Before Jamaica Lane (On Dublin Street 3)

Instead of giving me the Spanish inquisition on him, she asked, ‘How is work?’

‘Good. It’ll be hard to get promoted but, you know, it’s a good atmosphere and I like my colleagues. I don’t think I’ll be leaving anytime soon. What about you?’

‘I’ve almost finished my PhD and the university is discussing giving me a year contract with them as a course lecturer. They’re impressed with me and my thesis, so they pulled me aside yesterday to let me know that they’re considering me.’

Ellie was a scholar in art history. I didn’t know much about it, but I did know that she’d dreamed of a career in academia just like her stepdad, Clark, so this was huge news.

‘You didn’t tell me that,’ Joss said softly, delicately picking at a sandwich.

Ellie shrugged modestly. ‘I wasn’t sure whether to mention it or not in case it falls through.’

‘It won’t, Els,’ Joss replied firmly. ‘I’m proud of you.’

‘Me too.’

She smiled gratefully at us. ‘Thanks.’

‘It means I’ll probably be consulting with you on research materials for the library.’

‘Yup. Maybe you can point out Library Guy while I’m there.’

I nodded, then took a large gulp of my mojito. Why, when I thought of Benjamin, did I no longer feel butterflies and a rush of possibility?

16

I was happy.

Truly, peacefully, happy.

And I had no intention of analyzing it.

Analyzing it was sure to kill all the happy.

Lying with my head on a cushion, my legs stretched out across Nate’s lap, I looked at him out of the corner of my eye as he watched the movie and absentmindedly stroked my ankle.

Our sexual relationship had only escalated over the last two weeks, until nearly all of my inhibitions were gone. Sex with Nate was easy. I didn’t feel self-conscious. I wasn’t constantly worrying if I was doing it wrong.

My confidence had grown, yet still I was avoiding Benjamin. Instead I was lost in this world of sex and laughter and fun with Nate. We still hung out, but now it was intermingled with sexy time.

Freakin’ awesome sexy time.

We never hung out at Nate’s – I’d never even seen his place – because he said he preferred my apartment, so he often used the key I had given him. Today I was especially pleased to come home and find him on my couch, eating my potato chips and watching TV. I’d just had ‘the dinner’ with Dee that Dad had suggested a few weeks ago, and up until I saw Nate in my space I’d been feeling a little raw.

I bent to kiss his temple to let him know I was happy to see him and then I got changed into a silky nightdress Nate had bought me. When I came back into the room he took one look at my face and patted the couch beside him. I sat down and let him enfold me in a hug.

‘You okay?’ he asked, pressing a kiss to my hair.

‘It was just … It’s fine. We just talked about Mom. It always takes it out of me.’

In response he cuddled me for a while. It felt wonderful.

Nate’s phone buzzed on the table and I pulled my legs off his lap so he could reach it. He flicked the screen, his eyebrows drawing together as he read the text message he’d just received.

‘Everything okay?’

‘It’s Cam,’ he murmured. ‘I think he’s getting suspicious. Wondering why I’m busy all the time.’

‘Just tell him you’re busy getting busy. He doesn’t need to know who with.’

‘I’ve been getting busy so much lately, he’s bound to know it must be with just one woman and he’ll want to know who. Even I can’t find a new sexual partner every day.’

‘We’re not having sex every day.’

‘Almost.’

I shrugged, acquiescing to the truth. ‘Fine. But we’re trying to cram years of experience into a few weeks here.’

Nate grinned and suddenly grabbed my ankles, pulling me down the couch before crawling over me. ‘I know, it’s so exhausting,’ he teased. ‘I’m utterly sick of it.’

He was so sick of it he yanked my nightie off and sat back to pull his shirt off and unbuckle his jeans. My thighs were already quivering with excitement as he pulled my panties off and threw them over his shoulder.

The apartment was soon filled with my pleading whimpers as he buried his head between my legs and brought me to climax with his tongue. I was barely coherent when he suddenly gripped the backs of my calves to lift my legs over his shoulders.

This was new.

His lips grazed mine. ‘You’ll feel me so deep this way, baby. Hold on.’

‘Nate!’ I cried out, feeling every inch of him as he pumped in and out of me.

He was right. His c**k thrust in at the most beautiful angle and the pressure inside me was building, building, building –

‘Ahh!’ I yelled, clamping a hand around my thigh and gritting my teeth in pain.

‘What? What?!’ Nate stopped, panic in his voice. ‘Liv?’

‘I’ve got a leg cramp,’ I whimpered.

Nate immediately pulled out of me, his panting sounding really loud in the small room. ‘Which one?’

‘My left,’ I managed to answer through the ugly discomfort.

Nate coasted his hand up my leg and found the cramping muscle in the back of my thigh. My fingers bit into the couch as he began to massage it for me.

After a while the cramp began to ease, and as Nate felt the tension start to drain out of me the couch started to shake a little with his laughter.

Mortification instantly hit me.