"Friends With Benefits"

A Kat & Alfie Story

By

Emflem01

Chapter 1

"Kat? Kat! Hello? Do you want another drink?"

Kat looked up from her phone and sighed "sorry, my head was away. That was Alfie. He text to say the twins switched the salt and sugar again. He made the mistake of not checking before making a cuppa. I swear you cannot leave them alone for five minutes."

"They sound like a right laugh!"

"Chaos more like. Anyway, YES, I could murder another drink. What we havin'?"

"Another G&T? I'll get this round in and then you're gonna tell me what's wrong."

Kat forced a smile but knew B could see right through it. It was pointless pretending. "Fine…" Bianca got up to leave "but make it a double!"

Bianca's suspicions where true. There was something very wrong with Kat and it had been building for weeks. A lingering feeling of frustration had her in a chokehold, like a pressure cooker ready to explode. The hours she spent ruminating on her current predicament had got her no further forward. She had tried internalising her issues but got nowhere, so in light of her failed attempts, tonight was the night she would finally open up. A problem shared is a problem halved they say?

Kat looked up as Bianca placed not one but two double G&Ts, in front of her on the table. The irony of the discussion she was about to have in the bar her ex-husband owned was not lost on her. How had she got here? A slight smile cracked her deep red lips as she thought about taking back her agency in the same place her husband destroyed their marriage. Owning her future felt so very satisfying.

"I've been having…thoughts…about Alfie." Kat reigned her smile back in as Bianca's face beamed. Her closest friend loved gossip and her opening statement elicited the reaction she expected.

"STOP! You and Alfie?" Bianca laughed at max volume and drew a few stares from tables nearby.

"Keep your voice down will ya!?"

"I need details. What? How? Where? When? Tell me EVERYTHING"

"Listen, nothing has happened so calm your ham, alright? I'm just looking for a bit of advice from a friend, that's all. Alfie knowns nothing so you need to…" Kat drew closer to Bianca, knocking the straw out of her gin glass. She could smell her friend's sweet perfume tingling her nostrils as she lowered her voice to a strong whisper "…drop the volume way down and control yourself."

"Like you control yourself around Alfie you mean?" Bianca couldn't help herself but Kat's expression was clear. Joke time was over. The gossip train was boarding and If she continued now, the doors would shut firmly on her face.

"Look, Kat. I'm calm, quiet as a mouse." She placed the straw back in Kat's drink and adopted her most innocent expression. "I'll behave."

Kat ditched the straw and took a long swig of gin and a deep breath. She felt hot all of a sudden. Was it hot in here? Was the change happening? Maybe that was the reason she was having such impure thoughts every time she looked at him.

"I'll start by clarifying for the table that I don't want Alfie back. Absolutely not! No, no. I have brain cells and they are firing warning signals at the very mention of his name. So, to be clear, I do not want a relationship with Alfie." Bianca looked confused and Kat could sense that she was waiting for her to elaborate. "I do, however, think about him in other ways…if you know what I mean…?"

Bianca was trying with every ounce of her power to contain herself but the squeal was rising in her throat like reflux. She forced it down and took a moment to compose herself.

"Bianca?"

"What other ways, Kat?"

"You know what I mean! I know you know what I mean!" Kat took another swig of gin and grimaced, trying to focus on the sting of the liquor in her throat as opposed to the intensely awkward conversation she had volunteered herself into.

"You'll probably hate me for saying this and I'm not trying to be horrible, but after the whole prostate cancer thing…It's a widely known side effect…What I'm trying to say is…" Bianca's hesitation had irritated Kat more than anything. Her face begged her to get to the point.

"Does it work?"

Kat laughed her trademark cackle. "Oh it works!"

"How do you know!?"

"He told me."

"He wha..."

