‘Then let’s go,’ she says, following me out and pulling the door closed behind her, then leading the way down the corridor towards reception.
‘I’ll call my driver and get him to come and pick us up,’ I say as we near the desk.
‘Actually, I was thinking we’d take the tram in,’ she says, before I can pull my phone out of my pocket.
‘Really? You sure?’ I say, not convinced I want to cram onto a tram with a load of strangers right now. Despite my reservations, I’m enjoying this intimacy we’re sharing at the moment. It’s almost like we’re a real couple.
‘Yes, I’m sure,’ she says with confidence. ‘We’re here to experience the culture of the city, right? You’re going to miss a tonne of it if you keep getting exclusive transport everywhere,’ she points out, but with no malice. It’s just stated as a fact.
Straightforward as always.
* * *
The tram is busy. So busy I find myself pressed up hard against Chloe.
As I breathe in her familiar scent and feel the heat from her body warming mine, I decide it’s not so bad travelling this way.
She gives a wriggle against me and I wonder if she’s having the same punch of awareness I am.
A sudden wave of happiness hits me as I think about how great it is to be spending this time with her. I feel like we’ve both matured enough now to be able to just be friends with bennies. Though, if I’m being honest, it feels like wecouldbe more than that.
I’m bummed about the timing of bumping into her. It’s taken out any possibility of this turning into anything more right now. And if not now, then when?
Once we’re both back doing what we usually do, day to day, there’s a good chance we won’t have an opportunity to see each other again. Unless we make one.
And she’s not suggested she’d be interested in doing that. In fact, I really should wind my neck in here. She’s made it very clear what she wants from me.
Just sex.
I should think myself lucky, I guess, having the opportunity for something so uncomplicated and fun, but for some reason I’m not feeling it.
My phone buzzes in my pocket and I shift around, feeling like I’m in a straightjacket in the press of tourists all heading into the city, until I’m able to slide it out and look at the banner on the screen. I hope it’s Elliot finally getting back to me.
My heart skips when I see it’s a message from Katya, which starts with:
Hey, I hope I haven’t caught you at a tricky time. I need to speak to you urgently. I’m?—
And the rest is cut off. I’m going to have to open my messaging app to read the rest.
Which I don’t want to do when I’m standing so close to Chloe.
What the hell does Katya want from me now?
I half want to know and half don’t.
It could be anything completing that sentence. Myriad possibilities tick through my head, each one more extreme than the last.
Pregnantis one that keeps flashing alarmingly through my mind.
But surely not.
We had a pregnancy scare at one point when she was fasting for a job and her low weight affected her cycle and caused her to miss a period, but we’d been careful since then. At least, I thought we had been. The last thing she’d wanted was to have a baby while she was focused on getting her career off the ground. So surely it can’t be that?
Knowing Katya, it’s more likely she’s bored and just trying to get my attention and it’ll actually be something pretty mundane. Or she’s trying to make the guy she got back together with jealous or something. That’s quite likely too. She loves to play power games.
That’s what I’m going to go with.
I’ll look at it properly later. I don’t want to ruin this trip with Chloe by dealing with it right now.
