No Bra Required! (14 page)

“Are you okay?” asked Ed, kissing her neck.

“Yes.” Folding her arms across her chest, Lucy held on to
Ed’s forearms. “Knackered, but happy.  What about you?”

“The same, in fact, I still can’t quite believe it. 
Can you say, ‘Oh God, Ed you’re so good’ one more time to prove I wasn’t
dreaming it?”  Ed laughed as Lucy slapped at his arm.

“Don’t get too big headed.  Anyway, if I’m not mistaken
I do believe I heard you say, “Yes, yes, oh God yes” on several
occasions.”  Lucy turned to face him and snuggled into Ed’s chest. 
“I wish we could have stayed in bed.”

“I did try to persuade you.”  Ed kissed the top of
Lucy’s head before pulling away.  “I’d better go,” he said threading his
fingers through Lucy’s.

“I know, me too.  Dad will be desperate for the
gossip.”

Ed looked shocked.  “You’re not going to tell him are
you?”

“I tell him everything.”  Lucy grinned at the look of
horror on Ed’s face.  “I’m joking; obviously I’ll leave out the
details.  Anyway, what do we do about tomorrow at the surgery?  Do we
tell everyone or wait until Nate knows?”

Ed shrugged.  “I’m more than happy to tell everyone,
but if Nate doesn’t know, then perhaps we should wait.  It might be quite
exciting having clandestine meetings in the staff room and drugs
cupboard.”  Ed laughed as he landed a kiss on Lucy’s lips.  “Go on
then get going,” he said, smacking her bottom.

“Okay, I’ll see you at work in the morning Dr Bryce. 
Goodnight.”  Lucy kissed him, giving his groin a gentle rub as she did so.

“
Lucy
,” Ed groaned as thoughts of ‘Coco the Clown’
filled his head.

“Well hello there,” Gerald said, grinning at Lucy as she
walked across the lounge.  “I’m guessing from that huge smile upon your
face that you’ve had a good afternoon.”

Lucy kicked off her shoes and sank onto the sofa. 
“Amazing Dad.  Absolutely bloody amazing.”

“That’s good, and that my dear is all I want to know.”

“That’s all you’re getting anyway.”  Lucy smiled to
herself, remembering the afternoon.

“Are you a couple then, can I ring Richard and tell him that
his instincts were right?”  Gerald shifted on his chair, re-positioning
his leg on the foot stool.

“Yes we are, and yes you can tell Richard.  We’re not
telling anyone at the surgery though, so please don’t let it slip to
Callie.  Ed wants to wait until he’s told Nate, but he’s going to tell his
dad this afternoon.”

“There is one other person you’d better tell, and that’s…”

“Sarah, yes I know.  I’m going to have a bath and ring
her from there.  Is there anything you need before I go up?  This
call could take a while if I know Sarah.”

Gerald grinned and shook his head.  “No, thanks for
asking darling.  Shall we eat dinner at about seven?  Will that give
you enough time?”

Lucy laughed as she got up from the sofa.  “I think so,
but don’t you do anything.  I’ve abandoned you enough today, so I’ll cook
tonight.  Chilli okay, or would you prefer something different?"

“Yes chilli sounds great.  Go and have your soak and
say hello to Sarah for me.” 

As Lucy left the room, Gerald reached for his mobile. 
He couldn’t wait another couple of hours for Richard to wake up. He'd have to
text him now to let him know Lucy’s news.

“Hi Luce, how are you, how was the dinner?”  Sarah
asked excitedly.

“I’m great thanks.  In fact, I’m fantastic so that
should tell you how good the dinner was.”  Lucy let out a little scream of
delight.

“Aaargh,” Sarah yelled back.  “Tell me, tell me, tell
me.”

“Okay, give me chance.  Well, it didn’t start too well,
seeing as Ed just said I looked ‘nice.’"

“What, you looked gorgeous in that photograph that you messaged
to me.  ‘Nice’, bloody hell what a tosser!”

“Don’t worry, it gets much better.”

“So he’s going to tell his dad when he picks Nate up.” 
Lucy finished, turning the hot water tap on with her toe.

“Oh my God.  I’m so happy for you Luce.  How do
you feel?” 

“Happy, obviously.  I did have some doubts during the
night, but after today…well I’ve no doubts at all.”  Lucy smiled as she
thought of Ed.

“So, was he any good?”  Sarah was always straight to
the point.

“
Sarah
!”

