Page 60 of You Only Live Once
‘For someone who’s never had, and doesn’t want, a dog, you’re doing a decent impression of being very good at it.’
‘Don’t start,’ I said, blowing out one candle and placing the other on the side table next to me before pulling back the quilt. For a second, I hesitated.
‘It’s just a bed.’ His deep voice repeated my own words.
‘You’re such a smart-arse,’ I replied. He, and I, were right. It was. And if it made Clive feel more comfortable, then I could make do.
Jack let out a small, deep chuckle before turning on his side away from me. I got in and did the same so that we were back to back with a decent sized gap between us. I debated momentarily about stuffing one of the decorative cushions from the sofa between us but that seemed like overkill.
‘You’d better not snore.’
‘I was just thinking the same,’ he fired back, although I could hear the smile in the dark.
I now regretted not having the extra cushion to hand so that I could have bopped him with it.
* * *
The dawn broke in epic golden beauty, streaked with red and purple, vibrant and breathtaking, as though last night’s storm had washed the sky clean, allowing its colours to be revealed in their full glory. With as little movement as possible, in order not to disturb a still sleeping Jack and Clive, I extricated myself from the bed. Jack appeared not to have moved from the position he’d settled into before I’d blown out the candle a few hours previously, and thankfully hadn’t snored.
I moved to the glass doors and took a moment to bask in the glory of the nature that met my eyes. Man could create beautiful things, but nature always had the upper hand.
‘There’s a sight for sore eyes.’ A deep voice broke the silence.
I turned, and the green eyes locked onto mine, causing the familiar flush to begin to creep up my neck. ‘The sky, I mean.’
Nodding quickly, I turned back to the garden, mortified that, for a split second, I thought he’d meant something else.
‘Yes. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?’
‘It really is.’
A click of toenails alerted me to the dog, and I opened the door so that he could go out and do all the investigation and ablutions he needed to. Much to my surprise, he was soon back in and trotting back to his bed. I watched him settle in and close his eyes, dropping back to sleep almost immediately.
‘Looks like someone else is as tired as we are,’ Jack said through a yawn, resting up on his elbows and looking over at the dog.
‘I’m all right.’
‘OK, if I say something, are you going to take it the wrong way?’
‘I imagine that depends entirely on what you plan to say.’
‘Just promise not to take it wrong.’
Walking over to the dog bed, I laid the little blanket I’d found in a cupboard over him before looking back at my two-legged houseguest. ‘How about if I endeavour to do my best not to?’
‘Sounds like a deal.’
‘Spit it out, then.’
‘You look knackered.’
‘Right.’
‘But in a good way. Obviously.’
‘Obviously.’
‘Come back to bed.’
