‘Jake,’ I practically hiss. I dangle over the end of the bed so I’m closer to him. ‘Jake, quick!’
He stirs, blinking up at me, as he comes to his senses.
‘Everythin’ alright?’ he asks.
‘Cordelia’s at the door, she wants to come in – quick, get in bed with me,’ I command.
‘Yeah, okay,’ he says, springing to action.
I get back in my place and Jake dives onto the bed next to me.
‘Okay, come in,’ I call out to Cordelia.
I throw the duvet over us and, at the last second, Jake scoops me up in his arms, spooning himself up behind me, his body pressed tight up against mine. Is that… oh boy. I can feel every inch of his body against mine. It’s like my senses are mapping out every part of him, painting one hell of a picture. Finally he interlocks one of his hands with mine. Now this has to look real. Even I’m low-key convinced and I know it’s fake.
‘Good morning,’ Cordelia says as she walks in.
I can feel Jake’s breath ever so gently on the back of my neck. I don’t know if it’s my senses going into overdrive or if he’s getting closer, and I can’t help but wonder what it would feel like to feel his lips on my body. I know, I know – but what you have to remember is that Jake is the fantasy, the dream romcom man, the one I could never have in a million years. Andy is taken, sure, but if he weren’t then he’s the normal, safe man I could maybe see myself with. But he’s taken and his fiancée is here, standing at the end of the bed in a floral dress.
‘Erm, why are there covers and pillows on the floor?’ she checks. ‘Is everything okay with you two?’
All that effort to get Jake into bed with me and we never destroyed the evidence of him sleeping on the floor.
‘It’s a sex thing,’ I say with a bat of my hand.
‘Oh… wow… okay,’ she replies. ‘I hope I’m not interrupting.’
‘No,’ I say quickly. ‘We were just about to get up actually.’
‘Right, well, I just wanted to let you know,’ she continues, ‘that Arty dropped by earlier. He brought fresh eggs from his hens, bread his wife baked this morning, sausages from the butcher in the village. Isn’t that sweet?’
‘Aww, that’s great,’ I reply.
‘He asked after you both,’ she adds casually. ‘I told him you were still in bed.’
While it would have been great for him to see the two of us together generally, I think it probably helps our case that it seems like we were still in bed together.
‘Well, if you’re getting up, then breakfast will be ready whenever you are,’ Cordelia says. ‘I’ll see you down there.’
And then she’s gone. I finally let out a long breath of relief, but it only makes me sink deeper into Jake’s embrace. As tempting as it is to linger, I jolt away like a reflex.
‘Sorry about that,’ I tell him.
‘Quite alright,’ he replies. ‘That was a good cover-up.’
‘Yeah, that actually worked,’ I say with a laugh. ‘Shall we go get some breakfast?’
‘I’d like that,’ he replies with a smile.
The door bursts open again but this time it’s JJ. She doesn’t knock.
‘Morning,’ she says. ‘I just saw Cordelia on her way out, so figured you wouldn’t mind.’
She plonks herself down on the bed next to me. I move up, to give her space, which only sends me towards Jake again.
‘Morning,’ I reply. ‘Cordelia says breakfast is almost ready.’
‘Great,’ she replies. ‘After that – content day! In fact, let’s start right now. Jake, take a selfie of the two of you in bed.’
