‘Well, we evaded the intimacy cards last time. Shall we skip this one?’
‘No. If we’re going to do this, let’s just do it as intended. Bloody Dr Stefania.’
‘Leave my girl out of this.’ She held the card up for him to see. ‘I’m waiting.’
With an incredulous shake of the head, he conceded, avoiding eye contact. ‘Anything with me on top. I like the bird’s eye view.’ He took another swig, longer than the others.
Sarah tittered at his embarrassment. ‘See? That wasn’t so hard now, was it?’
‘Nothingis hard now. And won’t ever be again.’ He finally locked eyes on her. ‘Your turn.’
‘Anything that lends itself to front-on-front contact.’ She closed her eyes and gestured the proxemics she had in mind. ‘I like the closeness. The eye contact.’ She returned the card to the box and chose another. ‘Objectives.’
‘Thank God.’
‘If you could go back in time, what words of wisdom would you give your fifteen-year-old self?’
They both took a moment to process the question in silence.
Matthew was the first to speak. ‘Onlyyoucan determine your future. No one else. And don’t let anyone try.’ His eyes narrowed in on the space between his shoes at the edge of the drop sheet.
‘It won’t work out as you had imagined it would, but you will be ok in the end,’ Sarah added, gesturing for the bottle.
There was an awkward break in their rhythm, and it was quickly filled with silence and stillness.
Eventually, Matthew said, ‘That was a sure-fire way to kill the mood.’
Sarah set the bottle down and drew another card. ‘Personality. What would you—’ she hesitated and drew in a steady breath, ‘—change about your body?’ As she uttered the final word, Sarah’s mouth dried and her eyes subconsciously closed in defeat.
Matthew noted an immediate shift in how she held herself – fidgeting fingers and curled shoulders. He wondered what it was that could change her so quickly.
The wind that rustled through the olive trees met them on the orchard floor. It blew past them, gently tousling Sarah’s cropped blonde hair, and she turned away from its flurry. What would he change about her? Matthew took a moment before deciding that nothing would change. Her feminine figure, bright eyes, full pink lips. He would change nothing.
When she eventually opened her eyes, Matthew offered Sarah the Flag notes. ‘Here,’ he said kindly. ‘You don’t have to say anything.’
Sarah smiled and wrote,Warrioron the next empty note.
To shift the tension, Matthew was quick to share his example. ‘This bad boy, right here.’ He pulled up the side of his navy t-shirt, revealing a scar across the right side of his abdomen. ‘Emergency appendectomy. I was eighteen. And when I say, emergency, I meanemergency. No neat keyhole surgery here. The thing ruptured.’
Sarah winced. ‘Matthew!’
‘The most painful experience of my life. The last thing I remember hearing before I went under was the surgeon screaming for the anaesthetist to, “Hurry the fuck up!”’
‘Oh my God.’
‘Now I’ve got this for life.’ He ran his finger along the white scar. ‘Had to knock back all the topless modelling contracts, Sarah. That was the hardest thing.’ He looked forlornly across the valley. ‘What could’ve been.’
She rolled her eyes and gave him another shove, and he was thankful that her trademark rosy cheeks had returned.
‘This will shut you up.’ She held up the next card and announced with the flourish of her wrist, ‘Intimacy!’
‘Here we go.’ Matthew feigned dusting himself off. ‘Does Dr Stefania want to know the length of my penis, this time? In centimetres or inches?’
Sarah cackled with glee. ‘No. But nowI’mcurious.’
‘Just read the card, you.’ He then proceeded to mutter something disparaging about Dr Stefania’s professional credentials under his breath.
‘I love it best when my intimate partner doesthisto my . . .’
