I encircle the pillow with my arms and snuggle further into it, smiling at him. ‘I’m glad.’
‘And you’ll tell me if you’re not into something, so I can change it up?’
I’m delighted to hear he’s up for more of this. My skin gives a shiver of pleasure at the thought. ‘Sure,’ I say nonchalantly, not wanting to seem too eager. ‘But so far, I have no notes, believe me. That was perfect.’
‘My ego says thanks.’
‘Tell it, welcome.’
He grins then gives a decisive sort of nod.
‘Okay, well, I’m going to head back to my apartment and let you sleep,’ he says, rolling away from me and off the bed, then starts to pull on his clothes.
I feel a rush of disappointment that he’s leaving. Not that we’d had an arrangement that he’d stay over.
This is only sex, I forcibly remind myself.
‘But I’ll see you tomorrow for more adventures,’ he promises, as if he’s sensed my emotional wobble.
‘Come to the samurai training with me,’ I say, before I have a chance to check myself. I’d looked at the website earlier to see if there were any spaces left in my time slot and it seems there still are.
He pauses what he’s doing and looks back at me, his brow raised in contemplation. ‘Okay. I could probably get into that. I’ve always wanted to learn how to wield a sword.’
‘Like a true hero.’
‘Exactly, Dasher.’
‘Then I’ll see you back here at nine,’ I say, squashing my grin.
‘Okay.’ He finishes pulling down his shirt, flicking out the collar in that style-conscious way of his, and walks to the door to put on his shoes. ‘Sweet dreams,’ he says, blowing me a kiss before opening the door and leaving.
I start to miss him the moment he’s gone.
13
KIT
I’m up bright and early the next morning and after scoffing the breakfast that’s brought to my apartment, I head over to Chloe’s room and tap gently on the door.
It’s opened almost immediately, as if she was standing right behind it.
‘Hey,’ she says when she sees it’s me. ‘Good morning.’
‘Did you sleep well?’ I ask, giving her a rueful smile. I certainly did.
‘Yeah. Like the dead,’ she says, grinning back.
There’s a strangely awkward pause where we both just gaze at each other.
Is she feeling as spun out about everything we shared last night as I am? It was a revelation to hear how our break-up had actually gone down for her after being forced to make assumptions about it for the last few years. It was helpful to hear her side of the story, and I think it might have healed something inside me that’s felt fractured since then.
But hey, no point in digging any deeper into what’s going on here. It’s a weird time all round for both of us and this is just meant to be a fun interlude, not a deep dive into something more serious.
‘So,’ she says, breaking the slightly tense atmosphere, ‘You ready to become a samurai master?’
‘Always,’ I say earnestly.
I’m actually really excited about this activity. It sounds cool as fuck.