"He tells me everything. We're best mates." Kat smiled and bit her lip. Like clockwork, the thought of Alfie triggered her alarm bells but sometimes she hit the snooze button on the alarm and let herself feel. To have loved someone for over 20 years was a blessing and a curse. He had gifted her the happiest moments of her life with her saddest moments scattered throughout, but she'd never change it. She likened it to the pain of losing a dog. Given the opportunity she'd buy the puppy all over again…

"We had a long discussion one night. The boys were in their beds and it was just the two of us. He had got the all clear and we were celebrating with a glass of wine when I asked him whether he had any more hospital visits. He told me yes but just check-ups periodically, to monitor his PSA in his blood. He said the only other reason he would have to go back more frequently was if he was having problems…sexually. I asked him to be honest and tell me if he was. Now I know Alfie isn't honest with a capital H but I saw the relief on his face was real, when he told me he was one of the few lucky men that had avoided that particular side effect."

Bianca smiled, she had a lot of time for Alfie but most of all, she was grateful at the outcome for her friends sake.

"Ever since that moment he has wormed his way into my brain, like he always does. I don't know whether to laugh or cry."

Kat's eyes suddenly wandered from Bianca's face towards the bar. Phil had walked in, spotted Kat immediately and gave her a subtle nod before conversing with the bartender. He cut a lonely, pathetic figure lately. She knew he still regretted his actions and so he should. Bianca followed Kat's eyes towards the bar and saw the object of her focus.

"Typical of egghead to interrupt the moment." Bianca and Kat cackled in unison.

"He genuinely doesn't affect me anymore Bianca. How do I put it…It's like…"

"You woke up?"

Kat smiled "Exactly." And finished the rest of her drink. Bianca motioned for Kat to continue.

"Why let him get in the way of a good gossip?"

"True. Like I said from that moment I've seen Alfie in a whole new light. Or should I say, a familiar light. I have desires, needs. Let's be honest, I could find some random bloke to satisfy those needs tonight, if I wanted…but that won't satisfy me because I need to touch and be touched by him. I keep thinking about what it was like…"

"Is it hot in here or?"

"It is hot in here!" Kat laughed and fanned her face with her drinks coaster.

"Why don't you make a go of it with Alfie again?" Bianca held her hands up "I know, I know, you've said you don't want to go there but you clearly still have feelings for him Kat and you'll always love him deep down."

"No way! I've told you, I'm not going back there again. I don't want it and neither does he. He hasn't given me a single inclination that he even sees me in that way anymore. I wish we could just forget about all that relationship baggage and just…have sex."

"Well, why don't you?"

Kat looked at Bianca in surprise. Was she seriously suggesting a "Friends with benefits" situation? Kat laughed and knocked back her second glass of gin.

"No strings attached? Are you joking? How would that work? First of all we are ex-spouses, second of all we live together in a two bedroom flat, with our three kids!"

"It can be done. Why don't you move into Alfie's room but limit your interactions to the bedroom?"

Kat burst out laughing. "Bianca, come ON. He makes me tea every morning. We will never just be about…sex."

Kat, distracted from the heat of the moment, looked away from Bianca as Phil walked towards their table. She sighed. "I need another drink for this…"

"Alright" Phil grunted at both Kat and Bianca, their stone faced expressions radiating displeasure at his intrusion on their gossip session. You could cut the tension with a butter knife as the silence hung in the air for a beat before Bianca put Kat out her misery.

"Hi Phil. If you could excuse us we were in the middle of a private conversation about sex."

Kat looked down and failed to hold back a grin, focussing intently on a scratch on the table in an effort to avoid Phil's face, which had instantly transformed to a shade of scarlet before he mumbled his apologies and left.

"Where were we? Oh yes, sex with Alfie." Bianca flashed Kat a cheeky grin and continued "This is 2024 Kat and you're both adults. Life's too short to have wants and desires and not act on them so speak to the man. Not everything has to be a big deal and sex certainly isn't. To put it bluntly, make it happen!" Kat had a thoughtful expression on her face as she considered Bianca's words. "And when you do, I want ALL the details."