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‘No, because I want proper details about what happened last night and why Frank saw you naked on Leo’s phone,’ he says, smiling.
FOURTEEN
So I don’t really know what happened last night. One minute it was innocent flowing chat on the phone, which is something we often do at work. Yes, it did go on longer than it should have, but then I got in my Uber and he was still there, and we chatted the whole length of the journey. His excuse was that he wanted to make sure I got home to my little flat safely. I did get home. We didn’t hang up. He came into my kitchen, we switched to a video call while I put my phone to charge, and he watched me eat cake and have a cup of tea. He saw me get very enthusiastic about my cake because it really was bloody delicious and I talked him through the layers of red velvet. I then gave him a tour of my flat, I showed him my very modest Christmas tree to the corner of my living room. He then came into my bedroom with me. I flopped on to my bed, kicking off my shoes, still in my dress and we chatted randomly about anything and everything.
‘So what would your wedding look like?’ he asked me.
‘I’ve always liked the idea of renting a house in the country and you have the ceremony there and then the party is in the garden, and everyone stays the night. It’s convenient. Chilled. There would be a fire pit,’ I said a little too animatedly.
‘Noted, the girl likes a fire pit,’ he said, laughing. ‘Would there be someone sitting there with a guitar?’
‘Of course. And smores and good quality unscratchy blankets. You?’
‘Small. Nothing that involves flash mobs, heavily choreographed photos or mud.’
‘Specific.’
‘I went to a mate’s festival-themed wedding once. Hay bales and marquees but pissing down with rain. Nothing says romance like having to wring out your socks.’ I lay back in bed and laughed. It was then I heard a coughing. ‘Maggie, your…’ he mumbled, pointing. I looked down and noticed that one of my boobs had escaped, shall we say, and I was flashing nipple. I fumbled around, dropping my phone, trying to rearrange myself. When I picked up the screen, he had his hand over his eyes. ‘Is it safe to look?’ he asked.
‘Yes.’
‘I am sorry, that was very…unprofessional.’ My cheeks blazed. How long had it been staring at him like that?
He laughed. ‘The inference is that there is a professional way to flash someone.’
The laughter continued, and I was grateful he made a joke out of it. But then there was silence, the first of the evening, that sat there awkwardly between us.
‘We’ve been chatting for nearly three hours,’ I told him, checking the clock in my room. It was 1.30am.
‘I know. And to think you’ll have to do this with me all over again in a couple nights’ time,’ he joked.
‘I don’t think I’ll mind that much.’
I smiled. I didn’t want to hang up. I could have sat there and spoken to him until the sun came out. He yawned and raised an arm over his duvet so I could see the contour of his shoulder, a slice of flesh at the top of his chest.
‘Look who’s flashing nipple now!’ I said,rolling my eyes.
‘That wasn’t accidental,’ he said, smiling. I liked how when we went to video call he didn’t think to put on a shirt, he just continued the conversation wrapped in a duvet, still in his pants. The thought made me a little nervous.
‘The inference being that you flashed me on purpose.’
‘Maybe I did.’
He raised his eyebrows at me and that simple gesture made me sit up in my bed.
‘I don’t quite know what we’re doing here, Leo,’ I told him cautiously.
‘We’re just talking,’ he said and he moved, and as he did so the duvet lowered a bit to reveal the full top of his chest. It’s not like I didn’t know Leo had a body, obviously he did, I’ve just never seen it like this.
I bit my lip, trying not to laugh. ‘Has it suddenly got quite warm in your room then?’
‘It has.’
And I am not sure what came over me. Maybe it was curiosity, courage or just some immediate intense attraction but I remember holding my breath and exhaling very, very slowly. ‘I should probably get out of this dress, eh? Seeing as I borrowed it.’
And he nodded, smiling at me as his duvet moved slowly down to his waist.
‘You know that’s a terrible thing to do, yes?’ Jasper tells me now as we sit outside Winchester train station, waiting on his mother to pick us up.
