‘Oh, Pete, this is .?.?. fantastic. I feel like I’m eighteen at Electric Picnic.’
‘I never went, can you believe that? I was always too busy.’
‘Ah well, it’s never too late.’
A thought occurred to her, and Pete seemed to read her mind .?.?.
‘And Tony’s on a yacht .?.?. fuck him anyway. He doesn’t haveyou .?.?.’ He slid a hand inside her coat and caressed the bare skin of her back. Meanwhile, Patsy padded off and lay down cosily in his bed beside the heater.
‘Sssh,’ said Pete, supressing a giggle. ‘We better not wake him.’
‘He’s only a baby,’ whispered Ally. She felt the rough beard stubble rasp across her lips as she opened her mouth, allowing his tongue inside, and he cupped the cheeks of her bottom.
‘You’ve an amazing body,’ he whispered.
‘Really?’
‘Oh yeah .?.?.’
She unbuttoned his flannel shirt, sliding her hand across the rough hairs of his chest and belly.
‘I’ll have to cut down on the chips,’ he muttered, making them snigger.
His hand slid up between her thighs and inside her knickers, as she wrapped her leg around his.
‘You’re so wet .?.?.’ His fingers slid inside her yielding pussy, as she felt the hardness of his cock pressing against her.
‘Wait,’ she squeaked, almost overbalancing on her high heels as she pulled the floaty satin dress over her head and let it slip to the ground. For a moment they gazed at each other’s semi-naked bodies in the orange glow of the streetlights.
‘I need to get inside you,’ he breathed.
‘Not out here, everyone can see us from the street,’ she hissed, so they crawled into the tent. He wriggled out of his jeans and underwear, shoving her bra above her breasts and flicking his tongue across her nipple. She moaned and arched her back, opening herself to him.
‘Uh, just .?.?. hang on .?.?.’
There was some scuffling in the tent as he rummaged around and finally produced a condom from his jeans pocket, holding it between his teeth and ripping it open. She breathed in the smellcoming off his body: fresh sweat, sex and something else that was uniquely him, but didn’t feel strange. As he slid inside her, it felt like coming home.
* * *
Ally woke to find her face pressed against a mop of something soft and fluffy, which turned out to be Patsy. The puppy had crept into the tent during the night and found the cosiest spot, which turned out to be right between their heads.
‘Pete?’
‘Mmmm?’
Just then Patsy was lifted out of the way and she found herself face to face with Pete.
‘Hi,’ he murmured as she moved closer and fell back into a doze, with her head on his chest, in the early-morning quiet before the rest of the world woke up. Without even intending to, they made love again, because it was the natural thing to do. Then she drifted for a while between waking and sleep, remembering at least that they were already at work. Eventually, she became aware of a glow in the darkness, as Pete prodded at his phone.
‘Pete, what’re you doing?’ she whispered, conscious that Evelyn was already downstairs.
‘Looking to see if he’s transferred the money.’
‘It’s kind of early.’
‘Nope, Turkey is three hours ahead.’
She watched his face, which was furrowed in anticipation, melt with relief.
