The Naughty Girls Book Club. Sophie Hart

the subject matter for this week,’ she finished, tapping the book lightly.

      ‘He probably didn’t read it,’ Rebecca sniffed dismissively.

      ‘Or maybe he did and feels intimidated,’ Gracie chimed in. ‘Maybe he didn’t feel he could measure up to the famous Alexander Black.’

      ‘Mmm, Alexander Black,’ drawled Rebecca, pretending to swoon.

      Gracie rolled her eyes. ‘What? That disturbed sicko, with his pathological need to control everything and take advantage of a younger woman?’

      ‘Yep, that’s the one,’ replied Rebecca with a giggle. ‘He can take advantage of me any time.’

      ‘Should we just get started?’ wondered Estelle, looking anxiously at the door.

      ‘Yes, let’s,’ said Gracie. ‘Besides, even if Reggie does turn up, it’s not like he’s going to say anything. He’ll just sit in the corner and makes notes about us.’

      ‘True,’ Estelle agreed uncomfortably. ‘Although I would like to encourage him to join in if at all possible. It seems a waste otherwise.’

      ‘And it could be good to get a man’s perspective on these things,’ added Sue. ‘See if Ten Sweet Lessons is as much of a turn-on for men as it is for—’ She broke off suddenly, flushing as she realised that she’d just revealed more information than she intended to.

      ‘Well, it sounds as though you enjoyed the book,’ Estelle smiled, unable to help herself. ‘What did everyone else think?’

      There was a burst of noise, as everyone began speaking at once, and Estelle laughed, holding up her hand for silence. ‘This is a little different to the last session!’

      ‘This was so much more exciting than Tess of the D’Urbervilles,’ Rebecca grinned.

      ‘It was certainly wilder, but I don’t know if you can compare it to a classic like that,’ objected Sue.

      ‘They both feature women being oppressed – whether by societal norms in Tess, or physical subjugation in Ten Sweet Lessons. Why can’t anybody write a book about strong women?’ Gracie complained.

      ‘Great everyone, that’s really interesting,’ cut in Estelle, feeling like a referee. Everyone was so eager to speak; she instinctively felt she’d done the right thing by choosing such a controversial book. ‘So given everything that’s just been said, why do you think Ten Sweet Lessons has proved to be so popular? Rebecca?’

      ‘Sex,’ she blurted out.

      ‘Absolutely. Sex sells,’ agreed Gracie. ‘Whether the book is of any quality or not doesn’t matter. It sells on notoriety alone.’

      ‘Oh, come on Gracie, you must have enjoyed it a little bit,’ Rebecca pressed. ‘You’d have to be dead from the waist down not to read about all that spanking and sexy stuff without feeling some urges of your own. I don’t know about anyone else, but I wanted to jump on my husband every time he walked through the door.’

      ‘I have to admit, it made me thoroughly envious,’ Sue admitted. ‘I didn’t know that most of that sort of thing went on, let alone have the opportunity to try it.’

      ‘It’s great, isn’t it?’ Estelle enthused. ‘It’s as though Ten Sweet Lessons has suddenly made it okay to read this sort of novel. It makes you feel very naughty for doing it, but that’s part of the appeal.’

      ‘I know! I read it on the bus,’ Rebecca agreed. ‘More than once I found myself sitting looking at everyone else, hoping they couldn’t tell what I was thinking. It’s like having a sexy secret.’

      ‘I also found it quite frustrating,’ confessed Sue. ‘It made me realise what I’d been missing out on all these years, and wondering if that’s what everyone else was getting up to while I’d been – if I may speak frankly – lying back and thinking of England.’

      ‘Well my ex and I never did anything like that,’ Estelle admitted, marvelling at how openly the women were speaking in front of each other. ‘Although maybe we’d still be married if we had! You know, spiced things up a little,’ she finished ruefully, thinking of what Ted had said about him and Leila.

      ‘It’s given me a few ideas,’ Rebecca giggled.

      ‘I just don’t get what the big deal is,’ Gracie protested. ‘It’s not like we’ve never read about sex before, so why is this book so popular?’

      ‘I think it’s the novelty factor,’ Rebecca said thoughtfully. ‘I mean, I’ve never read anything like this before, and it wouldn’t have occurred to me to pick it up unless everyone else was raving about it. But it’s made it acceptable – mainstream even – to read erotica.’

      ‘How about you, Sue?’ asked Estelle. ‘What did you make of it?’

      ‘Well, like Rebecca said, I’ve never read anything quite like this before,’ Sue replied, fiddling self-consciously with her necklace. ‘I mean, obviously it’s very graphic in parts. And this whole idea of pleasure and pain – that’s something I’ve never really considered. Some of the content really was extreme and shocking. But ultimately, I think the book’s appeal comes from the fact that, at its heart, it’s a simple love story. A romance almost.’

      ‘Ahh, I love a good romantic spank on the bottom,’ sighed Rebecca, making everyone laugh.

      ‘But it is an interesting point, Sue,’ Estelle continued. ‘Is it actually erotica? Is it just a romance novel with added sex scenes? Or is it nothing more than porn?’

      At that moment, the door opened. Reggie walked through, just as Estelle was finishing her sentence. As he heard the word ‘porn’, a slow blush spread across his face, burning from his neck all the way up to his forehead. ‘Um … I …’ he began, looking like he could happily have turned around and run as fast as he could away from Cafe Crumb.

      ‘Reggie!’ Estelle called out, as the other women immediately fell quiet, their previous openness deserting them. Somehow, discussing their urges and fantasies in front of Reggie wasn’t quite the same. ‘You’re here! How lovely that you came back. We’re all very pleased to see you. Now sit down,’ Estelle told him, standing up and pulling out a chair. ‘What can I get you to eat? I’m afraid you’ll have to pay for it this week.’

      ‘I’ll just have a tea …’ he began. ‘And a piece of whatever cake you’ve got left.’

      ‘Two sugars in your tea, is that right?’

      ‘Yes, that’s right,’ Reggie agreed, still looking terrified as he set his bag down on the floor and pulled out his own well-thumbed copy of Ten Sweet Lessons.

      ‘You read it!’ Rebecca exclaimed in shock.

      ‘Yes,’ Reggie mumbled. ‘Just for research – for the book club, I mean,’ he explained quickly, as Gracie sniggered. ‘Not for any other kind of research.’

      ‘We didn’t think you’d come back,’ Gracie challenged him, as Estelle shot her a sharp look.

      ‘I almost didn’t,’ Reggie admitted. ‘But … you know … for the sake of my thesis …’

      ‘Right,’ Gracie nodded, a teasing glint in her eye. ‘You’re very dedicated.’

      ‘We were just talking about how to categorise Ten Sweet Lessons,’ Estelle explained. ‘About whether it’s romance, or erotica …’

      ‘Or porn,’ put in Gracie helpfully.

      ‘Yes, thank you, Gracie,’ smiled Estelle. ‘What do you think Reggie? Or do you have any thoughts on the book in general?’

      ‘Um …’ He looked horrified to be put on the spot. ‘I didn’t know women liked this sort of thing. I mean, it’s so popular.