“You were so keen to meet,” Cassie said, “That you must have something interesting to tell.”

“Well,” I said, leaning over the coffee table. Cassie did the same. “We went to see this film.”

“Wait… back up… what was Ellie wearing?”

I shrugged. “Nothing special. Trousers and a blouse.”

“And underwear?” I nodded.

“I think so anyway.”

“This isn’t living up to the previous stories,” Cassie said.

“Shush, or I won’t tell you.” Cassie mimed zipping her mouth again, and again I knew it was only a temporary silence. “So it was some arty Hungarian film called ‘Free Fall’.”

“I’ve not heard of it.”

“Neither have I. But Ellie had read about it. It was something about someone jumping from a roof of a block of flats and then there are a bunch of stories based around all the floors they pass as they fall.”

“It sounds grim.”

“Well, it was a little, but you sort of forgot about the falling bit because it was the stories that mattered.

“I see. Well, not really, but carry on.”

“Anyway, Ellie was sat beside me with our hands intertwined.”

“How romantic.”

“Shush. And we were just watching the stories. Or rather watching and reading, since it was all subtitles. And one of the stories was this thing about a woman who’s at a party, but she’s the only one naked, and standing in the corner with nothing but shoes on and a purse over her shoulder, and everyone’s just ignoring her. Or at least ignoring that she’s naked, but mainly they’re ignoring her too.”

“Was it hot?”

“Yeah. And she was pretty hot. And Ellie must have thought so too as her fingers were gripping mine tightly throughout.”

“And that was it?”

“Wait. On the way back home we talked about the stories, and soon enough we got to that story. And Ellie said ‘I can’t believe how brave that actress was, to stand around in the nude with all those people in suits and dresses.'”

Cassie looked at me intently, and I think she was still judging whether this story was worthy of her attention or not.

“And I said I thought actresses were probably used to it. And Ellie said it must be pretty amazing to be able to experience that without anyone thinking they were weird.” Cassie’s eyebrows nearly shot off the top of her head. “She said she wondered if it felt like it did when she had dreams like that.”

“And what did you say?” Cassie asked.

“I didn’t know what to say.”

“That figures.”

“Anyway, Ellie was doing enough talking. She said it was a shame you couldn’t just do it, to see what it was like, because everyone would probably run a mile thinking you were completely mad.”

“Oh god I would not run a mile if someone did that. Especially if Ellie did that.”

“Me neither.”

“And I said it helped that she was a very pretty actress and Ellie said, ‘Oh, right, forget I was there, did you?’. And I said ‘Not at all. But it was kind of attention grabbing.’ And she didn’t seem so happy about that and said. ‘Sometimes I wonder if you’d even notice if I walked around naked all the time.’ And again I didn’t know what to say.”

“If that ever happens, can you give me a call so I can come round?” I smiled, both imagining the scene, and I was also glad that Cassie was suddenly more interested in this story.

“Er, sure, I’ll give you a call, I promise… But we talked about a few other things, and we got home and went to bed like normal.”

“Just like normal?” I nodded. “Except in the middle of the night Ellie woke up, and within a second she had rolled over, pulled her night-dress over her head and we had the fastest sex I think we’ve ever had.”

The woman at the next table gave me a funny look at the slightly loud use of the word “sex”. I lowered my voice again.

“And then she fell asleep again, lying there nude. I’ve never seen Ellie sleep nude before.” Cassie licked her lips as she imagined how Ellie would look nude.

“And that was it?” she asked.

“Wait. So the next day, I got home a bit early.”

“And she was wearing those boots again?” Cassie asked hopefully. I shook my head.

“No. But she had a nice dress on, and short-heeled shoes, which she doesn’t often wear unless we’re going out, and was making dinner, and there were wine glasses on the table. It was just like she was ready to go to a restaurant really, except at home.”

“How romantic.”

“Indeed. And as I went and put my work gear into the study I saw the computer was on and I wiggled the mouse so I could shut it down, and there it was.”

“What?”

“That film, the Hungarian one, and Ellie had found a copy of the clip with the naked woman in.”

Cassie gave a wry smile. “She must have liked it.”

“I know I did. But I just shut the computer down and pretended not to notice and went back to the kitchen. And Ellie said ‘Dinner’s done, so we can have it whenever. Maybe in half hour or so.’ And I said that was fine, and she poured us both a glass of wine and I walked over to the counter to take it from her.”

“Okay, this just sounds like a normal evening now.”

“But wait. It just seemed like there was this huge tension between us, and neither of us spoke, so I put my wine glass down and put my hands on her waist, and she put her wine glass down and put her hands around my neck.”

“And you banged-”

“Just stop it with the premature ending, please?”

“So eventually you-”

“You’ll just have to wait!” I told her, holding a hand up to stop that line of questioning, “Anyway, what I did do was slip my hands around her back, and I found the zip of her dress and I slid it down as we kissed, and she sort of wriggled her shoulders, but she definitely didn’t stop me.”

“Was it the red dress?” I nodded. “Then you couldn’t really have gotten very far without Ellie going along with it if I remember just how tight it is.”

“Have you memorised my wife’s entire wardrobe?” I asked.

“More or less,” Cassie admitted.

“Well, anyway, she dropped her arms and I pushed the dress down, and she was standing pressed up against me in little black heels and red underwear.”

“Which I’m almost disappointed about.”

“Don’t be, because I was on a roll, so I unclipped her bra, and under the cover of another kiss I had that down her arms and dropped onto the floor. And she pressed herself against me and wrapped her arms around my neck.”

“And you were wearing?…”

“Trousers and shirt. From work.”

“This is a hot scene nonetheless. I just wish it hadn’t been you there.” I glared across the table at the woman who was supposed to be my friend but was always so rude to me.

“Anyway, it didn’t take much to dispense with Ellie’s knickers as well, and her legs wriggled a bit as she coaxed them down to the floor.”

“And then you-” I shook my head, cutting off the inevitable question.

“I had my hands all over her. She felt so good, and so horny. And then Ellie lifted herself onto tiptoes and whispered into my ear ‘After dinner’ and she slipped out of my arms and walked back to the kitchen.

“Still starkers?”

“Except for the shoes.”

“Oh my god your wife is so hot.”

I knew it, but I hadn’t known how hot.

“And she started putting food onto plates, and I didn’t know what to do with myself so I went and sat down and took our glasses across. And as she walked towards me, naked and beautiful with a plate in each hand, eating was the last thing on my mind.”

“I bet it was.”

“But she sat down, and we ate, and talked, and all I could think about was ‘Ellie’s sitting naked and eating dinner and I can’t believe it’s really her’.”

“I’m not sure I can. Are you sure you’re not having me on?” I shook my head again.

“It was just like she was dressed… except she wasn’t, and her eyes sparkled, and after dinner she took the plates away and it was only then I realised she hadn’t even pulled the curtains.”

“Oh wow. And your place you can see into from across the street with the light on.”

“Completely. Even with the lights dimmed a little, as they were then. I don’t know whether anyone saw anything or not, because I couldn’t take my eyes off of Ellie.”

“You know,” Cassie said, “I think you really are the luckiest man alive. And probably the least deserving.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“I mean, all this time you thought she was pretty tame, and it turned out she was just repressed.”

“Well she wasn’t repressed that evening, I can tell you.”

Cassie held her hand up now. “I don’t want to know any more. I just want to see it for myself and not hear all this second-hand eroticism.” She paused and peered at me. “And I’m still not sure you’re not having me on.”

“Oh, I’m not,” I said with a grin. And I hadn’t even told Cassie that Ellie had suggested we have a nice dinner at home tonight. I could hardly wait.