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14
‘Now?’ Jen blurted, her voice ten octaves higher than usual.
Holly sniggered. ‘I’m just kidding. Plus, you never know who’s hanging about – I don’t think in the public eye is the best place for that experiment. I do think we need to spend some time together though, practice being in each other’s spaces. Hand-holding, little touches, stuff like that. That’s what makes a relationship: the little things you don’t think twice about.’
‘I don’t know. Seems a little extreme, don’tcha think? Going to all that trouble.’
‘Do you want a new fridge or not? I just think we need to clear the air, break the tension. Or nothing we do will ever look genuine. If we do it now, in our own time, then being a couple in public is going to be no big deal. Like, look at how we’re sitting. We’re friends at best – there’s no way we’re dating.’
Jen’s heart was thundering, slamming against her ribs like a percussionist was using her as an xylophone, still recovering from Holly’s kissing joke.
Holly continued, ‘Let’s start small, practice being in each other’s personal space while we watch a movie or something. If we get used to each other behind closed doors it will be a cinch when we’re in front of the camera. I really want to win this money, Jen. We need to try harder if we’re going to beat the other couples.’
She couldn’t. Lines were already blurred. The truth was, ever since their night out in Bar Orama, Jen had struggled to get Holly out of her mind. Holly only wanted to be friends, though. Would acting things out not just send confusing signals to her already muddled mind?
‘I need time to think about this,’ Jen said, her heart still refusing to slow down.
‘Of course. I wouldn’t rush you into anything.’
Could she really get close to Holly and not deepen the feelings that were now undeniable? Once that gate was open, Jen could never go back. Even allowing herself to fantasise about it had felt wrong, like she was crossing a line. It hadn’t stopped her, though. She’d touched herself last night, the first time in a long time, visions of Holly between her legs playing out as she orgasmed.
Making those dreams a reality, even if it was just an act, was far too dangerous.
‘Do you think we should head back soon?’ Holly asked, cutting through Jen’s thoughts like a knife through butter. ‘Connor said we only have the bikes for an hour.’
‘Yeah, probably best. No more hills though,’ she replied with a chuckle. Was Holly just going to leave this conversation at that?
‘If we go down here we can take the flat path back to the car park?’
‘Let’s do it.’ It would seem she was leaving things there. Probably for the best. Or Jen would be having a heart attack.
Holly retrieved her bike, surveying the land below them. ‘Of course, we could always go down here, take a shortcut to the path.’
‘Fancy a race?’ Jen challenged.
‘You’re on.’ Quick as a whippet Holly was on her bike, speeding down the hill.
‘Hey, that’s cheating!’ Jen shouted, clambering on her own bike and pushing off. She turned the pedals, to no avail: they were freewheeling now and Holly wasn’t giving up her lead.
She negotiated a hummock, losing even more ground.
Jen lowered herself towards the handlebars, hoping to become a little more aerodynamic. The plan worked and she was soon closing the gap.
Not far to go now.
Holly quickly checked her rival’s position, a huge grin plastered on her face.
C’mon, Jen.
A squirrel appeared from nowhere, its face a question mark as it stopped directly in Jen’s intended tracks.
There was no time to think. No time for brakes.
Either she changed course or it was squirrel pancakes.
Her brakes squealed as she fought to swerve, the noise ripping through the air like a howling banshee.
The world was a blur and the next thing she knew she was flat on her back, Holly’s concerned face blotting out the sky.
