Human Remains

been used.
    So, the delectable Audrey had yet to move in. She didn’t stay, often, either, or she would have started moving in some items of her own. There was nothing here of hers. I wondered if there were panties in Vaughn’s drawer, maybe a spare pair, maybe a special pair… something she would only wear for him, would only wear if she were planning to fuck him.
    ‘Everything alright?’
    Audrey was behind me. I hadn’t heard her coming up the stairs. I turned and gave her a smile. ‘Fine,’ I said.
    ‘What are you doing?’ Her question was direct.
    ‘I was looking to see if you’ve moved in,’ I said, preferring the truth. If it had been Vaughn who had come upstairs I would have made some comment on the feature wallpaper. But it was Audrey, and there was no point in pissing about. She had come up here because I had summoned her, I had told her what it was I wanted her to do. And here she was, standing next to me, standing close to me in fact, closer than she needed to.
    ‘You could have just asked. Anyway, I haven’t,’ she said, her voice low. Her chest was heaving with her breathlessness.
    ‘Why’s that?’ I asked, taking a small step towards her.
    She stepped back. Ah, too soon, then? Too much, too soon? I would have to be careful. I would need to take it gently, so as not to startle her. She was worth the effort. She was worth the chase.
    Her expression was odd. ‘I have my own place,’ she said.
    That was no answer. What did she join a dating site for, if she didn’t want a serious relationship? Surely that’s what all women want, really: a partner with a house they can move into, marriage, children? Unless she wanted something else. Unless she just wanted sex.
    I had her eyes again. I maintained contact, direct eye contact.
    She didn’t move.
    Ah, resistance! I liked that. I liked that she was a challenge. I smiled at her, a little smile of encouragement.
    ‘Audrey? Where do you want this coffee?’
    ‘Coming!’ she shouted, without taking her eyes away from mine. Her voice was automatic, toneless. Her expression was difficult to read. Was she attracted to me? Did she want me to kiss her? What would she do if I did?
    ‘You’re…’
    ‘What?’ I whispered, moistening my lips with the tip of my tongue. ‘What am I?’
    ‘You’re fucking strange, Colin,’ she said. And turned around and went back downstairs, without looking back at me.
    Ah, Vaughn. At that moment I could cheerfully have killed him. I could have put my hands about his neck and squeezed the air out of his lungs. If it hadn’t been for that interruption, she would have done it, I knew. She wanted me.
    I followed her down the stairs, tasting her scent on the air. She’d been so close. I wish she could have relented. But next time, maybe, she will give in. I wonder if I can get her on her own, find some excuse to visit her.
    She was back in the kitchen with Vaughn. I could hear them talking in hushed whispers. I strained to listen, thinking she might say something useful, something about how compelled she felt to act out of character, how something came over her – but nothing. Just the sort of urgent, hushed tones of two people trying not to have an argument within earshot of other people.
    I eased myself back on to the leather sofa and drank some more of the wine. Another ten minutes and I found an excuse to call a taxi and leave. The evening turned out to be less entertaining than I’d hoped, and now I have another dilemma: I’ve gone from wanting a woman, to realising I don’t need a woman at all, to wanting one again. But not just any woman, this time. Only her. Only Audrey.
    An hour later, alone at home now, relieving myself at last of that delicious tension that had grown unbearable, I have started to think about how I can win her over. Whether I can do it: whether I can turn her gaze from Vaughn’s face to mine. And what it would take to make her want me.
     
     
    In the night I wake up. I’ve been dreaming of Audrey, of course. She was here, in my room, and Vaughn was present, apparently for the purpose of undressing her for me. I was supine on my bed, the covers around my ankles. Vaughn brought her in, like a prize, like a virgin being offered to the Temple, and, having received a nod of permission, he set about removing her clothes piece by piece, while she stood still, the expression on her face unreadable. Boredom was the most likely name I would apply to it. She stared straight ahead, in my