Eventually, he lies back again and leans his head against the wall tiles, his eyes closed. ‘Let me take you to dinner tonight.’
Would you open up to me then, my beautiful,conflicted man?
‘Somewhere nice, just us.’
‘And when you sayjust us, what you mean is no talking about the present or the future, which you can’t seem to grasp is based entirely on the past.’
‘Jesus, Scarlett, I don’t even know what that babble means. I’m just asking you to come to dinner with me. As my gorgeous, sexy, infuriating girlfriend.’ He slips a foot between my thighs and starts moving it up to my centre.
I slap it away, causing a splash. ‘Oh no, you don’t! You’re not using sex to ignore me again.’ I climb out of the bath and wrap myself in a warm, white towel from the heated rail. ‘And no. I won’t come to dinner with you. I have plans.’
He leaps out of the bath as quickly as he can without slipping on the bubble-greased base. He yanks my towel off me and picks me up, my back against his chest, plonking us both back into the hot water, in our usual position. He pins me against him until my wriggly limbs relent.
‘We’re going to dinner,’ he says, reaching for a flannel, soaking it and squeezing the water across my chest.
‘I genuinely have plans. I’m going out with Amanda and Luke. I promised.’
‘Luke, your ex?’
‘Luke, mygayex, yes.’
He nods his approval of Luke’s sexual preferences against my neck. ‘Cancel.’
‘No. I can’t ditch my friends, Gregory. I’ve hardly seen them since we met.’
‘So?’
‘So I’m not cancelling. We’ll do dinner another night.’
He bites the bottom of my earlobe sharply. ‘Where are you going?’
‘For drinks.’
‘Just drinks? No food?’
‘Just drinks.’
‘Is that wise? I’d prefer if you have dinner.’
I turn to face him and realise he actuallyisserious. ‘I’ll eat before I go.’
‘Fine, but something substantial. I don’t want you drunk.’
‘Erm, I’ll be drunk if I want to be, thanks all the same.’
‘Fine, then I’ll come too.’
I try to push away from him in protest but he holds me to his chest and resumes casually soaking and draining the flannel.
‘You aren’t invited.’
‘Then don’t get drunk.’
‘Fine. I’ll get tipsy. Better?’
He shrugs against me and I can feel my temper stirring.
‘Where are you going for drinks?’
