‘We’re not going to fuck it up!’ Romeo-Dylan said. ‘Are you feeling all right, Murray? You’re even snappier than usual.’
Privately, I didn’t think the problem was going to be stopping the car. It was going to be resisting the urge to put my foot to the floor to see how fast she could really go. I knew for a fact she could go from zero to a hundred in less than three seconds, and zero to two hundred in less than nine. I wasitchingto see what she could do.
Alas, absolutely obliterating the speed limit while being filmed for one of the most popular TV shows in the country probably wasn’t the best idea. Not if I wanted to keep my licence, anyway.
If it weren’t for the lipstick cameras mounted in the car, though, it might have been one of the safest possible times for me to push the beautiful girl to her limits. The long straight road we were driving down was deserted.
We passed through a small town. It was basically deserted too. Not, like, zombie-movie deserted – there were a few people walking up and down the street, some in activewear, some with dogs. A couple were carrying grocery bags, and aswe drove past the supermarket, I saw that it was open. So was the pharmacy next to it.
Nothing else was, though. Shops, cafes, bars, all the usual places people went – all closed.
‘It’s sad, isn’t it?’ Romeo-Dylan said softly. ‘I understand why the lockdown’s necessary, obviously, but it’s still hard to see everything like this.’
‘Yeah,’ I replied.
‘That said, I don’t think my mother’s ever been this social in her life,’ he said. ‘She’s pretty outgoing at the best of times, but now with Zoom and Houseparty and everything, she can catch up with the whole world. I saw her diary once and nearly had a panic attack.’
‘My mum’s the same,’ I said. ‘She’s got six regular Zoom chats on the go. All different, too. There’s one for bridge, one for sewing, one for bowls—’
‘How do you do Zoom bowls?’
‘As far as I can tell, they mostly just complain about the fact no one’s mowing the bowling greens.’
He chuckled. ‘Turn here,’ he said, pointing to a side street.
Romeo-Dylan directed me to the other entrance to the Juliet property, down at the bottom of the hill, and we eventually pulled up near the edge of the lake. ‘I’m sorry the driving part of our date isn’t longer,’ he said, as we got out. ‘If they weren’t so uptight about the filming schedule I would totally try and get you more time with the car.’
‘That’s all right,’ I said, even though I could gladly have driven around for at least a thousand more hours. ‘I’m just honoured I got to meet her.’
I leaned down and pressed a kiss to the driver’s side door as Murray and the crew pulled up behind us. ‘You be good for Mama,’ I whispered to her. ‘I’ll see you again someday, okay?’
Romeo-Dylan was clearly trying not to laugh as I straightened up. ‘You’ll probably hate me for this,’ he said, ‘but when they asked me what kind of car I wanted for this date, all I said was that I wanted a red one.’
‘Look, that’s totally valid,’ I said. ‘Colour is important. I too am a basic bitch who likes a red car.’
‘You know,’ he said thoughtfully, ‘I’ve been called a lot of things, but I don’t think anyone’s ever called me a basic bitch before. Thank you for the new experience.’
‘You’re welcome,’ I said. ‘Welcome to basic bitch club.’
‘ITMs!’ Murray barked. ‘Dylan, you first. Amanda, you wait over there.’
To my chagrin, one of the crew drove my beautiful baby away, so all I could do while I was waiting for my ITM was wander about near the edge of the lake.
It was a beautiful view. If I looked up the hill, I could see the Juliet Villa, bright and white in the sun, the hedge maze a dark smear of greens and purples running away from it. Across the lake, I could see the bobbing boat that was the makeshift Romeo Residence. Romeo-Dylan had taken Jess D sailing on it for her date, and while she hadn’t gone into his actual private quarters, he’d told her that’s where he was living.
Beyond the boat was the Convent. I could see it better down here than from the top of the hill. It was two storeystall, but small, with a wraparound verandah. I could just make out two figures sitting on the front lawn, although I was too far away to tell who they were.
The Villa still felt packed, even though a) it was huge and b) we were losing women all the time. They must be crammed into the Convent like sardines.
You could leave. I would go with you.
The two of us, crammed into that tiny house together. Pressed against each other, skin to skin. Her hand, tangled in my hair. My fingertips, trailing over the beautiful lines of her body.
Shhhh,I’d whisper into her mouth.You have to keep very quiet, or someone will hear us.
Okay,she’d breathe back.
I’d take it as a challenge. Her breath would catch. She’d lick her lips and I’d lean in, lick them for her, and her breath would catch again, and—