“Don’t pretend you don’t want to tell me.  If you can
tell me about having a wee in a plastic cup while watching The Chemical
Brothers, then you can tell me what sex with the doctor was like.  Oh,
just hold that thought…Ben, you’ll never guess what; Lucy only shagged the
doctor this afternoon.  I know, quite a few times apparently.  Ooh
tea please… right I’m back, carry on.”

“Sarah, did you just tell Ben that I’ve had sex with
Ed?”  Lucy sat up in astonishment, slopping water over the side of the
bath.

“Yes, I tell Ben everything.  He just came in to ask me
if I want a cup of tea.  Anyway, stop changing the subject, what was the
sex like?”  Sarah tutted on the other end of the line.

“Don’t tut at me, you’ve just told your husband, Simon’s
friend, that I’ve had sex with someone else while still officially
married.  If Simon found out it could cause problems with the
divorce.”  Lucy slipped back under the water where it was warmer.

“Ben won’t say anything, he’s not speaking to Simon anyway.”

“Why not?”  Lucy asked.

“Don’t go mad, but do you remember last summer when Simon
booked us that surprise spa weekend?”

“Hmm.”

“Well Ben found out today that it was so Simon could go to
Barcelona with Jennifer.”  Sarah winced expecting Lucy to scream and
shout, but she was silent.  “Lucy, are you still there?”

“Yes, just thinking what an absolute dick head he
was…is.  How did Ben find out?”

“The dick head actually told him, in fact, Ben said he was
boasting about it.  Ben was livid, not just because it was a shit thing to
do to you, but also because he’d involved me.”

“I’m not surprised Ben was mad.  If I’d found out I
might have thought that you were in on it.”  Lucy shook her head,
wondering what else she was going to discover about her husband.

“That’s what Ben said.  Anyway, enough of trying to
change the subject.  What about the sex?”

“Oh for goodness’ sake Sarah.  If you must know it was
brilliant, more than brilliant.  I’ve never had an orgasm like it…well
like them before.”

“Crikey, I’ve heard some of your ‘fantastic’ orgasms when we
were at college, so it must have been good.  Better than dick head as
well, hmm that's excellent.”

Lucy couldn’t help but laugh.  “Yes, better than dick
head and despite everything, he was pretty good at sex.  It was probably
the only thing he was decent at in the house, he couldn’t cook, and he was
terrible at DIY.  We generally had to pay more money to get someone in to
put his cock ups right.”

“Don’t get me started on what husbands can or can’t do
Lucy.  I adore Ben, but he tried to cook lunch today, as a treat for me,
but he burnt two pans in the process.  The carrots were pure mush, the
potatoes rock hard and the chicken was so undercooked I thought it was going
cluck at me and walk off the plate.”  Sarah started to giggle.

“You should know better than to ask a man to cook more than
one thing at once.  You know they can’t multi-task.  Actually, that’s
a lie; they can watch porn and wank at the same time!”

Sarah roared with laughter.  “Oh Luce, I do miss you,
but that doesn’t mean I want you to come home.  You need to stay there and
keep having bloody amazing sex, for as long as you can.”

“What if the sex is always amazing, what do I do?”

“Bloody well stay where you are,” Sarah roared.  “Don’t
you dare come back here?  So, is there anything else you can tell me about
the Love God’s technique, anything that I could pass on to Ben?”

Lucy’s laugh echoed in the bathroom.  “No, there isn’t,
I’m not giving any trade secrets away.  Let’s just say I think he probably
got an A star in gynaecology at medical school.”

Sarah sighed heavily.  “Oh you are a lucky bitch,
although I’m not complaining, it’s just lovely to hear you so happy.  Let
me know what you decide about coming home, I know it’s a massive decision, but
perhaps you should think about staying there, for a bit longer at least.”

“I’ll keep you informed, but if things stay this great then
I don’t think I’ll be coming home just yet.  I promise to let you know
what I decide though.”

“Okay, well take care and I’ll call you later in the
week.  Mwah.” Sarah blew a kiss over the phone.

“Thanks Sarah.  Oh and Sarah….”

“Yes?”

“Please don’t let Simon find out about Ed.  I don’t
want him knowing my business, and I also don’t want Ed dragged into anything.”

“No problem Luce, neither of us will breathe a word to
anyone.  Bye and speak to you again soon.”

“Bye.”

Lucy reached up and put her phone on the window sill before
lying back in the water once more.  Before the conversation with Sarah,
she hadn’t considered what Simon might do if he found out about Ed.  It
did worry her a little, but ultimately, she wasn’t the one with a new baby with
someone else.  The thought of Simon’s baby brought a frown to her
face.  At some point, she would have to tell Ed about Lottie, and she
wasn’t sure how she would cope having to revisit that terrible time.  The
other thing that troubled her was also telling Ed that she didn’t want any more
children.  She didn’t know if he wanted more children in the future; it
wasn’t something you discussed with your new partner during an afternoon of
sex.  However, if things did progress and got serious between them, it was
another difficult conversation they would have to have.

