Page 105 of Hot to Go

I follow her gaze. ‘Mrs Murray, she lives three doors down from us.’

‘Always gets six Calippos.’

‘But she lives alone?’ I say.

‘Then you tell me where she’s putting them.’ We both laugh, trying not to clock her joining the queue. ‘Sauce?’

‘Chocolate. As much as you think I can take, please.’

She sticks her tongue out and turns to Suzie. ‘You the girlfriend?’

‘I am,’ she says, proudly. Hearing those words still make me beam from ear to ear. She’s not just a girlfriend, she’s the other half of me. It turns out all I ever wanted was someone to share in this life, someone to walk home with me, someone to buy ice creams with. I won’t share that with Madame Whippy though. Not today.

‘You lucky little minx. Mwah, I’m here all week. Enjoy, enjoy. Right, who’s next?’

Suzie

‘What on earth is that on your face?’ I say, laughing at Charlie as the chocolate sauce seems to have formed a moustache on his lip. I lick my thumb and help him wipe it off, giving him a kiss. It’s that sort of day where ice creams are going to last about thirty seconds given the heat so Charlie licks at the sides of his furiously.

‘You alright there, señor?’ I ask him, trying to keep in my giggles as we walk back towards home.

‘I am trying to ensure no ice cream is wasted. You are just going to that place where it’s inappropriate again.’

‘Me? I wasn’t talking to the ice-cream lady about taking on all of her sauce.’

‘It got me an extra Flake,’ he points out proudly.

‘Shameless,’ I tell him, as he bites into it, showing off. He gives me half and he side-eyes me, grinning. Is it strange that when I was married, I only saw the future. I saw weddings, houses, kids – pictures of what life is supposed to look like. Maybe the future is overrated. There’s something special about living in the now, in perfect smaller moments with someone who makes you laugh so hard your face hurts, for taking each beautifully sunny day as it comes.

Charlie puts the key to the door and we let the cool air of the hallway hit us, both collapsing into the house. Charlie kicks off his flip flops and I line them up by the door, giving him a look. He gives me a kiss on the cheek to get back in my good graces. It always seems to work. We both slide our backs on to the wall in the hall, finding relief against the coolness of the brick, the floor, as he watches me lick ice cream out of the nooks and crannies of my fingers.

‘That’s what happens when you don’t lick quick enough,’ he says.

‘I prefer it messy,’ I say.

He laughs and nudges me with his elbow. ‘Alright then,’ he tells me, ‘What were we talking about in the pub?’ He gives me his ice cream and starts to strip off. He’s not wearing much anyways so it doesn’t take long to strip off his shirt and shorts.

‘That’s not naked,’ I tell him, eating my ice cream, trying not to care.

‘There’s a glass panel on that front door, that’s why.’

I hand him his ice cream and push myself off the floor to go into the front room, drawing the blinds, continuing to nibble at parts of my cone. As soon as I do, he drops his underwear and stands there, smiling. Moving in with Charlie might be one of my more inspired ideas. It happened last month, a sunny day inMay carrying all my boxes, when Brooke made space for my products in the bathroom, when Charlie found out I had six boxes just dedicated to my stationery and still let me stay. And it’s the process of not just being with Charlie but becoming a part of this family, of slowly loving and calling this place my home where on the hottest of days or even the coldest of days, we can be us. Because it turns out hot is overrated. It’s about a love that lasts through all seasons. Times where we can occasionally get naked and eat ice creams together when Brooke and Sam are out, where we can smile at each other in the mirror when we’re brushing our teeth and I can hug him from behind when he’s doing the washing up. I bite into my ice cream. I am naked in our living room. I don’t think I care, it actually is quite pleasant given the temperature.

‘Bonjour,’ I say.

‘Oh, we’re French now, are we?’ he jokes. ‘Hola.’

‘Spanish?’

‘Sí.’

I finish my ice cream and pull my dress over my head. As he lies there, I can see the perspiration glistening around his collarbones, highlighting the shallows of his neck.

‘It really is bloody warm, eh?’ I say, taking off my bra. I am not quite sure why he averts his eyes but maybe it’s so I can’t see the smug look on his face. As I lower my knickers and kick them away, he looks me straight in the eye. ‘That’s a relief.’

‘Isn’t it?’ he says. He walks over to me slowly, tucking my hair behind my ear.

‘I believe the deal was no touching. This is far too close in this heat,’ I say. I lean in and give him a light kiss on the cheek, letting my lips linger against his skin. ‘Much too close.’

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