"Hello?"

Jill turned her head to listen.

"Yes, Barbara speaking."

There was a pause.

"Oh, hi." There was another pause. "Pretty good. Just finishing dinner, actually. No, no, not at all. If you'll just hold on, I'll take the call in the other room."

Jill got up and moved to the door as her mum walked into her bedroom. She stayed by the door until she was sure that her mum was sitting down and talking again. Her mum didn't like her listening in on phone calls. She said it was rude.

Jill heard the bedroom phone being picked up. "Daryl? Hi. Sorry about that."

Jill took off her school shoes and placed them under her bed. Then she tiptoed along the hallway until she was right outside her mum's room. She could hear her mum's voice clearly now.

"So you got my e-mail? Uh-huh. Oh, did it? That's good. Pardon?" There was a pause. "She's ten. Jill. Yes, she is. In her room. She's doing her homework."

Jill cupped her hand over her mouth and sniggered.

"Sometimes she's a handful, but she's a pretty good kid. I'm lucky really."

Jill spotted her own shadow on the bedroom door. She suddenly crawled back along the hallway and pressed her herself against the wall. If her mum caught her evesdropping again, she'd be really mad.

"Oh, I've met a couple of guys. No-one special, though. Most of them were - how do I say it? - pretty unimaginative. All talk."

Jill heard her mum take off her shoes and place her legs on the bed as her caller talked for a minute.

Jill's mum said "Mmmm" and "uh-huh" a lot.

"Okay," Barbara said. "You really want to know? You sure?"

Jill crossed her arms across her chest.

Then her mum started talking. "I like to have a man undress me first. With his eyes. I like him to look me up and down and pay extra attention to my breasts and ass. I like to wear short, tight skirts that really show off my ass. If I know he's watching me, I'll turn around to show it to him. I like the look that guys get when they want you. It's a little out of control. A little animal-like. The way a guy's eyes just bore through you really turns me on..."...(cont)