ROWAN: I’ll keep that in mind.
MAX: I bet you will.
There was a long pause between my message and Rowan’s reply. Just as I began to wonder if he had fallen asleep, another message came through.
ROWAN: So, what are you doing now?
MAX: I’m in bed. You?
ROWAN: Same. What do you wear to bed?
I laughed, still surprised when Rowan blatantly flirted with me like that. I wondered how he could be texting me from his bed without his wife knowing about it. The realisation hit me like lightning – they’re not sleeping in the same bed. I felt strangely chewed up inside. Rowan’s marriage had gotten that bad? I knew that it couldn’t possibly be anything to do with me, they’d been on the rocks for some time now from what I had gathered from work gossip, but that didn’t mean I felt any less guilty. I pushed the uncomfortable feelings aside and I focused on the second part of his message. A small smile crept onto my face as I wrote out my next message.
MAX: Depends how cold it is. I’m just in boxers right now… Does that question have a point to it, or are you just being pervy?
The reply came quickly.
ROWAN: Just being pervy.
Without a second thought I lifted the covers from my body, braving the cold to take a quick photograph. The flash was bright in the dark room. My thumb hovered over the screen as I considered whether to send it or not. Eventually, my curiosity to see Rowan’s reaction got the better of me and I pressed ‘send’ quickly before I lost my nerve. I waited impatiently for a reply but when my phone buzzed, I hesitated a few moments until I was brave enough to open Rowan’s message.
ROWAN: Great. Now I’m definitely not going to be able to sleep…
A few moments passed and my phone buzzed again. I opened the message before I’d had time to notice it was a picture. Rowan had taken a similar selfie, shirtless in bed.
ROWAN: Snap!
I spluttered and my phone slipped from my hand, falling onto my face. “Ow, fuck!” I scrambled to locate my phone from the sheets and stared at the photo Rowan had sent for a long moment, as if trying to commit every muscle to memory. Once I had regained my composure, I tapped out a reply.
MAX: Very nice.
I held my phone in my hand, waiting for the reply, but rolled onto my side, snuggling down to try to sleep.
ROWAN: I’m glad you think so. Sweet dreams x
MAX: Goodnight x
And just like that – I was cured of my restlessness and drifted swiftly into a deep sleep.
???
Before I could comprehend it, Friday evening had arrived. The week seemed to have flashed past in a blur of flirting and sexual tension. Rowan and I had somehow managed to withstand ravaging one another against any other surfaces of the office and had even been quite casual about saying goodbye for the weekend, despite us both knowing we had a date scheduled for Saturday evening.
My stomach churned with excitement as I hopped off the bus outside my flat block. I wondered if we’d end up going to that new Italian place or whether Rowan had thought of somewhere else. I was a little nervous, not knowing what to expect, but simultaneously couldn’t wait.
When I let myself into my flat, I was greeted by the stench of weed. Oliver was sitting on the sofa with two guys I’d never met before.
“I hope you haven’t been smoking that shit inside,” I called to him.
Oliver whipped his head around and grinned. “Oh, hey, Max,” he greeted me, his two friends looking over as well. “No, we haven’t smoked inside, I swear.”
“You just fucking stink then,” I teased, kicking my shoes off.
“Don’t look at me. It’ll be those two potheads stinking the place out.” Oliver laughed as his friends jostled him playfully. “Oh, and by the way, Max – Tom and Evan. Tom, Evan – that’s Max.” Oliver turned his attention back to his Xbox.
“Hey, nice to meet you.” I half-waved rather unenthusiastically. I didn’t really fancy forming any sort of friendship with the two of them. They both nodded and grunted in reply.
If I recalled, Evan was a member of a reasonably popular local band, Kursed, but I had no idea who Tom was. Oliver seemed to bring in a string of waifs and strays that he called friends relatively often, so I didn’t care much to get to know any of them.
