“Wait, wait,” he says, dramatically holding up a hand. “So not only do I get to be with you in Paris, and see your brilliance and business acumen first hand, I also get to fuck you in a suite in the George Cinq?”
I giggle against his chest. “It’s a dream, truly.”
“I am convinced.” He presses me back to the bed, kissing me and tucking his face into the crook of my neck to breathe me in. “I’m there.”
“We’re taking the Eurostar.”
He quickly sits up and turns away from me. “Nope. Changed my mind.”
I jump on his back, laughing, and nick his earlobe with my teeth. “You are such a snob, do you know that?” I kiss his neck, grazing his skin with my teeth in that way that has goosebumps break out over his shoulders. “Some of us like the train. And the tube. And the bus.”
“Alright, alright.” He sighs, turning his head so his lips can seize mine. “You win. We’ll take the train.”
“No getting handsy though, Mr Graves.” I grin against his mouth. “You’ll have to be very well-behaved, and discreet.”
“In that case.” He throws me back down on the bed, kissing me ferociously, pressing himself between my thighs. I wrap my arms and legs around him, moaning into his mouth.
Dominic’s phone erupts in a loud buzz on the bedside table, and he releases me with a sigh. “Sorry, love. I should get that.”
“Even on a rainy Tuesday morning?” I pout up at him, but release him so he can crawl across the bed and scoop up his phone.
“Hello?” He lies back on the bed, running a hand over his face. “No, no it’s fine. I was awake.” He blinks slowly as he listens to the person on the other end of the line, then sits up quickly. “Jesus. And where is he now?”
I sit up as well, watching his face.
Dominic listens intently, then nods. “Yeah, yeah of course… Alright. I’ll be there as soon as I can…. Yep. Thanks, Sally…. Yep. Bye.” He hangs up and tosses the phone onto the bed. “Fuck,” he growls, running his hands through his hair.
I reach over to place a hand on his shoulder. “What happened?”
“Dad’s taken a turn.” He puts his hand over mine and sighs. “He’s at home, but he’s struggling a little and his carer’s worried.” He takes my hand and presses it to his lips. “I should go over there.”
“Of course, of course you should.” I consider asking for a moment if he wants me to come, but that might be pushing things a bit too far. “He needs you, go.”
Dom gives me a sad smile. “Sort of ruined our plans a bit.”
“Don’t be silly.” I wrap my arms around him and pepper kisses all over his face. “You’ve not ruined anything. Your dad’s ill, I’m not going to throw a tantrum over that.”
Dominic smiles, running his hands through my hair and cradling my face in his hands. “You’re wonderful, you know that?” He brushes a soft kiss against my lips. “I’ll pop round later, if I can, is that alright?”
“Of course. And if you can’t, I’ll see you at the game on Thursday.”
We shower quickly, and then Dominic rushes off, leaving me to sneak out to my car in the rain. No one jumps out to accost me, and I do a quick scan of the street once I’m in the driver’s seat. I can’t see anyone about, everyone no doubt avoiding the outdoors on this dreary morning.
On the drive home, a tiny pang of doubt creeps in, enough to spoil the euphoria I felt at spending a night in Dom’s bed. Yes, I’m getting a divorce, it’ll all be settled soon. But will that mean a clean start for Dom and me? That’s doubtful.
I shake the negative thoughts off, and refuse to consider them for the rest of this week. What Dom and I have is so new, and lovely, and for now, that’s enough.
And this week, we’ll have Paris.
22
DOMINIC
The daysbetween my night with Mia and game day roll by too slowly. I’m caught between seeing Dad, who needs his oxygen tank upgraded, meetings with his care team, meetings with sponsors, and trying to somehow keep up with the team and their training, while also being keenly aware of the fact that I’ve had no time for Mia.
We text each other whenever we can, and she sends me some pictures that have me needing to escape to my bathroom to have a fucking agony wank at work like some pervert. And I realise I miss her. I really, really fucking miss her.
It’s a visceral pain to climb into bed without her. I’m old enough to know how intoxicating that first rush is, when everything is new and exciting. That first rush led to three of my marriages.
