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“No, er yes, um, what’s the time?” Lottie burbled.

Hannah grappled for her phone. “Quarter to ten,” she said. “What’s up?”

“The Christmas Eve walk!” Lottie jumped out of bed and began gathering her clothes together. “Freya and me were supposed to meet Zack in the porch fifteen minutes ago.”

At that point there came a knock on the door. “Who the hell is that?” asked Hannah, who was clearly still trying to wake up properly.

“Lotts,” called a voice through the door. A voice that belonged to Freya.

Lottie put her hands over her face.

“We know you’re in there,” Freya continued.

“Oh God,” said Lottie.

“Wake up and, or, put her down, and have a shower. We’re leaving at ten fifteen, with or without you,” said Lottie’s niece.

She heard retreating steps and looked towards Hannah. She could only imagine what the woman she had spent the night with thought.

By now, Hannah was sitting up in bed, covering her chest with the duvet, stifling a laugh. Lottie, on the other hand, was standing in the middle of the room stark naked.

“I am so, so, so, sorry,” said Lottie, now holding her shirt from the night before in front of her for modesty. “I guess when I didn’t come home she made an assumption. I can only imagine who she bribed to find out which room you’re in.”

“Oh behave,” said Hannah, “it’s all fine. You’ve got time for a shower and a quick breakfast.” She pouted. “And from what I recall, you worked up quite a sweat last night.”

Lottie knew she was blushing, but she smiled, too. Clearly Hannah didn’t regret a thing about their time together.

“Well, you know who I have to blame for that,” said Lottie, dropping the shirt and walking towards the bed. She leaned down and placed a kiss on Hannah’s lips, before disappearing into the shower.

After a few minutes, she emerged wrapped in a towel. “Well, you look gorgeous like that,” said Hannah. “I sort of wish you were staying here with me instead today.”

“It’s a tempting prospect,” admitted Lottie. “But duty calls.”

“Sigh,” said Hannah, putting a hand to her brow dramatically. “But before you start to overthink things, can I just confirm that I had possibly the hottest night of my life, and I don’t regret a thing. Thank you.”

“Noted.” Lottie laughed while pulling on her clothes. “It would appear you’re learning to predict my every move.”

“Oh I don’t know,” said Hannah, an eyebrow raised. “You had a few moves last night I wasn’t expecting.”

“Well, I’d suggest you did as well,” said Lottie. “Can I borrow your hairbrush? Sorry, not very sexy, but I need to get this mess in order.”

Her hair was indeed more tangled than usual.

“Be my guest,” said Hannah. “But, you know, all joking aside, I think you might just have changed my life.” She shook her head. “God, no, that makes me sound like a stalker or something.”

Lottie gave a nervous laugh. She wasn’t sure where this was going, and while she liked Hannah and wanted to spend more time with her – especially after last night – she didn’t want to look too far into the future.

“All I’m saying,” said Hannah, “is that you’ve catalysed something for me. Perhaps it was something I should have been able to see about myself, but whatever the reason, until now, I’d not picked up on it. You’ve opened a door I didn’t even know was there, let alone one that was closed.”

Lottie wasn’t sure what to say, so she gave Hannah what she hoped was a supportive smile.

“Anyway, thank you.” Hannah looked suddenly shy as she gripped the duvet around her. “I appreciate you.”

Lottie wondered if this was Hannah giving her the brush-off, or whether she was telling her she was the love of her life. Neither felt particularly comfortable right now. She also knew that she was incredibly sleep-deprived and a bit discombobulated. “Well, thank you. That’s very kind of you to say,” said Lottie, trying not to sound as awkward as she suddenly felt. “Maybe I’ll see you later?”

“I hope so,” said Hannah quietly.

Lottie checked the mirror before approaching Hannah, this time kissing her on the cheek before saying goodbye. She closed the door behind her, grateful that there was no one in the hallway to see her exiting a guest’s bedroom. It was not the done thing. Even though Freya and, presumably, Zack seemed to have guessed exactly where she was.