Page 31 of The Christmas Catch
Typing… typing… typing…
Tell me you’re updating me because you just had sex in the shower and it blew your mind.
That made Ali smile.
We’re actually having sex right now as I type.
Ali’s thermostat rose at record levels just typing that.
I always said women were better multitaskers than men.
Ali glanced up. Through the thin door, she heard the tap shut off as Morgan finished brushing her teeth.
She’s coming back, I’ve got to go.
Okay. Don’t cut yourself scissoring each other!
Bye Tobias.
She put her phone back on her bedside table, then took a deep breath and sank right under the duvet.
She was going to hide.
That was the adult thing to do.
The bathroom door opened. Ali poked her head out of the duvet. She’d never been good at playing hide and seek, even as a kid. “Do you think we need to ask for extra pillows to put down the centre of the bed?”
Morgan gave her a strange look. “I think we can control ourselves for one night.”
Ali sucked on her cheek. Why had she said that? It just highlighted what she was thinking. Why couldn’t she keep her big mouth shut? Why was she never the cool one anywhere in her life, apart from in work meetings? Then she was in control. Work was the only area in her life where Ali had ever felt comfortable, able to be herself fully. She’d moved away from her family. She couldn’t hold down a relationship. But a job? She’d never had difficulty with those. She’d just like some of that to rub off elsewhere.
As Morgan stepped out of her jeans, Ali glanced up.
Her pulse sprinted. This was really happening, but not at all in the circumstances she’d always imagined. In those dreams, Morgan pounced on the bed, and then on Ali, straddling her and promising to do all manner of things to her.
Really not helpful.
Fuck, why couldn’t she just be normal and think normal thoughts?
Only, this wasn’t a normal situation, was it?
Morgan’s legs looked just as shapely and strong as Ali had always imagined. She looked away as Morgan pulled back the duvet and slid in beside her.
For a few moments, Ali held her breath and tried to stop her body from shaking. She stared up at the ceiling. This was excruciating.
What was Morgan thinking?
Probably that she couldn’t wait to get home and get in her own bed.
Far away from Ali.
“This is weird and awkward, isn’t it?”
Those weren’t the words Ali had expected. She turned her head.
Morgan did the same.
Up close, she looked even more beautiful than usual. Yes, she might be years older than when Ali developed her first crush, but her skin had barely aged. What would it be like to touch it?
