Page 49 of Power Moves
Archie barks out a laugh, then raises his eyebrows. He sits back and languidly slings his arm across the back of the neighbouring seat. It’s the pose of a lazy cat with a mouse. ‘You’re not game?’ he asks. The challenge in his voice sends another bolt of heat through my body.
‘We have rules,’ I remind him, feeling my pulse skitter like popcorn in the microwave. ‘We can do all this,’ I wave my hand across the table as if to indicate whatthisis, ‘but no sex. Ever. It would be too unprofessional and weird, and …’ My mind flashes back to that moment under the frangipani tree. It would be too traitorous to my younger self. The only reason this current arrangement is acceptable is because it’s for work. This is purpose-driven fondling.
Archie’s lips close in a half-smile. ‘Chicken,’ he says.
A very impure sensation vaults below my belly button. I press my leg further into his, just to show him howun-chicken I am. A muscle tightens in his neck and I fighta smile. We’re not playing chicken—we’re playing sharks. Who will snap first? Bite first? Bite too much? As he straightens in his chair and his leg slides closer, I feel a heady rush of adrenaline.
‘Tell me something boring,’ I say, just to show him how completely unflustered I am by this leg-on-leg situation. ‘Talk to me about cycling.’
Archie cocks his head, amused. ‘Cycling isn’t boring.’
At this, I cackle. ‘Oh my god, Archie. It’s the most boring thing in the universe. Padded lycra, carbon fibre? Even saying those words I’m putting myself to sleep.’ I mime a yawn.
‘What about bonking?’ asks Archie.
‘Archie,’ I warn, my eyes darting across the cafe to check for eavesdroppers. ‘No sex means no talking about sex.’
‘“Bonking” is a cycling term,’ he says smoothly.
‘Is that so?’ I reply, trying to ignore the flaming heat pooling in my left knee.
‘It means running out of energy,’ he says matter-of-factly, as if reading from an autocue. ‘Bonking often occurs on endurance rides.’
I take a dainty sip of my green juice. ‘So do you bonk a lot?’
His knee slides more firmly up my inner thigh.
‘All the time,’ he replies.
His voice is so gravelly you could scatter it around a topiary and smooth it with a rake. His left leg is almost touching parts of my body that are one hundred per cent off limits to him, but I am almost certainly being hypnotised by the electricity in his eyes, because I don’t care.
‘Any advice on bonking?’ he asks.
I jerk backwards. Larry has just walked into the cafe, his camera bag slung over his shoulder. ‘I recommend Hydralyte,’ I say crisply, stowing my uneaten sandwich inside my handbag.
Archie grins, unashamedly sliding his eyes down my body as I get to my feet. As I beeline towards the door, he calls out, ‘For the record, I was kidding. I’ve never had a problem with endurance.’
?
On Wednesday, we don’t see each other. He’s doing something with the Premier up north, and I’m with Boss at a high school out west. I almost miss him until I remember we’re not actually friends. It’s just—playing this game really does make the days go faster. I decide to use the time when we’re apart to strategise for the debate. I only have two more days to extract maximum value from the New Friends Game, so I need to make it worth it. Professionally, of course.
On Thursday morning Archie texts:Miss me?
On Thursday afternoon, while I’m on a Zoom hookup with the unions, I text:Stop playing hard to get.
Three minutes later he calls me.
I double-check I’m on mute and turn off camera-mode before I answer.
‘Meet me at Fatima’s in ten minutes,’ he pants.
‘I’m in the middle of the unions Zoom thing.’
‘Ten minutes,’ he insists, and hangs up.
I look around the empty office. Boss is having an afternoon at the country house with his family before the debatetomorrow. Petria is working from home. I don’t know where the policy guys are (I never do), but the upshot is that no one will know if I sneak out.
I make sure my camera is turned off but stay dialled in so it looks like I’m still there, then I head for the door. There are so many people on the meeting, they won’t notice I’ve gone, and if anything blows up it’ll be all over social media, so I can catch up that way. To cover all bases, I quickly text Boss:Union summit is going ok. Grabbing quick lunch.
