Page 80 of A Dark Fall
Jake nods and reaches across the space, casually brushing my hair back away from my face. “Yeah. Tomorrow. Robyn’s. The tall, gorgeous blonde.” His eyes are playful. “Call me later, and we can sort it out, yeah?”
“I will.” I nod.
He leans forward first, placing an almost chaste kiss on the side of my mouth before it deepens to something heavier, hotter.When he pulls back, I’m breathless, and the taste of his tongue swims over my own.
“So ... we’ll talk later,” I say.
“Yeah ... later.”
I open the passenger door and climb out, smoothing down my dress and hair as I walk around the front of the car toward the pavement. I hear the window going down, and so I turn back.
“How corny is it if I say I miss you already?”
I smile like a twelve-year-old girl. “Maybe the corniest.”
“Okay, then I liked waking up with you.”
It’s embarrassing how weak my legs go as I bite back a grin. “Me too. It’s a pity your bed isn’t as comfortable as mine,” I sigh.
He puts on a hurt face, but there’s a smile hidden there. “Your bed was pretty comfy. I have to agree.”
“Well, tomorrow, if you’re a good boy and you behave, I’ll let you have a sleepover at mine.”
Jake grins, and it’s adorable, and I feel myself fall a little further. “A good boy, huh? First time for everything, I suppose.”
I roll my eyes, but it’s playful. “Speak to you later, Jake.”I wave over my shoulder as I climb the steps of the converted townhouse.
He waits until I’m in the front door before pulling away, the sound of his car roaring off down the street as I walk into reception.
When I get home from work later, Fred is most definitely grumpy with me. I know because when I open the front door, he’s sitting on the bottom step of the stairs staring at me accusingly. He gives me a withering look before sauntering off into the kitchen. No coming to lie at my feet for belly strokes, and no bumping his head against my legs.
On the fridge is a note from Ed saying Fred has been fed and my keys are back in the flower pot. I make a mental note to take over a bottle of wine as a thank-you later in the week. I honestly have the best neighbors a single woman with a cat could ask for.
Though maybe, technically, I’m not single anymore.
I put some food out for Fred and then go to the fridge to see if I have anything for myself to eat, eventually closing it on a bored sigh. I need to do some shopping this week. Mentally, I pencil in a trip to Waitrose for Sunday afternoon before my Skype with Tash—presuming I’m not too hungover after catching up with Nick and his new man.
I can’t believe my brother has met someone. Nick’s dating someone seriously, and I’m sleeping with a tattooed, self-proclaimed bad-boy nightclub owner. Looks as though the Marlowe kids have certainly come of age.
I somehow manage to forage a dinner of roasted veg and couscous from what I have in the pantry and get down to doing some work. I have a paper to examine for the peer review board that I sit on once a quarter, and I haven’t even looked at it yet.
It’s not long though before I’m no longer thinking about the benefits of a bottom-up merger of GP and pharmacy service provision and thinking instead about how I might be falling for someone I barely know. I think back to our chat last night about howhe’s “not the person I think he is.”What does that even mean? WhodoI think he is? Do I have a clue? Given how we met, I know our lives are drastically different. Of course I do. But apart from what he shared at dinner about his horrible childhood, how much do I actually know?Is the fact he’s largely a mystery part of the attraction for me? Is that something he’s doing on purpose, to keep me interested and make me want to know more? I’ve certainly never met a man like him before.
Once again, that familiar pull urges me toward him. I grab my phone to check for any sign of life. There are no new messages from him, but then I did say I would call. I wonder if he’s at the club and try not to think about ruses, seduction, and pretty barmaids. Wherever he is, at least I know he’s not stupid enough to be wondering how the hell he’s managed to fall halfway in love with someone he barely knows.
I try to get back into my paper, but my heart isn’t in it. Instead, I lean over and stroke Fred who’s curled up in a ball on the pillow beside me. At some point between the tin of tuna and the quarter pack of catnip-infused treats, he decided to forgive me.
With a sigh, I switch the computer off and resort to running myself a bath. A nice, luxurious soak in the tub is exactly what I need. That will give me the perfect opportunity to overthink me and Jake. I pour lavish amounts of bubble bath into my roll top, light a few scented candles about the bathroom, and put on my favorite modern classical album. As I slide into the bubbles, I reach for my phone again.
Me: About to get into the bath and thought of you. We should find out if it’s big enough for two soon :) Are you working right now? A x
I smile, wondering whether if I asked him to come over right now, he would. I put the phone down and slip into the bath slowly, oohing and aahing at the temperature as it stings the tops of my toes and still achy parts. While I wait for him to respond, I enjoy the sound of the soft pop of bubbles around me.
So, I’m falling for him. I can manage it. It’s quick, yes, and totally unexpected, but it’s likely fueled by lust. Everything’s sharp and more intense in these early days. I can almost remember what it felt like with Ben. This feels different, louder, but that’s because I’m in it, surely?
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Fred walk into the bathroom, and I turn my head. My mind takes a second to process what it’s seeing before I let out a small scream of shock.
Not Fred. Ben.