AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘She’s great. And those cookies!’
‘Are you angling for another?’
‘I mean, obviously.’
‘Right, I’ll fetch the cookies and make us another drink, you see if there’s something for us to watch on TV.’
‘And here I was thinking we’d share a bottle of wine and our thoughts on Chekhov,’ I tease.
‘It is still too soon to make jokes like that, Rogers.’
I stretch out on the sofa and observe Joe’s lovely eclectic house. There are paintings on every wall in the living room, from Banksy-style graffiti to watercolours of Bristol. In the middle of the room is a brightly coloured rug, a sofa and an armchair lined up around it. He has a log-burner on one side of the room and an enormous stack of well-thumbed books on the bookshelf next to it. There are postcards and Lego spaceships on the mantelpiece and a teepee in one corner, where Joe shoved all of Sidney’s toys once the kids had gone to sleep. Clever!
I get a text message from Mum:
Hi darling! Decided to message as it’s late.
Oops didn’t mean to send that!
Your father and I had a lovely meal at Royal Oak tonight.
Met the new landlord, Akoni Jones.
Very nice chap. Dad embarrassed us all by complaining about lack of “simple food” on menu.
Oops again!
Anyway Akoni told Dad he’s on the hunt for someone to help with branding so I mentioned you!
He’s got your number and will get in touch
I splutter at the aubergine.
What’s with the aubergine emoji, Mum?
She replies with a string of other veg emojis, a final ‘oops’ and two kisses.
Joe comes back in with a couple of hot chocolates and we settle on a travel programme where a celebrity couple visit luxury hotels around the globe. We’re quiet for a while as we watch the camera cut to an infinity pool with far-reaching views of the Caribbean Sea and I find myself nestling into the sofa, crossing my legs.
The move means that my left knee is now pressed into Joe’s thigh but he’s either too polite to grumble (unlikely) or he simply doesn’t mind.
‘Pair of lucky bastards,’ Joe tuts towards the TV. ‘Jetting about on an all-expenses-paid trip around the world and calling it work. Look at that man, peacocking around in his skin-tight T-shirt. And why’s his girlfriend wearing such high heels around the pool?’ Joe rubs his forehead. ‘Surely that’s a hazard?’
‘It’s a whole thing.’ I chuckle.
‘Do you wear heels at the beach?’ Joe asks, confused.
‘Chance would be a fine thing. Last time Lila and I went for a trip to the seaside I ended up caked in a sand, ice cream and sun lotion mix that was very hard to get off.’
‘Same.’ Joe smiles at the common ground. ‘I wouldn’t say no to a trip there, though.’
‘You must write to Netflix immediately,’ I reply, grabbing a cookie. ‘Offer yourself as a replacement for these two.’
‘Don’t think I quite have the celebrity status. Or the other half, for that matter.’
Joe touches on the subject I want to ask him more about – but I’m also worried that I might upset him by doing so. Instead I stuff more cookie into my gob so I don’t have to say anything.
‘Claire would find this hilarious, you know? She’d be telling me to start dating properly rather than piss around creating a make-believe romance.’
