‘Are you saying what I think you’re saying?’ he asked after a moment or two’s silence.
‘If you think I’m asking you to come back here and have sex with me on Adele and Marcus’ wedding day then the answer is yes. Please. And I added please to be polite. I wasn’t begging.’
He burst out laughing.
‘Unless you’ve changed your mind,’ I added. ‘Which is fine if you have. Just say no thanks, and we’ll remain friends.’
‘You’re joking? Right? About the friends bit. Not about the sex part. You know how much I want you, Erin. You must do. I think I’ve made that abundantly clear.’
‘When? You’ve as good as ignored me over the last two weeks.’
‘No I haven’t!’
‘Yes you have. You’ve kept your distance whenever we’ve been in the same room, and if I had the audacity to move closer to you, you immediately stepped away.’
‘No I … Okay. Perhaps I did do that. But I explained why. I told you that if I was near you, I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off you. I thought we’d agreed we’d wait until after the wedding was over and then we’d make up for lost time.’
‘When did we agree that? I assure you I made no such deal. We’d agreed that you would see how long your nose took to heal and then you’d let me know and we’d engage in contact sport right away. I even said there were other things we could do beforehand.’
‘I … I suppose I did say that. And yes. I remember what you said. The truth is, Erin, that the closer it got to the wedding the more worried I was that I might not … live up to your expectations, and that would be awkward if we had sex and it was a disaster and then we still had to stand beside one another at the wedding.’
‘So you think sex between us will be a disaster?’
‘No. I said that I was worried it might be.’
‘Well there’s only one way to find out. Have some bloody contact sport. Assuming you feel up to it.’
‘I feel up to it.’
‘Fine. That’s a date then. We’ll have sex here on Adele and Marcus’ wedding day.’
‘We will. Erm. Unless you’re free now.’
‘Now? Tonight?’
‘Yes. I think my nose has healed. And every other part of me is working fine, as far as I know.’
‘I think I should be the judge of that. But you just said that it might be a disaster and we should wait until the wedding. Forget it. How soon can you get here?’
‘Fifteen minutes?’
‘Can you make it in five?’
‘Only if I risk getting stopped for speeding. I can do it in seven at a push.’
‘Make it eight. Just in case. I don’t want you to end up in the hospital again because I asked you to drive here fast and you had an accident.’
‘Good point. And as all I’ll be thinking about as I’m driving is making love with you, perhaps I’d better ask my dad to drive me.’
‘Brilliant idea.’
‘Wait. I’ll ask him. Dad? I need a lift to Far Cottage. As fast as you can, please.’
‘All right, son. Keep your hair on. Where’s the fire?’ I heard his dad say.
‘I dare you to say, “in our loins”,’ I teased.
‘I think he already knows if the huge grin on his face is anything to go by. I’m leaving right now.’
