‘Let me speak to him,’ Nick said in a low voice. I felt his hand touch mine in the dark as he took the phone from me. ‘Dude, calm down,’ he said, but this only incited a torrent of abuse that I could clearly hear from my bed.
‘Some kind of mate you are!’ James shouted. ‘I know you’re up for a shag wherever you go, but I didn’t think you’d move in on my girlfriend!’
‘Dude, it wasn’t like that.’ Nick’s voice was calm and even. ‘I haven’t touched her, I swear.’
‘Bullshit! You’ve wanted another chance with her ever since we got together! I bet you’ve been waiting for this opportunity since I left.’
‘That’s not true!’ Nick was heated now. ‘I haven’t tried it on once, and I wouldn’t. But you’ve been gone for months, man. You ditched her and you ran away like a little kid. Didn’t even have the guts to drop your macho act and tell her you lost your job. I think you’ve forfeited your right to be pissed off if she had moved on.’
There was silence from the other end of the phone. I imagined James was probably as stunned as I was.
‘You can’t hold down a relationship for more than a week.’ James’s voice was still loud enough for me to hear. ‘Who are you to tell me what my rights are?’
‘Look, I’m not going to defend myself for something I haven’t done,’ Nick said wearily. ‘Let’s just talk about this when we get back.’ His hand closed over mine as he passed the phone back to me.
I lifted it to my ear. ‘James?’ There was no answer, but I could tell he was still there, listening. ‘James, nothing’s happened here. Can we talk tomorrow?’
‘There’s nothing to talk about.’ His voice was empty and emotionless, just as it had been before he left. It felt like the bottom of my stomach had dropped out, leaving a yawning hole that nothing could fill. As if he’d broken up with me all over again. The phone was still clutched to my ear even though he had hung up and it was beeping pointlessly.
I felt weight on the edge of the mattress, and then Nick was taking the phone away from me. The light from the screen lit his face as he ended the call and placed the phone on the bedside table. I realised I was crying.
‘Why didn’t he believe me?’ My voice wavered.
There was a moment of silence, then Nick’s arm encircled me. I tensed, then sank into the warmth of his body. My breath came in sobs.
‘He’s a guy, we’re idiots,’ Nick said. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll talk to him when he’s cooled off and he’ll realise we were telling the truth.’
His voice was soft, but I detected a note of bitterness to it. A sudden wave of grateful affection swept through me as I recalled his words to James. It felt so good to be defended. And, other than my brief dalliance with Ford, it seemed like such a long time since I’d been this close to anyone. His body was smooth, and warm, and before I knew it my hand was on his stomach, my fingers about to trace the lines of his abdominal muscles.
His body tightened, and horror coursed through me at what I’d almost done. I pretended I was just pushing against him to sit up, and he lifted his arm away from me.
‘Thanks, I’m fine,’ I said. ‘We should probably go back to sleep.’
For a moment Nick didn’t move, then he stood up and moved back to the other bed. ‘You had me worried for a sec there, beauty girl. I never would’ve taken you for a chick who’d make the same mistake twice.’
I flopped down on my bed and rolled over to face away from him, shame burning in my guts. For just a moment there, he’d shown a shred of decency and I’d been ready to jump his bones. I hated myself for my weakness. I hated myself for wanting him, even for a second. And I hated myself for still wanting my old life back with James, despite what he’d done to me.
I had a splitting headache when I woke up. Pale lemon sunlight streaked into the room and splashed across the floor. Nick snored loudly from the other bed. I got up and crept into the bathroom, but it was only as I turned off the taps after my shower that I realised I’d forgotten my towel. I opened the door a crack and peered out. Nick had disappeared. My towel was hanging over the back of a chair only a couple of metres away. I could get to it and back in three seconds. I dashed across the room, but just as I reached it, the door opened and Nick walked in with two take-away coffees. We stared at one another in shock, me dripping wet and completely starkers, he frozen to the spot. His eyes traced the contours of my body, and I felt my nipples harden.
‘I got you a coffee.’ His voice was unsteady as he held one out to me.
‘Get out, Nick!’ I yelled. I grabbed my towel and tried to cover my nakedness.
‘Sorry,’ he mumbled, backing away and closing the door behind him.
I dried off and threw on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, my face burning with embarrassment. Could things get any worse?
My question was answered when my phone started to ring. I answered it as I opened the door to let a chastened Nick back in. ‘Hi Katrina.’
‘Burrowes! Still no email update. What’s going on?’
‘I was busy all day following up a lead,’ I lied.
‘Well? Hit me.’
‘We’re still looking for him, but I’ve had a few ideas—’
‘That’s not good enough, Burrowes,’ she interrupted. ‘Less looking, more finding.’
‘I’m on it,’ I said with as much confidence as I could muster.
‘Anyway, that’s not why I called.’
‘It’s not?’
‘I had lunch with Bianca
