AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I laughed lightly and kissed him gingerly on the mouth.
‘Right, then,’ I said, wanting to put us both out of our misery, ‘we should probably get going.’
Anyway, we did need to leave for work; I was already ten minutes behind schedule. If anything was going to arouse suspicion with my colleagues, it would be me rocking up to the office late. A major incident was likely to be declared if I wasn’t pinned to my desk before everyone else got in, and there was no way I could risk anyone finding out what I’d been doing and, more importantly, who I’d been doing it with.
Part of me wanted to see the shock on everyone’s faces when they found out, and another part of me thought it would be the most humiliating thing on earth. Would they think I was mad for getting involved with someone like Tyler; someone I worked with? Or would they secretly be impressed that I had it in me? Either way, I was convinced I’d be the talk of the office, and not in a good way. I had a reputation as a very-together-person to upkeep, which, admittedly, had been a bit of a struggle when Dan had moved out practically overnight, but I’d mostly managed to hold it together during office hours and keep the gossip at bay. But if they ever found out about me and Tyler they’d jump all over it, I knew they would.
‘Are you sure I can’t persuade you?’ he asked, inching me closer to him with his towel.
If I got a mark on this blouse, I was not going to be happy. I swatted him away in what I hoped was a playful manner and he finally disappeared off to the shower. I used the time to get my work things together and then I watched him get dressed out of the corner of my eye. Even in the throes of passion, he’d hung his shirt neatly over the back of a chair so that it wouldn’t get creased, which made me smile to myself. In a way, he was everything I aspired to be but could never quite manage.
‘When did you say you were flying back to New York?’ I asked him, grabbing my keys from the side and checking my watch again; we might be able to make up the time.
‘Friday evening,’ he replied, bending to tie his laces. ‘But I’m back towards the end of next week. I’d love to take you out for dinner?’
I carefully zipped up my bag, buying myself some time. Dinner felt like an actual date, which was the very thing I was trying to avoid. We’d had a nice time last night. He was different from anyone else I knew and we’d talked about very grown-up things, like the US property market and art galleries and the predominant themes in the last films we’d watched. What if, when we spent more time together, I started to really like him?
‘Sure,’ I said, sliding the strap of my bag onto my shoulder. ‘Maybe.’
‘I’ll take you to Nobu. My ex-wife raves about it.’
‘Oh, cool. I’ve never been,’ I said, wondering how I’d missed the fact he’d been married. Then again, we hadn’t shared anything about our past relationships, which suited me fine. The less of an emotional connection I had with him, the easier it would be to keep myself in check. I wondered if I would be able to carry on like this forever, or whether eventually everyone would – like Dan had – want more than I was capable of giving.
Tyler gathered up his keys and his wallet and I tidied my bedside table and neatened up the curtains. Because I was leaving later than usual, almost everyone had their lights on. One half of the couple whose lounge window faced my bedroom was setting up for the day, opening his Mac Air, a bowl of cereal on the table in front of him. It was funny that I knew what these people ate for breakfast but had no idea what their names were.
‘Right,’ I said, giving the room a once-over and tinkling my keys.
Tyler followed me along the hallway and out of the flat.
‘Oh!’ I stopped outside the flat, remembering Jack’s package.
I’d found it, finally, on top of the fridge freezer of all places. I’d been on the phone when the courier had knocked and had obviously been distracted or something. I felt a bit bad now, actually. I had no idea what was inside, but he’d seemed disproportionately upset, so it must be something pretty special.
Tyler was already on the next landing down, so I leaned over the railings.
‘I’ll see you downstairs,’ I hissed to him, trying not to wake up those residents of Marlowe Court who had the luxury of getting up at a more reasonable hour.
I went back into the flat, grabbed Jack’s package, locked up behind me and knocked on his door.
I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. I’d apologise, hand over the package and that should hopefully be the end of it. Through the door, I could hear him talking loudly and quite angrily. Seemed to be a bit of a habit for him. Maybe he was on the phone. I bet he was one of those annoying people who made phenomenally loud calls right behind you on the bus.
The door opened and I instinctively took a step back. Jack was in another sporty clothes combo this morning: grey marl joggers and a navy T-shirt. I could see he was a fan of the neutral colour palette.
‘Hope I’m not interrupting anything,’ I said.
‘You’re not.’
‘Here,’ I said, thrusting his package at him.
He sighed. ‘Where was it?’
I’d expected a quick thanks, not an interrogation. I cleared my throat. ‘On top of the fridge.’
He nodded. ‘Right.’
‘I didn’t find it until gone midnight, so I wasn’t going to drop it round then.’
‘You should have done. I was still up.’
