‘It’s a surprise,’ she says. ‘But he’ll like it. You’ll see.’
When Tig and Theo get up for their first dance, Mark and I move to the edge of the dance floor at a discreet distance. Tig’s eyes are shining, and even Theo looks excited, but maybe those are just nerves.
As they take their positions, the DJ starts playing Celine Dion’s ‘Because You Loved Me’.
‘This is his favourite song,’ Mark whispers, smiling. ‘Good for Tig.’
Theo looks momentarily confused, but then Tig leans in to explain, and his face lights up.
I don’t think he’s ever looked happier shuffling around a dance floor.
When the song finishes, Tig starts to move, but Theo stops her. He whispers to her, then grins as her expression goes from confusion to wariness and finally delight.
As the tango starts, Mark and I stay at the edge of the dance floor, silently rooting for Theo like he’s our kid at his first sports day.
Maybe Theo’s left arm isn’t quite high enough, and maybe his legs are a tiny bit too straight, but it’s still a joy to watch. He dances like it’s just the two of them – not easy with a hundred other people in the room. He’s not awkward or stiff and the adoration in her face and the mirror image in his brings a tear to my eye.
The stirring melody and wistful lyrics amplify my emotions. Without any input from my brain, my hand slips into Mark’s, and when he looks at me, I know I’m going to remember this moment for a long time.
He comes to my room at 2 a.m. I’ve showered and all I’m wearing when I open the door is the hotel dressing gown.
His hair is shower-damp, too, and he’s barefoot in T-shirt and jeans.
‘You look exhausted,’ I tell him, closing the door.
‘I am.’
‘If you’re too tired—’
He grabs me by the waist. ‘I didn’t say I was too tired.’
He tugs the belt of my dressing gown, pulls it off my shoulders, and lets it fall to the ground.
His eyes go black as he takes me in. ‘We’ve done fast and frenzied today. Tonight, I’m going to take my time.’
It’s more intense this time; there’s no laughter. In its place, a ferocious sadness.
He keeps his promise about taking his time. His movements are slow and deliberate and his self-control torturous. It’s electrifying but maddening. I lose count of the times he sends me to the edge and then pulls back, leaving me gasping.
I try to up the tempo, but it just makes him stop completely, hovering above me, the only contact between our bodies my thighs around his hips. I’m losing my mind, too feverish to talk in complete sentences. Please, I beg him. Please,please.
In a moment of coherence, I grab the back of his neck.
‘Don’t stop till you break the bloody bed.’
A light sparks in his eyes and I glimpse the old Mark, the real Mark,myMark, and finally,finally, he complies.
I come so hard I leave bite marks on his shoulder.
I must fall asleep because I wake up at six in the morning and he’s gone. When I make it down to breakfast at nine, Tig, Theo, Pen, and Yan are there, but there’s no sign of Mark.
Yan finds me at the buffet as I’m loading up my plate with eggs and bacon.
‘Someone’s got an appetite.’
‘Mark not down yet?’ I ask, not even trying to hide the link I’ve made.
‘I bumped into him in the gym around seven.’