“Good morning ladies, how are you today?”  Ed smiled as
he leaned against the reception desk.  “Did you enjoy your weekend
Callie?”

“Yes thanks pet, how was the dance?”  Callie looked up
from her paperwork and smiled at Ed.  “Lucy says it was okay, but the beef
was a little tough.”

“Hmm, that probably just about sums it up to be
honest.  Is there a possibility of a cup of tea please Lucy?  I
didn’t get the chance before I left home.”

“Yes no problem, I’ll bring it through in a couple of
minutes.  Callie, do you want one?”  Lucy enquired, standing with her
back to both Ed and Callie.

“No thanks pet, I had one before I came out this
morning.  You should get up earlier in the morning Dr Bryce, all this
rushing around and not having any breakfast isn’t good for you.  Which you
should know, as a doctor.”  She wagged her finger at Ed.

“I know, but I had a late night and didn’t want to get out
of bed this morning.  Extra strong I think, please Lucy.”  He walked
away, a huge grin on his face, having omitted to tell Callie that he and Lucy
had been talking over the phone until almost 2 a.m.

A few minutes later Lucy tapped on Ed’s consulting room
door.  Her heart was beating fast at the idea of being alone with him, if
only for a few minutes.

“Come in,” he shouted.

“Your tea, Dr Bryce.” 

As she walked in with the tea, Ed moved swiftly from behind
his desk to take the mug from Lucy and put it onto his desk. As the door shut
behind her, he pulled Lucy into his arms, and started to kiss her neck, running
his hands through her hair.

“God I missed you in my bed last night,” he whispered.

“I know, I couldn't sleep because I was thinking about
you.”  Lucy could feel her body respond to his kisses. She pulled away,
breathless. “No, we can’t, not here.”

Ed groaned as he readjusted his trousers.  “I know, and
I'm sorry. That was totally unprofessional of me.  You look beautiful
today, by the way,” he murmured into her ear.

“So do you.”  Lucy gazed at Ed, wide-eyed.  “I’d
better get back before Callie suspects something.”

“If she doesn’t already, she’s cannier than she looks.”

Lucy moved away from Ed, and winked at him as she opened the
door.  “I’ll bring you your post when it arrives Dr Bryce.”

Ed winked back and mouthed “I can’t wait.”

When Lucy got back to the reception desk, she found Elspeth,
the Practice Manager, talking to Callie.  On Saturday night, there had
been no indication that anybody knew what had happened between her and Ed, but
Lucy was still suspicious that Elspeth may have said something to Callie.

“What are you two gossiping about?” she asked the two women
as she approached them.

“I was telling Callie about the dance, and agreeing with you
that the meal wasn’t up to much.”  Elspeth started to flick through the
letters that had just arrived.

“Hmm, it wasn’t the best, was it?  We had a good time
though.”  Lucy nudged Elspeth and started to giggle.  “Especially
when Dr Kindler lined up the Sambuca shots for everyone.”

“Ooh don’t remind me. I had a very bad head on Sunday. How
did you feel?” Elspeth asked Lucy, frowning at her.

“I was fine, great, in fact.”

“I’m so glad you enjoyed yourself pet. You deserve a bit of
fun.  What about Dr Bryce, did he enjoy it?” 

Lucy felt herself blush, but luckily, Callie was aiming the
question at Elspeth, so didn’t notice.

“I think so, although Lucy did try to teach him and a few
others how to do The Macarena, but to be honest he was pretty rubbish.” 
Elspeth laughed as she started to walk away.  “Anyway, I’d better get on
with some work.  I’ve got to review the accounts, urgh I hate my life.”

“Oh dear, never mind pet, we’ll bring you a cuppa along
soon.”  Callie now turned to Lucy.  “So, pretty uneventful evening
then by all accounts.  Oh well never mind, Mr Drake is in later this
morning, that’ll spice our lives up a little, although I think he’s only got a
sore throat today.”

Callie disappeared to the staff room, and Lucy heaved a sigh
of relief, she and Ed didn’t seem to be the subject of gossip, just yet.

For the rest of the morning, Lucy and Ed hardly saw each
other.  The surgery was extremely busy, and so Ed was tied up with
patients.  He’d had no post so Lucy couldn’t use that as an excuse to see
him.  By midday, Lucy was getting agitated that she now wouldn’t get to
see him until the evening as her shift would soon be over. 

