Page 37 of Be More Octopus

A microwave ready meal on her own or Jack's home cooking with Jack for company? Normally, it would be no contest, but after the morning's intense portrait session, was going around to Jack's again a good idea? Probably not, but sod it.

Yes, please. I'll bring wine.

Jack replied immediately:

Excellent. There's a new detective series starting on Netflix today if you want to watch it afterwards?

Em sent a thumbs-up. She laughed and texted Lucy.

Having a Netflix and Chilli session with Jack tonight.

Em wasn't surprised to see Lucy reply straightaway:

Is that a typo?

Em:

Sadly not.

But it was still something to look forward to. Em relaxed back into her painting session.

Two hours later, she packed up her paints, took a shower to freshen up, put on her favourite perfume and headed over to Jack's.

'You're early,' he said as he opened the door.

'You said 6.30.'

'Did I? I meant 7.30. I'm sorry.'

'I can go back home. It's not as if it's a long journey.'

'No, please stay. As long as you don't mind the mess. I haven't finished tidying up yet.' He ushered her inside.

The living room didn't look that bad. A few books were open on the desk, several used mugs were on the coffee table, and the ironing board was in the centre of the room.

Jack must've seen her looking. 'I thought I better iron that blue shirt you liked ready for tomorrow's portrait session. I'll only be a couple of minutes.'

'You don't have to iron it on my account. I told you, I'm fine with the creases. I hate ironing.'

'I've never understood why anyone hates ironing. It's satisfying. You start with a crumpled shirt, and two minutes later, you've transformed it into a smart, smooth one.'

She hadn't got Jack down as an ironing enthusiast. Was that even an attractive quality? As far as Em was concerned, there were better ways to spend your time. 'Two minutes? More like ten minutes, and by then, I've got rid of the original creases but added several more.'

'How on earth does it take ten minutes?'

'If I'm having a bad day, it can take 15,' Em laughed. 'You think it only takes you two minutes, but I bet it's a lot longer.'

'Is that a challenge?' he grinned at her and folded his arms.

'Do you want me to time you?'

'Ok then,' he said defiantly. He walked over to the ironing board and grabbed the shirt. 'Tell me when to start.'

Em got the stopwatch on her phone, not quite believing they were doing this. She imagined what Lucy would say, and it wasn't complimentary. 'Ready, steady, go.'

Jack sprang into action, starting with the underside of the collar. He soon moved on to the cuffs and sleeves, wielding the iron expertly across the fabric. 'How am I doing?' he asked as he ironed the back.

'One minute, 10 seconds so far.'