink, so not really. Anyway, I didn’t have much time to decide – I had to get home and, besides, there was this creepy guy in the shop and I just wanted to get out of there.’

‘Was that your first time in a sex shop?’

‘Yeah. I’ve looked at stuff online, doing research for the blog, but I’ve never actually gone into a shop before. The assistant was very nice, though. If it hadn’t been for the creepy guy I might have hung around longer.’

‘I hope he wasn’t hassling you.’

‘He was just listening in when she was telling me about the vibrators. Then she turned one of them on to show me!’ Claire had been mortified when she had switched it on to demonstrate and the head had started wiggling around.

‘Maybe we should go to one together some day,’ he said. ‘You could have a proper look around.’

‘Oh, that would be good. Thank you.’

‘No problem. So – where were we?’

‘I was just reading the instructions for putting in the batteries.’

‘Why don’t we leave the vibrator for now? You can play with it later when you’ve got more time. It’s probably best if you get to know it on your own first anyway.’

‘Okay, you’re right. I’ll just use my hand.’ Claire lay down and they began again.

She started to forget herself and get into it, losing some of her self-consciousness as she got more turned on. She began to relax as Luca murmured in her ear, telling her how hard he was and what he wanted to do to her, getting her to touch herself and describing how it felt when he was doing those things to her.


‘Are you close?’ he asked, as her breathing became jagged.

‘Yes,’ she gasped into the phone. ‘So close. I’m—’

There was a tap on the door, and she froze.

‘Claire?’ Her mother called. ‘I’m just making a cup of tea. Would you like one?’

‘Shit! Hang on,’ she hissed into the phone, before tossing it away from her as if it was scorching hot. She struggled off the bed, grabbed her dressing-gown and pulled it on. Then she opened the door, hoping she didn’t look too flushed. ‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I was just … waxing my legs.’

‘Sorry to interrupt.’

‘It’s okay. I was just finished.’ Ha! If only …

‘So, cup of tea?’

‘I don’t think—’

‘Only I didn’t tell you earlier, but I made paradise slices this afternoon – your favourite.’

‘Lovely!’ She smiled, wanting to cry. But she couldn’t say no when her mother had made such an effort to do something nice for her. ‘I just have to put my stuff away, and then I’ll be down.’

‘Right, so. We can have them while we’re watching Come Dine With Me – I recorded it earlier.’

‘Great.’ Claire glanced at the clock as she closed the door. It was just after nine. She hadn’t realised it had got so late. They shouldn’t have wasted so much time chatting about rubbish – well, she shouldn’t have. She knew she had only herself to blame – Luca had tried to keep them focused.

‘Sorry,’ she said, picking up the phone. ‘Time’s up. That was my mum.’

‘Don’t you have time just to finish off? It’ll probably only take another couple of minutes.’

‘I can’t. I have to go downstairs and eat paradise slices and watch Come Dine With Me with her.’

‘Oh, okay.’

‘Are you going to, um … finish off on your own?’

‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘But I’ll be thinking of you.’

‘Good. Thanks,’ she said, then laughed – fancy thanking someone for using you as inspiration for a wank.

‘Um, Claire? About that. Before you go …’

‘Yes?’

‘Would you send me a photo?’

‘A photo of me? Naked?’

‘Yeah. With your new hairdo.’

‘Oh … I—’

‘It’s okay,’ he interrupted. ‘If you don’t want to, that’s fine. I’ll be thinking of you anyway.’

‘No, it’s okay,’ she said, wanting to be brave. She needed to get over her inhibitions, and this would be a good start. ‘I’ll do it. Just give me a minute.’

She shrugged off her robe and stood in front of the mirror, since that was the only way she could get herself in the frame. She wasn’t very good at self-shots and it took a couple of goes before she got a photo she was happy with.

‘Okay,’ she said, picking up the phone again. ‘It’s not great, but I’ll send it to you now.’

‘Thanks, sweetheart.’

When they had said their goodbyes and hung up, Claire texted the picture to Luca. Then she got into her pyjamas to go down and watch TV with her mother. She was just about to go when her mobile chimed with a message alert. It was a text from Luca: Beautiful picture, thank you. Can’t wait to see you in the flesh. X

Claire smiled and tossed the phone back on the bed. She spied the vibrator again. She’d have a play with it tonight in bed, try to get to grips with it. She hoped it was as quiet as the sales assistant had promised.