‘I like Liv,’ Ollie says after I prompt him. ‘She’s sweet.’
‘She is,’ I concur.
‘She’s … hot,’ he goes on. ‘And nice. And easy to be with.’
‘She is. And?’ I nudge.
‘And … that’s it. We’re enjoying being in each other’s company.’ I don’t get the chance to interrupt as he continues, ‘So let me get this straight. You and Ben did the dirty on freshers’ night and after that – nothing?’
‘Nothing,’ I say. ‘But, in fairness, it’s only been a few days and we’ve kissed a few times. Knowing we can’t do anything else is …’ I give a little tremor of delighted anticipation. ‘Snatched moments in the corridor on the way to and from the kitchen. I thought once I might lure him in by sexy-kissing him while I was sitting on the kitchen countertop and he was standing, waiting for the kettle to boil, and I’d wrapped my legs around him, but … no dice. We’re going out for dinner later. And I’m excited. Is that weird? It’s like Ben’s given me the appetiser and taken away the main course for a while. The anticipation is getting hot now.’
Ollie looks stunned.
‘Sorry, is this too much information?’ I ask.
‘No. Ben’s got you hanging on, though, hasn’t he?’
‘What? No, he hasn’t.’
‘Yes, he has. You’re practically salivating over him and his promises of more.’
‘Shut up,’ I say, swatting Ollie on the arm.
‘Ow,’ he replies, followed by a tone of obvious awe. ‘It’s fucking clever. Wish I’d thought of that.’
‘No need,’ I say. ‘Liv is totally into you.’
‘And you’re not into Ben? Is that why this is happening?’
‘I …’ I’m not sure how to answer that. ‘I just thought it would be a one-night thing and, when I told Ben that, this was his counterplan. I’m quite enjoying it. And him. He’s surprising me. And he seems quite into me.’
‘If you’re not into Ben, you have to tell him.’
‘I didn’t say that,’ I reply. ‘Don’t put words in my mouth.’
‘All right, calm down,’ Ollie replies.
‘Telling a female to calm down is a brave move,’ I say in a dark voice and Ollie cough-laughs on his pint. ‘You know it just has the opposite effect?’
‘Sorry,’ he says. ‘Look, what you and Ben get up to – or don’t get up to – is nothing to do with me.’
‘Exactly,’ I reply, unsure why we’re having this strange discussion, although we both went into it with our eyes open.
Ollie holds up his hands in defeat. ‘I do sort of wish Liv and I hadn’t done what we’d done,’ he admits. ‘I wish we’d waited a bit now, but she’s persuasive and sexy, and I was horny in that club with her grinding up against me. It was unexpected. One second I was dancing with you and then suddenly she was there and … I rushed headlong into it in the club, and now it’s sort of continued. I can’t help feeling that getting with my flatmate is, generally speaking, not the cleverest idea I’ve ever had.’
‘Same here,’ I say, and Ollie and I look at each other regretfully for a moment, two moments.
‘Well, let’s hope it works out then,’ Ollie suggests, attempting to brighten. And I can’t tell if he’s talking about himself and Liv, Ben and me, or all four of us together.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Ben and I are on his bed a week later. I’ve had a few lectures and one tutorial and it all feels a bit dismal. I was quiet in the tutorial, as I’m barely grasping what’s going on. The gap between A-Levels and a degree is far too wide for my brain and I’m struggling to understand the concepts the lecturer is talking about. I enjoyedBleak House, rocking my way through the final chapters at speed. Perhaps that’s where I went wrong. I’ve been set my first essay and I’m not sure I’ve truly grappled enough with the subject matter.
‘What’s the question again?’ Ben asks.
I read it out. ‘“IfBleak Houseis mainly a critique of the law and the men who facilitate it, why does Dickens give so much importance to the story of a woman – Lady Dedlock – whose problems arise mainly from issues other than those of the law?”’
Ben’s quiet, thoughtful, about to say something insightful. Or so I imagine until he says, ‘Fuck me! What does that mean?’
