This Man (This Man 1)

Kate falls onto the bed in a helpless heap of laughter. I can’t help but laugh with her. I suppose it is quite funny. ‘God love him,’ she splutters through her hysteria. ‘I’m glad I’m not the only one enjoying the best sex I’ve ever had. ’ She wipes the laughter tears from under her eyes.

I’m not at all surprised to hear that – not at all. Sam isn’t walking around her apartment, semi-naked and with that dirty grin on his face, because she’s making him lots of cakes.

‘He has me in knots. ’ I shake my head, returning to the mirror to apply my nude lipstick.

‘Have we figured out how old he is yet?’ Kate picks up my bronzer brush to give her pale cheeks an extra dusting.

‘No idea. It’s a no go subject, just like the scar on his stomach. ’

She pinches her cheeks. ‘Does it matter? And what scar?’

‘No, it doesn’t. And the scar is quite a nasty affair from here to here. ’ I run my finger from the middle of my lower stomach to my hip bone.

She looks at me in the reflection of the mirror. ‘You’re in love with him. ’

‘Crazily,’ I admit.

Chapter 32

We bowl past the bouncers of Baroque in fits of giggles. We’re not in the least bit drunk, but the laughter is just rolling tonight.

‘What are you having?’ Kate asks as a waiter approaches us at the bar.

‘Wine,’ I answer, smiling to myself. That was easy.

Kate gets served and we make our way through the Friday night crowd to find the last available table at the back of the bar. I gingerly lift myself onto the bar stool, keeping a good grip of the hem on my dress. It really is taboo.

‘So, tell me. Sam?’ I ask off-the-cuff. I know there’s more to this than sex. I think both of them have met their match. I don’t know Sam, but I know Kate very well, and for her to be dedicating so much time to a man, he must be pretty special. All I know about Sam is that he has a cheeky grin and he likes to run around half naked. She hasn’t spent so much time with a man since my brother. I smile at his impending arrival. I can’t wait to see him, but I won’t be talking about Dan tonight – not with Kate.

She shrugs. ‘Fun,’

‘Come on!’ I exclaim. ‘I’ve divulged far too much information on Jesse. Give me something!’

She sips her wine, placing it back down on the table casually. ‘Ava, he’s not the sort of man you settle down with. I’ll take the fun while it lasts, but I won’t be getting attached. ’

I inwardly hiss as Kate reminds me of Sarah’s words about building dreams. ‘How do you know?’ I ask, trying to reign in my drifting thoughts.

‘I just do. ’ she says on a half laugh.

I’m a bit disappointed, if I’m honest. She’s lively, amazingly laid back and completely uninhibited – all of the things that Sam seems to be. Well, from what I’ve seen – which is quite a lot. What’s the issue?

‘I like him. ’ I admit. He might be an exhibitionist and a complete pest, but he’s very endearing with it.

‘Well, I like Jesse. ’

I laugh. Yes she would like him. He brought her a van. But then I recoil. ‘You don’t like him like that do you?’ Oh God, I’d never thought that Kate might be attracted to him. Well, everyone’s attracted to him. I’ve been to the receiving end of numerous sneers from admiring women, but I never thought, not for a moment, that Kate might look at him like that.

‘No!’ She looks at me all offended. ‘I like how much he clearly loves you. ’

‘What? He doesn’t love me, Kate. He loves to fuck me. ’ I take a long glug of wine to dull the affect that Kate’s statement’s had on me. Or is it the affect of my alternative statement? Clearly loves me, or clearly loves to control me?

‘Ava, again, you’re the master of denial. ’

‘How old do you think he is?’ I ask.

Kate shrugs. ‘Mid-thirties, I’m going for a quick fag. ’ She slips down from the stool, retrieving her cigarettes from her bag. ‘Wait here, we don’t want to lose the table. ’

She makes her way to the smoking area, leaving me pondering my diabolical situation. I’m in love with the trampling, unreasonable control freak. I knew I should have stayed away from him. I can’t help but think that I could have easily rebuffed, denied and walked away from any other man. Jesse is another story entirely, though. I’m addicted to him, and I’m not sure it’s healthy.