Under Her Wing

While the laundry spun, he wrote an email to his parents, telling them he had signed for a really nice place and he wouldn't need them to chip in financially, as they had offered to do, though he carefully omitted why. Perhaps one day, he and Margot might be Facebook-official, but the details of his rental arrangement, he decided, were strictly private.

Not long after he moved his clothes into the dryer, his phone buzzed again. Margot, telling him to meet her at 1:00 at the Pickle Barrel in Dundas Square. She'd included a Google Maps link to it.

He found the place without any trouble. Margot was sitting, in a brown blouse and slacks, at a booth in the corner, in a brown blouse and blue slacks. "Hi!" she said, when she saw him. She stood up and pulled him into a polite but intense kiss. "I'm going to miss you," she whispered. "Come back soon."

"This is going to be the longest summer ever," he agreed.

"I think I'm going to sign you up for massage classes," she said. "I'd love a good masseur on hand." She winked at him. He sat down and took a menu.

"I don't mind learning," he said. "Honestly, I'll be very busy this fall, so I think it might be best if I do it before I move here. If it'll make you happy."

"It will make me very happy," she said. "Oh, here's Emily!"

Emily was a plump blonde woman with the brightest smile Philip had ever seen, about Margot's own age. Margot stood up to greet her and they kissed each other's cheeks.

"This will be your new toy, then?" Emily asked, gesturing to Philip. "You cougar, you."

"You're just jealous," teased Margot. Emily looked Philip over, and didn't deny it.

"Hi, I'm Emily," she said. "Margot's embarrassing friend." Philip introduced himself, and Emily sat down next to Margot.

With both their eyes on him, Philip felt himself blushing. Emily knew what he and Margot had done last night. Emily caught his blush, and laughed wickedly. "So my advice was good?" she said, seeming to read his mind.

"Your advice was remarkably accurate," said Margot, though from how she said it, it could have been about stock market advice. Emily's smile widened.

The conversation moved, quickly, onto other things. Philip sensed that Margot was uncomfortable speaking about sex in public, though Emily seemed to have a brassy confidence in it, and delighted in ruffling Margot's feathers.

"So Philip, you're going to be doing engineering, right?"

"Civil engineering, yeah. U of T."

"I hear it's a good program. I work for the provincial government at the Landlord and Tenant Board, so I know a few people in your field. Looking forward to it?"

"Yeah, I can't wait. Toronto looks like a great city."

"Being closer to Margot can't hurt, I bet." Margot gave her a somewhat annoyed look, as if to say, 'not here.'

Philip, however, met Emily's eyes and said, without any hint of embarrassment, "I'm looking forward to more of that too." Emily smiled again, and this time, so did Margot, despite herself.

Emily covered lunch for the three of them, and hugged both of them goodbye. "I'm glad you and Margot are together, I really am," she told Philip. "I like you. I think you'll be good for her. I look forward to seeing more of you."

Margot walked him to the bus station afterward. It was the middle of the day on a weekday, so the side street they were on was largely empty.

"I'm going to give you two pieces of homework over the summer, Philip," she said, and he thought he heard a touch of the teacher voice coming back in. "In addition to the massage classes. The first is that I want you to get a blood test. Make sure you have no STIs."

"I don't see how I could-"

"Just the same," she interrupted. "I will get one as well. Once we both know we are absolutely clean, I can start taking the pill, and there'll be no need for condoms. Many women find the pill messes with their hormones but personally, I've never had that problem."

"Sure, I can do that," said Philip.

"The other thing is... what did you think of Emily?"

"She's really nice," he said. "Funny. I really liked her."

"Emily wants to fuck you," said Margot, and Philip almost stopped in his tracks. "Perhaps you could sense that. What I'm about to tell you may come as a surprise, but I want you to fuck her. Does this shock you?"

"A little bit."

"I've always had a voyeuristic streak," Margot said, matter-of-factly. "You wouldn't be the first boy I've shared with my friends. Her and others. Of course, you don't have to do anything you don't want to. Just say the word and I'll politely decline on your behalf. And I don't need an answer today. Just think about it. That's your homework."

He thought about it as they walked. Emily was a bit heavier than he would normally find attractive, but there was nothing really wrong with her. She had a beautiful smile, and it wasn't like she was obese or anything. 'Curvy' was more the word. Now that he thought about it, there was something distinctly Rebel Wilson-ish about her.

"Yeah, I guess I could do that, if you really want me to," he said. "I'd like to. She's very pretty."

He realized as he said it that it was true. Emily was very pretty, and even if Margot's own preferences weren't a factor - if he were single, say, and Emily propositioned him in a bar - he'd be glad to oblige, honestly.

Margot's hand slipped down to Philip's bum. "I'll watch, of course," she said. "That's my rule: no fucking my friends when I'm not there. Deal?"

"Deal."

"I can't wait for the fall, Philip. I really can't."