Another girl was, without doubt, the most beautiful girl I had ever met.
A few years after I left their group she turned up in the local press and was lambasted by them when it emerged she was the mistress of a local businessman and dared to go to a prestigious function on the arm of a famous millionaire.
The media slaughtered her for a few weeks until the famous man quickly married his childhood sweetheart and she was never mentioned again.
None of these friends were ever considered as girlfriends.
As I stated; I had various girlfriends throughout this period.
Some girlfriends hated some of my friends with a vengeance and some they couldn’t get enough of and became friends with them themselves while I was seeing them.
I tried to keep the ones who hated each other apart most of the time by convincing my lovers that in my friend’s company I was treated simply as ‘one of the girls’.
I have changed the names of these ‘Diamonds’ from the ones in this story to help protect the innocent (and the not-so-innocent). I reveal their stories once told – their secrets once kept – their hopes and desires often shared - confessions and fantasies sometimes overheard – plus a few fantasies of my own.
All my friends were invited to my wedding in 1991 - only 1 (the older one) came.
I had no idea why the others didn’t come to help me celebrate (and neither did she) and I haven’t seen or heard from any of them since.
Could it be it was all so simple then?