campus and closer to midnight by the time he’d ditched his paper suit and cleaned up. Dana was asleep, but he was desperate to see her.
‘Hey,’ James said softly, as he sat on Dana’s bed and reached across to dab her on the chin. She always slept in the far corner of her double bed, with her face buried and a shoulder touching the wall.
James got a rush as she opened her eyes and gave an involuntary smile. She shuffled across the bed and gave him a toothpasty kiss.
‘How did everything go today?’
‘Not great,’ James said wearily. ‘I ended up robbing an airport, our informant seems to have stitched us up and made off with half a million quid’s worth of cocaine and the cops didn’t arrest half the people we were expecting to.’
‘I saw the robbery on the news,’ Dana yawned as she sat up. ‘It goes like that sometimes, mate. In fact, in my case I think it’s gone like that a bit too often.’
‘Listen,’ James said. ‘I’ve got something to tell you. Kind of a confession.’
Dana cracked a giant smile. ‘Who was she? Not April Moore again?’
James was taken aback by the casual response. ‘It wasn’t April but, I mean … How can you put it like that?’
‘I know what you’re like,’ Dana explained. ‘Your eyes are out on stalks every time something goes by in a short skirt and I’m a realist: you were gonna get up to something on a mission sooner or later.’
‘But that’s not really me,’ James said. ‘Well … I was like that when I was with Kerry. But I cheated on her loads of times and it ended up that there were all these lies between us; and Lauren blackmailing me and people making comments behind my back. It got so that I could hardly look Kerry in the eye. I hated all the lying and I was never going to cheat on you.’
Dana looked confused. ‘But you did anyway?’
James wrung his hands together. ‘Well here’s the thing. I was kind of…Well…I sort of accidently had sex with this guy’s daughter.’
Dana’s mouth dropped before she burst out laughing. ‘Accidentally,’ she hooted. ‘What, you were strolling along minding your own business when you tripped over and landed on a naked girl?’
James was completely thrown. He’d expected tears and violence.
‘It wasn’t like that,’ James said. ‘I was having a bath. She threw off her clothes and climbed in with me. She was pretty sexy and … I mean, let’s face it, no guy is gonna turn that away.’
‘OK, you’ve confessed,’ Dana said icily. ‘What now?’
Now that she’d stopped smiling, James could see the hurt in her eyes. ‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘I was stupid and I swear it’ll never happen again. You can do anything you like to me. I mean, if you feel like hitting me you can hit me. Or I’ll buy you dinner, or write one of your essays – anything. Just please give me another chance.’
‘Does anyone else know?’ Dana asked.
‘Bruce overheard, but he’s sworn to secrecy.’
‘So you didn’t rush up here to tell me before I found out some other way?’
James shook his head as he stepped off the bed and held his arms out wide. ‘Take a swing,’ he said. ‘Break my arm, kick me in the nuts; I totally deserve it.’
‘No,’ Dana said thoughtfully. ‘You only want me to hurt you to appease your guilt. You want me to do a Kerry, and go mental and throw stuff at you and punch you and call you every name under the sun. Then you think we’ll kiss and make up and go on exactly like before. Well I’m sorry, but I’m not giving you the satisfaction.’
James felt his heart sink. ‘You’re dumping me?’
‘Did you hear me say that?’
‘I don’t know what you’re saying,’ James said, holding his hands to his head. ‘You’re acting all weird. Can you at least tell me how you feel, or something?’
Dana scratched her nose. ‘I don’t know … Hurt, confused. I can’t just forgive you, but I’m impressed that you were honest when you didn’t have to be. You wouldn’t risk it unless you actually cared about me.’
‘I hated all the lies between me and Kerry,’ James explained. ‘I don’t want it to be like that with you.’
Dana rubbed a spot on the bed. ‘I could do with a cuddle.’
James had a tear welling up as he sat down and pulled Dana tight. ‘I’m really sorry,’ he said. ‘I missed you