When she looked at him, any annoyance that he’d had with her slipped away. This wasn’t her rejecting him, it was her being totally confused. He got that. They’d just done a complete one eighty with the dynamics between them and it was going to rock everything, leaving the ground under them unstable. Like an earthquake – they were going to have to rebuild or move on elsewhere.
“As friends then,” he said. “I’ll ask Alex and we’ll hang at yours with a few beers and Chinese.”
“Remember when we did that one summer? Zack had broken his leg and was laid up, so you had to baby sit Alex pretty much all the time.”
“And we hung out at yours and watched old films and ate homemade cakes because the weather was so bad?” He remembered it well. Rayah and Jake had been on holiday abroad somewhere and it seemed like everyone else had too. So it had been him, Alex and Keren and he remembered it as being one of those summers that was almost idyllic.
“Let’s do that tonight,” she half moved off his lap but he stopped her before she was fully away from him. “Alex is pretty good at keeping secrets, so if I do act differently with you then he won’t comment on it, so will Rayah.”
“I bet we’ll get gate crashed when the others come back from the cinema.” He nuzzled her hair, mussed from the helmet and how they’d been sitting. And his hands. He loved the feel of her hair, had loved it in his hand when he was pounding her from behind… and that train of thought was going to have no good ending right now.
“We won’t. I won’t tell her. I just need to send her a text to let her know I won’t make it when I have reception. We should head off.”
“We should.”
Neither of them moved.
Then she shifted, not away from him, but so she could kiss him. This one had more bite, more promise.
Scott held her to him, surprised at how easy it felt having gone from enemies to something a hell of a lot different in a couple of weeks.
The kiss ended when he felt her stiffen.
“Hurting?” he said, rubbing her back with the lightest of touches.
She nodded. “Stiffening up. We should head off. You good to sort out take out if I grab a bath?”
He nodded, his head full of images about her in the bath.
“I can help wash your back,” he offered.
She laughed, her hand on his neck, keeping him close. “You might be helping me in and out of it yet.”
“And that’s a hardship how?”
“Okay, Mister. Let’s get moving.”
They’d been walking ten minutes before his phone started ringing, probably the instant it had found a signal. Alex’s name flashed up on the screen. Scott answered with one hand, the other round Keren’s waist, supporting her as she was limping.
“What’s up, bro?”
“Stupid question, have you heard from Keren?” Alex sounded serious, his voice heavy with worry.
“I’m with her. Why?”
“You’re with her?” Seriousness turned to incredulousness.
“She came off her bike. We’ve sheltered at the woodman’s hut while it rained and we’re on our way down now. How do you fancy meeting us as far up the path you can get – it’s the one that leads up from Hedwyn’s Farm.”
There was a sigh and few muffled swear words. “I know where you are. Ludd was walking and found her mangled bike. He’s been looking for her thinking she was injured somewhere, or worse. Jesus, Scott, why didn’t one of you text someone?”
“Because we didn’t know anyone would’ve found her bike and this is the first time we’ve had reception,” he said, looking at Keren. His phone was on loud enough for her to be able to hear Alex’s side of the conversation.
“What’ve you been doing for so long… no. Don’t answer that. I’ll let everyone know she’s okay and then drive up. See you in twenty.” Alex hung up and Scott chuckled.
He glanced at Keren and saw how pale she looked. Even if she hadn’t agreed to have him round this evening, he’d have found a way to be there, or at the very least have had Rayah stay in with her. He agreed she hadn’t broken anything, but she was clearly in shock. The fall had taken it out of her and she needed someone to keep an eye on her through the night.
“How does he work things out so quickly?” she said. “Unless you’ve told him?”
