was expecting me home after dinner.’
‘We haven’t had dinner,’ he said.
‘She doesn’t know that.’
Josh’s fingers were running along her spine and Georgie would have been more than happy to stay right where she was. But that wasn’t part of her plan. She didn’t want to go, she wanted to spend the night in Josh’s arms and forget about the world, but she couldn’t stay. The longer she stayed, the harder it would be to make herself leave.
Tonight was about the present. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They didn’t have a future. She would have her memories but she wouldn’t have Josh.
* * *
God, she was a fool, she thought later as she climbed into her own bed. Her sheets were cold and clean. They smelt of detergent and sunshine but she wanted them to smell of Josh. She never should have slept with him. Now she had to walk away from the best sex of her life.
But it shouldn’t matter. Great sex was just great sex. She could appreciate it for what it was and move on. Great sex wasn’t a basis for a lasting relationship and that was what she wanted, the one thing Josh couldn’t give her.
She was looking for a relationship based on respect, shared values and companionship, not on great sex; but she knew that, at the moment, she’d trade respect and shared values for another night with Josh.
* * *
Josh wasn’t at work the following day as he had a physio appointment but he arrived at the hospital for his regular game of backgammon with her father just as she was leaving. He was waiting for her in the corridor.
He was wearing jeans and a green T-shirt, his hair was spiky and he looked just as he’d looked last night when she’d left him all rumpled in his bed. The only difference was that he was dressed and the fingers of his left hand were encased in a splint.
He was smiling at her. She wanted to tell him to stop, it was messing with her equilibrium and with her resolve, but she couldn’t speak—her mouth was dry, her knees were weak and her heart was racing. Her body reacted even before her brain had fully registered that he was there. Last night couldn’t be repeated. They wouldn’t share another night. She’d have to get over it but her body seemed to have other ideas.
‘Hi. I was hoping I’d catch you here.’ He stepped towards her and reached for her hand. His eyes were dark grey but as their hands touched she saw silver flecks flash in his irises like little lightning strikes and she felt the flash race through her. ‘Can you sneak away tonight?’ he asked.
No, she meant to say, but when she opened her mouth to speak that wasn’t the word that came out. ‘Yes,’ she said.
‘My place? Eight-thirty?’
She nodded and tried to tell herself that when she got there she’d explain why she couldn’t stay, why they couldn’t have another night. But then Josh leant forward and kissed her lips and she felt her resolve crumble into a pool of rampant desire.
* * *
She smelt of cinnamon and honey. He closed his eyes and savoured her scent as he kissed her in the hospital corridor. In ninety minutes she would be in his arms once again but first he had an appointment to keep.
‘Evening, George,’ he said as he entered the room. George was sitting out of bed, looking a picture of health, but the room was bare. The flowers, cards and magazines that had been cluttering all the horizontal surfaces of his room and giving it some personality were gone. ‘What’s going on?’ he asked as he looked around.
‘I’m being discharged in the morning,’ George explained.
‘That’s great news.’
George was nodding. ‘I’ll be glad to get home, that’s for sure. This wasn’t how I planned to spend my holiday. Not that I’m complaining, it could have been a lot worse, it could have been my last one.’ George stood and crossed to the table and picked up a small case that was lying there. It was his backgammon set and it was the only personal item that hadn’t already been packed away. ‘Have you got time for one final game?’
‘Of course,’ Josh said, ‘but I’ll warn you now, this time I’m going to win.’
George laughed. ‘Give it your best shot, but if you couldn’t beat me when I was medicated up to my eyeballs following surgery, I don’t fancy your chances now.’