This is the twelfth episode of my unreliable memoirs. Each episode can be read individually but it helps to have read the previous episodes starting from the beginning and episode 11 in particular, which is the first part of this tale.
I hope you enjoy the stories.
M4bloke
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Lesley and I arrived at Carole and Fabien's house in Provence at around seven o'clock on Sunday evening. We'd left Kate and Daniel at their rented villa just five miles down the road, having ridden the bikes down from Annecy together. Both of the girls had been slightly worse for wear when we'd got up, due to the alcohol consumed the previous night. But after a big breakfast, some strong coffee and plenty of water they were almost back to their usual form.
We stayed off the motorways and rode the back routes to Aix, stopping at a lovely restaurant overlooking a mountain stream for lunch. Daniel and I had a beer with our food but the girls stayed on the soft drinks that day.
When we arrived in Aix we made a quick stop at Daniel and Kate's villa in case Ruth and David had already arrived but it was still empty when we got there. Ruth and David were going to be staying with Daniel and Kate for the week then heading north to oversee the start of the building work on their farmhouse straight after the wedding. When it came time for us to leave, Kate didn't want Lesley to go and there were a couple of tears. This must have made Daniel feel even guiltier about imposing Ruth and David on her especially since this had been billed as the opportunity for them to finally have their foursome. Lesley promised she'd be back in a couple of days' time.
I stopped the bike at the gate to Carole and Fabien's house and without getting off, Lesley reached over and keyed in the four digit code into the entry pad. The barrier trundled open and we rode down the driveway. As we got off the bike and were removing our jackets and helmets, Carole and Fabien emerged from the house.
Carole made a bee line for Lesley and gave her a hug while Fabien and I shook hands.
"It's so nice to meet you at last," said Carole holding both of Lesley's hands.
"And you too," said Lesley. "I feel like I already know you."
"I know what you mean. How was your journey?"
"It was fine," Lesley replied. "I'm a hardened biker now," she said joking.
Turning to me, Carole said, "Steven, you look a lot better than when we last saw you. To be honest we weren't sure if you'd be ready to ride your motorbike."
"I'm fine," I said. "I've had a lot of great people looking after me."
Turning back to Lesley, Carole asked, "Lesley, would you mind if I kissed your fiancé?"
"Only if I can kiss yours," Lesley replied cheekily.
Putting her arms around my waist Carole reached in to me for a kiss and I was surprised how passionate it was. Lesley, taking her cue from Carole, didn't hold back either and Fabien didn't seem to mind the attention at all. Nobody was in a hurry for the moment to end and so we stood there re-acquainting ourselves for a good couple of minutes.
I put my hands on Carole's delicate waist. She looked good but had tried to make it appear as though she hadn't made too much of an effort. The short tennis skirt and tight fitting polo shirt weren't things you wore casually around the house however. I couldn't resist the temptation to lift her skirt up with one hand and feel her pert bum as we kissed. Carole sighed her approval as I did and on seeing how his fiancé was being treated, Fabien ran his hands over Lesley's tight fitting leather trousers and gave her arse a good squeeze.
When we'd finished introducing ourselves, Carole said, "There now, that seems to have broken the ice."
"Not entirely," said Lesley and taking Carole in her arms she gave her a kiss. Carole was caught by surprise but responded quickly and the two of them swapped tongues before coming up for air. Still holding Carole, Lesley said, "Thank you for looking after Steven when he needed you. It means a lot to me."
"You're welcome, Lesley," replied Carole kissing her briefly on the lips once more. "Now are you ready for the gruesome twosome, they're dying to meet you."
As we went into the house Carole made the two Rhodesian Ridgebacks sit and wait. Their tails swept the floor enthusiastically in anticipation of being released.
"Are you ready?" Carole asked and when we said we were she followed it with, "Donald, Mickey, go say hello."
The two guard dogs bounded over the tiled hallway and skidded to a halt in front of us. I knelt down and Donald gave me a big lick. I'd like to think that he remembered me, but I suspect he would have been the same with anyone. Mickey was more laid back but took a shine to Lesley and allowed her to make a fuss of him, obviously a bit of a ladies' man. I'd not seen Lesley with dogs before. I knew that she'd never had one growing up but you could see that she liked being around them.
Having gained Donald and Mickey's seal of approval they allowed Carole to show us to our room. Apparently Peters had already been in the van and dropped our clothes off, which meant that we could change out of our bike gear into something more comfortable. Not to be outdone by Carole, Lesley put on a short denim skirt and tight fitting tee shirt which she wore with tennis shoes.
It was getting late to eat so Carole prepared a salad for us while Fabien cooked some meat on the barbecue then we sat and chatted with a glass of wine as the sun went down. Carole and Fabien told us all about their plans for the wedding on Saturday while Donald and Mickey prowled for scraps. They found a willing accomplice in Lesley who kept passing food to them under the table.
Lesley had been the life and soul of the group and had entertained everyone with her tales of our trip so far but by half past ten she was struggling to stay awake. She made her apologies and gave everyone a kiss before making her way to bed. Donald and Mickey both followed her, possibly in the hope of more treats and sensing that Carole wanted to talk with me, Fabien also made his excuses.
When we were on our own, Carole took my hand and led me to one of the patio sofas. She cuddled into me as we sat down and I put my arm around her. I couldn't resist lifting her skirt again and stroked her bum as we talked.
"I'm glad you could come," said Carole.
"I really wanted to. I wanted to thank you for looking after me but I wanted you to meet Lesley too."
"I can see why you want to marry her."
"So you approve?"
"Yes, I do. My only concern..." said Carole semi seriously, "is that if you ever have a dog of your own, it's going to be as fat as a cow," she said laughing.
"She never had a dog growing up. She never had much of a childhood to be honest. Things I took for granted when I was a kid just passed her by. It makes me quite angry when I think that you could treat your own child like that."
"I can also see why she wants to marry you," Carole added.
"And that's because?"
"She knows you'll look after her, protect her."
"That's what she says."
"Not every girl wants that, but I think Lesley does."
"So what about you and Fabien, have you got any last minute nerves?"
"No, I know I'm a lucky girl. I'm marrying a handsome young man who thinks the world of me," Carole said proudly. "We both know that we're still going to sleep with other people but we're looking forward to planning a future together."
"Good, he's a very lucky guy. I hope he knows that."
"I keep telling him," Carole joked then, changing the subject, she said, "I hear you had an interesting week last week."
"You're exceptionally well informed, Carole," I said.
