The second thing that came to me was the underwire of my bra digging into my ribs. What was I thinking?
Rolling over to push my legs out of bed, I groaned as I twisted the under band, all of my muscles protesting at being made to do any sort of work while my mind refused to come back online. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept for so long, no wonder the neurons were struggling to fire. Callum’s side of the bed was empty, the quilt pushed back and the mattress still warm when I ran a hand over the bottom sheet. He’d slept late too. But he’d been up long enough to light the fireand make two cups of tea, both of which sat steaming on his chest of drawers. Assuming one was for me, I forced my legs to carry me across the room to collect it then found my way to the armchair by the window. A frost had come in the night, covering everything outside with an icy sparkle, and I felt sure my fingers would come back covered in glitter if I reached out to touch it.
‘Ahh, she lives.’
I twisted in my chair, still bleary-eyed, to see Callum emerge from the bathroom, plumes of steam billowing out behind him like dry ice on a game show. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, the hair on his head was wet and slicked back and the hair on his chest glistened, just like the first time we met. Well, except for the towel.
‘Morning,’ I said, forcing my eyes back up to his face as my mind treated me to an instant replay of that particular memory. ‘Did you sleep OK?’
‘Not as well as some people,’ he replied with a grin. ‘You weren’t kidding about being able to sleep anywhere, were you?’
Turning back to the window, I pinched my own thigh through my shorts, very aware that I was not looking at this man respectfully and we were still under his mother’s roof. I needed to put some distance between us and fast.
‘What’s on the agenda for today?’ I asked, the sound of drawers opening and closing behind me. ‘Have I got another migraine or do we need to switch it up? Sore throat? Vertigo? A sudden case of Alien Hand Syndrome?’
‘Do I even want to know?’
‘A neurological condition in which a person losescontrol of one or both of their hands, meaning their hands frequently act against their will.’
‘As tempting as that is, I was thinking of something else.’
When I looked back, he was pulling a grey T-shirt over his head, the muscles in his back flexing under the pale skin.
‘We should get out for the day,’ he said. ‘It pains me to suggest it but—’
‘Loch Ness?’ I guessed. ‘You’re taking me to Loch Ness?’
Pulling a chunky blue jumper from a drawer he shook his head. ‘I’m taking you to Inverness to get a new phone.’
My face fell.
‘And I’m taking you to Loch Ness.’
I didn’t care how thick the walls were, everyone in the house must’ve heard me cheer. And then yelp when I spilled tea on the back of my hand.
‘It doesn’t seem like a good idea to have your pals knocking around the house,’ Callum added, laughing.
Ignoring the mild scalding, I put down my cup and leapt to my feet, jumping up and down on the spot, ecstatic at Callum’s suggestion and the fact I’d decided to sleep in a bra.
‘Give me ten minutes and I’m out the door,’ I said, wiping my wet hand on the backside of my pyjamas. ‘Although Desi and Joel might need a bit more warning. Desi especially, she’s not a morning person.’
‘They already know. Joel’s been up for hours, we had a wee chat while I made the tea. Get yourself ready, I’ll see you downstairs. I’ve left the poor bastard alone with my dad unchaperoned.’
I threw him a salute and marched right into the bathroom, tying up my hair, turning on the shower and only pausing when I reached down to take off my socks. Callum’s socks. With great care, I rolled them back up into a ball and placed them on the chair in the corner of the bathroom. Would it be so terrible if I borrowed them as a permanent loan?
‘You’re talking about stealing a man’s socks,’ I whispered as I stepped into the shower.
I definitely needed to get out of the house.
‘I think I can see it!’ Desi yelled, a pair of binoculars borrowed from Mal held up to her face. ‘Wait, no, it’s a branch. Not a monster.’
‘Give me strength.’ Callum blew out a sigh as we followed a well-trodden path along the side of the loch. ‘How many more times is she going to do that?’
‘Twenty times an hour feels like a conservative estimate,’ Joel replied. ‘She’s very excited.’
Even more excited than me, it turned out. Unbeknownst to any of us, Desi had been hiding a secret monster kink and was determined to find the Nessie of her dreams.
‘It’s your fault for giving her that book about the sexy mothman,’ he muttered at me. ‘Never been the same since. If it’s not mothmen, it’s minotaurs. If it’s not minotaurs, it’s orcs and if it’s not orcs, it’s ogres. I don’t even want to tell you about the short story she sent me about the kraken.’
