Page 55 of Falling Fast
‘Nothing.’ He moves closer again, pressing his forehead to mine. ‘But if you want to take this slowly, then we need to do something else right now.’
‘Oh.’ I swallow, then consult my stomach and smile. ‘In that case, breakfast sounds good. Can I help?’
‘No, but you can watch. Come on.’ He reaches for my hand, tugging me after him back into the house. ‘I’ll cook, you relax.’
‘That sounds even better.’
‘How about waffles?’ he asks, when we reach the kitchen.
‘Um …’ I make a face, remembering his last attempt.
‘Hey! I’ve been practising.’
‘Well, in that case I’d love some.’ I glance at the clock on the wall. It’s 6.15 a.m. ‘But I’d better get going soon. I need to go home and change before work, and I don’t want to be late.’
‘I could always tell Vienna I need you here.’ He waggles his eyebrows at me.
‘She’s smarter than that.’ I slide myself up on to one of the counters. ‘OK if I sit here?’
His gaze slips down from my face to my exposed thigh, his pupils dilating before he looks away and coughs. ‘It’s perfect. Orange juice?’
‘Please.’
‘Coming up.’ He opens the fridge door and pulls out a tub of what looks like batter, along with a carton of juice.
‘You made dough in advance?’ I look between him and the tub in surprise.
‘I’ve been practising alot. And I remembered how much you liked them, so I thought … Just in case.’ He smiles sheepishly as he plugs in a waffle iron and then hands me the juice. ‘Here. You first.’
‘Thanks.’ I take a few gulps before handing it back and running my tongue along my bottom lip. ‘Your turn.’
He keeps his eyes on mine as he drinks. It feels weirdly intimate to drink from the same carton, kind of gross too, but I’m into it. It’s like I’ve woken up a completely different, more relaxed person, because I experience a sudden urge to wrap my legs around him and pull him towards me, to feel him between my thighs, to use this counter in ways it definitely wasn’t designed for … But we’re taking this slow, I remind myself. That’s what I want, what I asked for. I just have to remember that.
‘Can I ask you a question?’ I say to distract myself.
‘Go ahead.’ He puts a ball of dough into the iron.
‘It’s kind of personal.’
‘Are you planning to put the answer on the internet?’ He glances up at me.
‘No.’
‘Then I don’t mind.’
‘OK.’ I tip my head to one side. ‘How are you single? I mean, you’re gorgeous, rich, talented and apparently you can now make waffles. You’re basically the whole package.’
‘Thank you.’ He throws me an amused look. ‘I had a couple of girlfriends back in Norway before I got on the Chiltern training programme, but nothing serious. Mostly I’ve been focused on my career. I still would be, only …’ Hisgaze flickers. ‘I guess I didn’t expect to meet anyone I had this kind of connection with.’
‘Oh.’ My throat turns dry because I feel the same way.
‘Now tell me about you.’ He picks up one of my hands and turns it over, pressing his lips to the inside of my wrist. ‘I want to know everything.’
‘There’s not much to tell.’ I shake my head. ‘I grew up in a village near King’s Lynn, then I moved to Cambridge to do Media Studies. That’s pretty much my full bio.’
‘What about your family?’
‘My parents are abroad right now, travelling, and my brother Dan also lives in Cambridge.’ I smile. ‘They’re all pretty great, other than not caring enough about motorsports.’
