His girlfriend Paige is giving me the cold shoulder. Makes it difficult. They were all going out tonight. But,’ he added, ‘I’d rather be with you.’
‘What do you want to do tomorrow?’ asked Sam as we sat outside on the balcony, beer in hand, legs sprawled out in front of him, our feet touching as I sat opposite. Dressed in a T-shirt and his boxers, the sun-kissed skin turning brown already, it reminded me of the first time I met him. ‘What?’ he asked, catching my smile, which held a whole heap of smugness.
‘The first time I saw you, I thought you were some kind of surfer dude.’
‘The first time I saw you, I thought you had the sexiest legs on the planet. Still do.’ He lifted his leg and with the arch of his foot stroked his way up my leg.
‘Behave. We’ve only just got out of bed.’
He grinned at me, eyes crinkled, mischief dancing in a way that made my insides curl.
‘Tomorrow, I really have to go and see Mum. I haven’t seen her for a couple of weeks. Although she’s going to be delighted to hear I’ve got a boyfriend.’ I looked at his blond mop of curls which were now cascading down to his shoulders. ‘And she’ll be thrilled that you’re a teacher and a star cricket player. She’s partial to a test-match special.’ Strange, I’d forgotten that about her.
‘Sounds like the perfect woman.’
‘Hmm, she’s … well, let’s put it like this: she and Aunty Lynn are opposite ends of the optimistic scale. Afternoon tea is more of a penance, which is why I often go to Aunty Lynn and Uncle Richard’s for Sunday dinner to recover.’
‘I ought to go home at some point. I’ve got a stack of planning to do for school and there’s probably milk in my fridge about to crawl out unaided. I ought to pop into my folks’, let them know I’m still alive. I’ll probably scrounge dinner but,’ he looked hopeful, ‘I could come back in the evening.’
‘I’ll be at my aunt’s for dinner; you can pick me up and bring me back here.’
‘Sounds like a plan. I need to bring a decent razor with me.’ He rubbed at the tiny nick on his chin where he’d had a falling out with one of my cheap, buy-in-bulk-from-Aldi disposable razors. We exchanged shy smiles. A toothbrush had already taken up residence in my dollhouse-sized bathroom. I liked that he was moving in, in tiny increments, and that each one felt like a natural progression without protracted negotiation.
‘And as gorgeous as you smell, if I keep using your Jo Malone soap my masculinity is in serious danger of shrivelling up and surrendering.’
‘My bank balance is in danger of shrivelling, the way you get through it,’ I retorted. Showering together invariably took longer than it should.
‘I like to make sure you’ve been thoroughly scrubbed. You’ve turned into one dirty girl.’
‘You’ve corrupted me.’
‘And I’m enjoying every minute of it.’ He lifted his beer in toast, his outline silhouetted by the sun behind him, like a sunbeam-bordered Greek god. It was a perfect Instagram moment and if I’d been a smaller-minded person, I might have posted a picture of him and changed my privacy settings to public.
Chapter Fifteen
As soon as Sam left the next morning I raced around like a maniac to get all the unglamorous chores done and out of the way – cleaning the bathroom, changing the sheets and hoovering, as well as all the things that in the honeymoon phase you wanted to keep a bit of a mystery. Sam did not need to know that my eyebrows needed regular attention otherwise they looked like wayward caterpillars or that if I don’t sort out the hard skin of my heels, they’ll turn into something with which an armadillo would claim kinship.
I also made the mistake, while I sat and ate a quick sandwich, of looking at Victoria’s Instagram and Facebook feeds – even though I’d promised myself I wouldn’t. I immediately wished I hadn’t. Despite the glorious sunshine outside, I might as well have invited a big black rain cloud to come in and hover over my head.
It was like taking a peek at another Sam.
Sam out on the pitch in the distance, wielding his bat. Sam doing the biz for the cricket club…
Sam striding towards the camera, having just peeled his navy helmet off, his face stern and the bat tucked under his arm. Out for 103 but what an innings.