“What’s wrong pet?”  Callie asked, tapping Lucy on the
shoulder.  “You’ve had a face like a kipper for most of the morning.”

Lucy coloured up.  She hadn’t thought her
disappointment had been obvious.

“I’m fine thanks Callie, probably just a little tired.”

“Even Mr Drake didn’t bring a smile to your face. 
You’d better get to bed early tonight,”

Lucy did now smile; she sincerely hoped she would be in bed
early.

“You’re right Callie,” she replied, removing her smile to
look serious.  “I’ll make sure I do.”

Suddenly Lucy’s heart missed a beat as Ed appeared from his
consulting room.  He glanced at Callie, ensuring that she was busy, before
winking at Lucy and giving her an enormous smile.

“Is that you finished for the morning Dr Bryce?” 
Callie asked, looking up from the computer.

Ed nodded and smiled at her.  “Yes my next patient
isn’t until two, so I’m going to go home for a couple of hours. I’ve got a few
personal calls that I want to make, plus I’ve forgotten my lunch, I was in such
a hurry this morning.” 

“Okay no problem.  Dr Kindler will be back from his
house call in a few minutes, but if I need you I’ll give you a call.”

“I’ll see you later then Lucy,” said Ed, nonchalantly
flicking through some leaflets on the reception desk.

“Sorry, oh yes, see you later.  Would you like me to
feed Nate for you?”  Lucy tried to sound as casual as possible.

“Erm, yes please if you don’t mind.  I shouldn’t be
late, but he needs an early night tonight, he didn’t go to bed until nine last
night.”

“Okay, will do.  Right Callie, shall I make a cup of
tea, I’ve got half an hour before I leave?”

“No, I’m fine pet.  In fact, you may as well get off
now.  There’s no one else booked in this morning.  You walked in
today, didn’t you?”

“Yes, why?” Lucy asked.

“Well you could get a lift with Dr Bryce, couldn’t
she?”  Callie looked at Ed inclining her head toward Lucy.

“No, don’t be silly.  It only takes me ten minutes to
walk.  You go Dr Bryce, I’ll be OK.”

“If you’re sure.” Ed picked up his bag.  “I’ll get
going, see you later Callie.”

After five minutes of tidying the reception desk, Lucy
sighed and moved over to Callie.

“I’ll go home now Callie, is that okay?”

“Yes pet, of course it is.  I’ll see you tomorrow, have
a lovely afternoon.”  Callie smiled at Lucy.

“Bye Callie, you enjoy the rest of the day too.”

Once outside, Lucy started to walk quickly in the direction
of Ed’s house.  She hoped that she’d read his signals correctly, and he
would be waiting for her.  As she was about to cross over the road, Lucy
heard the beep of a car horn.  Initially she ignored it, she couldn’t
imagine anyone would be beeping at her; but then it went again, lasting a
little longer and more insistent than the first burst.  Lucy turned around
in the direction of the noise; parked down a side street was Ed, waving at her
with a huge smile on his face.

Lucy ran across to the car and jumped in.  “I didn’t
realise that you were waiting for me.  I was going to make my way to your
house.”

Ed pulled Lucy to him and kissed her.  “That would take
you too long,” he sighed “Let’s get going.”

A mere five minutes later and Ed was letting them into the
house. 

“Do you think anyone will be watching us?”  Lucy asked
as she looked around cautiously.

“So what if they are?”  Ed turned and smiled at
her.  “The neighbours know that you’re looking after Nate, so it’s not
unusual for you to be here.”

Ed opened the door, and Lucy followed him in, pausing as he
stooped to pick up the post.  Pushing the door closed with one hand, Lucy
pinched his bottom with the other.

“Sorry,” she said as she started to giggle.  “I
couldn’t resist it, it’s so gorgeous.”

Ed placed the letters on the window sill and grabbing Lucy’s
hand pulled her up the stairs.  “I can’t resist you for much longer
either.”

Once in the bedroom it didn’t take long for them to remove
each other’s clothes, before falling onto Ed’s bed and making love frenetically.

“Oh my God,” gasped Lucy, leaning back onto her hands. 
“That was amazing.”

Breathless, Ed reached up and pulled Lucy down to him and
kissed her.  She rolled off the top of him and flopped on the bed next to
Ed, exhausted.

“You are bloody fantastic, do you know that?”  Ed
leaned over and kissed Lucy’s nose.

