8) Changes

After quickly putting on a dressing gown in the bathroom Raoul went down to the kitchen. Silently he was cursing himself. It had been him who had wanted them to try more things out. But of course he had never imagined Erik could take part in their love life. Besides, Raoul was certain he had heard her say that Erik and Meg were a couple. Meg! He had always found her cute, and maybe, if Christine had turned him down, he might have invited her for dinner instead. He couldn´t understand why she concerned herself with this man.

When he entered the kitchen he was surprised to see the object of his thoughts sitting at the table, drinking a cup of tea. "Hello Raoul! Do you want some tea?", she said brightly, as if being in her best friend´s house in the middle of the night was perfectly normal. "Yes, please!", Raoul answered automatically, handing her a cup. He settled down and watched her pour tea into it before asking: "What are you doing here?".

"Probably the same thing you do: waiting. Biscuits?" She offered him a plate, but for the first time in his life Raoul didn´t feel like eating. "You mean he just brought you along and left you in the cloakroom like an umbrella? How can he do this to a woman like you?"

The conversation couldn´t have been better if Meg had written the script for it herself. All Raoul needed now was a slight push into the right direction and he would be hers. "Actually I heard it was Christine´s idea, although I can´t understand her. Okay, Erik is a nice man, but compared to you…" She glanced at him admiringly. After giving him a second´s time to fall for her flattery she leant forward and kissed him on the lips. Patience was a virtue Meg always had certain problems with.

Raoul returned the kiss almost instantly. Briefly he thought of Christine, but he pushed her picture angrily to the back of his mind. He didn´t need a woman who wanted a threesome with his archrival. Meg broke the kiss, smiling triumphantly. "So what do we do now?", she asked a little breathlessly. "Let´s go and tell Christine and Erik that we don´t want them anymore, that we´ve found someone else.", he suggested boldly.

"All right!" She agreed only too willingly. They went upstairs. As they reached the bedroom door Meg seized Raoul´s sleeve to keep him from knocking. "Sh!", she hissed. Now he heard the rather unmistakable sounds as well. "Perhaps we should better come back a bit later. But what can we do in the meantime?", he wanted to know. Without a word of explanation Meg fetched a basket she had brought with her from the kitchen. Raoul grinned. "Oh, what have you got in your basket, little girl?" He laughed as he saw red wine and candles. She joined in the laughter. "But grandmother, what a large mouth you´ve got!" Raoul looked at her hungrily. "The better to kiss you with!"

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

All four people met the next morning at the breakfast table. "Did everyone have an enjoyable night?", Christine asked. They all nodded. "So I think it´s best if Meg stays here and I go with Erik.", she went on. The others murmured their agreement. "But we should meet soon!", Meg threw in. "Oh yes!" Christine nodded vigorously. "Erik, you know that I love you, but I doubt your coffin is as comfortable as the bed here."

Meg smiled wickedly. "Maybe we should swap partners next time." Raoul tried to catch Christine´s eye, but it was Erik who spoke first: "Good idea! I knew I´d get my night with the Vicomte…". The three others laughed at the horrified expression on Raoul´s face. "Only joking!", they called in unisono. For a moment Raoul looked hurt, then a smile lit up his face. "What a pity!", he said, grabbing Erik´s hand. Finally he thought he had understood the rules of the game they were playing.

The End

Author´s note: Okay, now it´s over. I had great fun writing this story and I hope you enjoyed reading it. Thank you very much for your support!