Page 39 of King of Hearts

She leant forward speaking softly so no one close overheard. “Andy Gloss, captain of the Hearts,” she exaggeratedly glanced at her watch, “Who is on TV in seven minutes – kissed you?” She enunciated the final words to ensure her excitement was received – as if there was any doubt.

I nodded my eyes wide. “Then, just as it was getting hot and heavy, his family arrived. With dinner.” Marlee’s head fell back and she cackled.

“Oh em gee. Shut up. You met his family? Keep going.” She was grinning and I found myself so glad I waited to tell her.

Feigning nonchalance, I added the nail in the coffin. “They are lovely and dinner was nice. After they left, we kissed a little more and he and Barbs became best friends when he chose to have her for dessert.” I shrugged, as if what I said was just a mundane platitude.

Marlee began coughing and spluttering her passion fruit margarita across the table, while she held up her hand telling me she was okay.

“Shut - the - fuck - up. Andy Gloss, captain of the Hearts,” she again glanced at her watch, “Who is now on TV in six minutes, went down on you?” She asked, her eyes wide.

“Yup.” I said, having a sip before plucking the apple slice from the top and taking a bite. “And it was fucking amazing. He was kind of bossy and surprisingly, I think I was into that assertiveshow mewho’s boss.” I said, my face scrunching in mock disgust.

“Scratch my four minutes, I’m boring compared to this saga. I want to know everything.” She said, sliding closer to me. I could smell the vodka on her breath and noticing the two empty glasses on the table, I patted her hand.

“I’m sorry I was late. I will repay you with all of the juicy details.” Which resulted in her larger-than-life smile, clearly happy with my apology. I gave the recount my best theatrics to emphasise how sorry I was for my tardiness.

When the siren echoed through the bar indicating the game was about to start, we had each guzzled our drink and Marlee had been provided a very quick, yet adequately graphic version of what happened between Andy and I.

Using a menu to fan herself she sighed. “I am disgustingly jealous. When will I be devoured on top of a spa while looking out across Sydney.”

“It seems unreal and incongruous to my regular life. But girl it was hot.”

As we turned to the screen, the cameras panned to Andy and an opposing player shaking hands. They shared a brief interaction and his consequential smile made my heart stutter. A black jersey was pulled tight across his thick chest and abdomen, his biceps glistening under the lights on the field.

“Shit, he looks shiny. Those arms!” I muttered, fanning myself, exaggeratingly replicating her earlier gesture.

“They use oil so it’s more difficult for the opposition to tackle them.” Marlee informed.

“It seems Ilikeoil on a man.” I added, flicking her a sultry side gaze.

Despite being snowed under at work, I found myself constantly distracted thinking about him and reliving every moment from our date. He messaged me this morning telling me he couldn’t wait to taste me again and it was enough to send me reaching for my vibrator as I brought myself a little relief. I was going to need new batteries soon because the idea of him and that tongue made me hot and needy in a way I had never been before.

“How’s Lucas?” I asked, talking to the side of Marlee’s head now that the game had started.

We were watching for very different reasons. She genuinely cared about the outcome, amplified by the fact that she had already aggressively yelled at the television with little regard for anyone else at the surrounding tables. I, however, watched to perve on Andy and because I needed to learn a little more about this game. I spent some time today putting the images into the feature and tidying up what was already written. It was coming together nicely and I was really proud of its current status, but more information could never hurt.

“Really good.” Her eyes stayed on the screen but she smiled like a teenager who was thinking of her first crush.

“Did he eat your pussy after you shaved?” I asked and Marlee swung her gaze to meet mine.

“Bitch, lower your voice.” I cackled at her embarrassment which gave me the answer I was looking for.

“Oh, he definitely did. Was it amazing?”

“Yeah, it was good.” She answered quietly, her smile faltering as she turned to the game.

“Did he make your toes curl?” I intentionally kept my tone light mindful of the obvious change in her emotions.

“Ugh. Well…no. I mean it was good, but like, I tried to guide him a little and it seemed to annoy him. So, I just faked it and sorted myself once he went home.”

“Annoy him how?” I asked, grabbing a handful of the chips on the table and shovelling them into my mouth. I wanted to tell her not to see him again because he was sounding more and more like he didn’t deserve her, but I also didn’t want to appear too hostile when we hadn’t even met.

“Well, he said, ‘noone else has ever complained’ and kept doing what he was doing. So, I just thought it was easier to fake it.” She laughed but it sounded forced.

“Sometimes it takes time, you know? You have to get to know each other, I guess.” I wanted to protest but I could see she liked him and didn’t want to burst her bubble so the false platitude was all I could muster.

“I can’t wait for you to meet him, Arns. He’s so sweet and thoughtful. The other day he bought me a bag of oranges. I mean, I told him my favourite fruit is passion fruit, but it’s the thought that counts. He doesn’t really speak to his parents but his sister is nice and I’ve told him all about you.”

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