“I don’t know about that.”  Lucy lifted Ed’s arm and
pulled it around her as she snuggled up to him.

Ed moved closer.  “Yes you are, and I don’t just mean
in bed.  Look how strong you’ve been about the split from Simon.”

Lucy started to laugh.  “You wouldn’t say that if you’d
seen me in my green bobble hat a few weeks ago.  Let’s just say you
probably wouldn’t have looked twice at me, never mind treated me to an afternoon
of sex.”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“Well when Simon first left I stayed in bed for over two
weeks, wearing my pyjamas and a bobble hat the whole time.”  Lucy buried
her face against Ed’s chest.  “God I’m so embarrassed about it now, I was
such a bitch to Sarah, and the smell was awful.”

“Hmm nice.”  Ed laughed and lifted Lucy’s chin with his
finger.  “I bet you still looked beautiful.”

“Nah, I can promise you I didn’t.”  Lucy took Ed’s hand
and kissed his palm, before interlocking her fingers with his.

“Anyway, at the risk of spoiling the atmosphere, have you
thought about what you’re going to do about Simon?” asked Ed.

“Well actually, he’s decided for me.  He’s asked for a
divorce and wants me to buy him out of the house, or sell it.”  Lucy
sighed.

“Oh, I’m sorry; it can’t be an easy time for you.” 

“No, Ed don’t be.  I’ve learned a few things about him
recently that make me realise that he’s a complete and utter dick head. 
Actually that’s a lie, I think I already knew he was a dick head, but ignored
it.”

Ed leaned on his elbow and looked at Lucy intently. 
“In what way was he a dick head?”

“Well, he was a great husband at first, attentive, caring
and loving but then when…” Lucy stopped and closed her eyes.

“When what sweetheart?” Ed traced his finger along Lucy’s
trembling chin.  “What’s wrong, are you okay?  He didn’t hurt you did
he?”

Lucy shook her head and took a large breath.  She
needed to tell Ed about the most distressing event she’d ever
experienced.  It was still very early in their relationship, but she
wanted him to know, and even if this didn’t last, she knew Ed would understand.

 “Simon changed,” she began, a ragged breath shuddering
from her mouth.  “Simon changed once our daughter died.”

“Oh God Lucy, I’m so sorry.”  He wiped Lucy’s tears
from her cheek with his hand.  “I don’t know what to say, that has to be
the worst thing that can happen to a parent.”

“It’s okay, I don’t talk about it usually, but I wanted you
to know.  She was beautiful and perfect, and nearly six months old. 
She wasn’t ill, she didn’t have anything wrong with her, but I put her to bed
one night, and she just didn’t wake up.”  Lucy smiled sadly at Ed. 
“Her name was Lottie.”

Ed tightened his arms around Lucy and kissed her forehead.
“Oh baby, that must have been terrible.  Christ, I just can’t imagine what
you’ve gone through.”  Ed shook his head and blew out a blast of air. “How
long ago was it, unless you don’t want to talk about it anymore?”  His
face was full of concern.

She shook her head.  “No, I’m fine, better than I
thought I’d actually be.  I was dreading telling you, but it’s okay I want
to talk about it, about her.”

“If you’re sure.”  Ed pulled Lucy to him and hugged her
tightly.

“Yes, I’m sure.  It was three years ago, and I was a
wreck for months afterwards.  I lost interest and passion in my job, which
is how I ended up working in a charity shop, and I think I probably lost
interest and passion in Simon for a while.”

“Surely you’re not condoning him having an affair, are
you?”  Ed asked.

“No, not at all.  What he did and how he left hurt me
so much.  I couldn’t believe that he’d been so bloody careless and got her
pregnant, especially as we’d agreed that we wouldn’t have any more children.”

“What never?” Ed asked.  “Why did you decide that? Were
you scared that it would happen again?  I mean I totally get it, but
that’s a huge decision to make.”

Lucy nodded. “That was exactly it, in fact, I was
petrified.  She was so beautiful and precious, and I just can’t stand the
thought of that ever happening again, it would probably kill me.  We
discussed it over and over, and both agreed it was the best choice to make.”

“Which makes the fact that Simon is starting a new family an
even bigger blow then, I guess,” said Ed.

“When he first left I was absolutely floored by it all, I
felt as though I would die without him.  But, as the weeks have gone on,
I’ve realised that I was actually angry with him.  Angry because he’d lied
about how he felt for the last three years, angry that he didn’t trust me, or
our relationship, enough to tell me how he felt, but most of all angry that he
could replace Lottie so easily.”  As she finished Lucy wiped a stray tear
from her cheek.