Page 49 of The Loneliest Number
“Here?” I ask.
“The light is stunning. I could set up some equipment.” Saff gasps.
“What do you say, Pixie? Want to come and play with us tomorrow while Saff takes photos?”
That explains Saff’s earlier comment. All I can think of is how hot that sounds. “Saff would be playing too?” I ask.
“If you’re happy for me to. I’ll set up the camera to take auto shots, and we can go through them after.” Saff fiddles with her camera strap, looking down at that rather than up at my face.
“I’d like it if you participated,” I say, and her face lifts, beaming with a smile.Was she worried I was going to say no?While I’m attracted to Cam and there is something I can’t explain between us, that doesn’t take away my need to play with others, and I can’t see that ever changing.
“Excellent, it’s a date,” she says, before lifting her camera to look through the viewfinder and capturing a portrait of me. I bite my lip, baffled by my inner exhibitionist being weirdly bashful about photos when I’m fully clothed.
“I’m gonna have good dreams tonight, thinking about what we can get up to tomorrow,” Cam says as he steps closer to me.It’s like we’re magnetic and he can’t stay away. His fingers trace from my brow line down to my chin, and I’m aware of the click-click of the camera, but I’m so lost in him gazing directly into my soul that I don’t even turn to check if Saff is taking photos of us or of the room.
“Got any ideas?” I ask him, desperate to hear what he has planned.
“Mulling a few things over. Any requests?” he asks. “Either of you.” He tips his head towards Saff.
“I’ll think about it,” she says with a smile on her face.
“Pixie?”
“I want to spend more time with Saff. It was to cheer you up last time, and you got most of the attention.”
“Hmm, I distinctly remember being tied up and blindfolded while you two played.”
“And you loved it, didn’t you?” I raise a brow at him.
“Yeah, cannae lie, I did.”
The next day, I head straight to The Juniper to meet Cam and Saff. As well as playing with them both, I’m also excited to play in this building. It adds to the buzz I’ve felt around it for a long time.
Cam’s waiting outside and waggles his phone at me as I get closer.
“Saw your text to say you were on your way, so popped down and we can lock up once we’re inside.” There’s a serious expression on his face. “And…” He trails off.
I reach out to lay my palm on his bicep. “Okay?” I check.
“I’m good. Saff had a bad experience lately. It’s not my place to tell you any more than that. But I want to make today good for her, try to wipe the bad memory, or at least push it away.”
“Oh gosh, of course. Happy to help. Is there anything I need to avoid?”
“Let’s check in when we get upstairs, see if any of us have anything we want to try or aren’t interested in today, and take it from there.”
“Of course.” I pat his arm before walking in the entrance ahead of him, waiting for him to lock up so we can head upstairs together.
“Shit,” I exclaim. “I meant to bring some bedding.” I rub at my forehead with my hand.
“It’s okay, I’ve got some, and Saff got me to drag some more over along with her photography equipment. We need some comfort.” As we walk into the space that will be his flat very soon, Saff is laying out said bedding on the floor, making a very cosy-looking nest for us all.
“This looks so comfy,” I tell her with a grin.
“Hopefully. I’ll be honest, I’m setting it up mostly for the aesthetic. I want the juxtaposition of the rough state of the room and the softness of the blankets and sheets surrounding us. I think it will work.” She goes back to fussing with the bedding, and I wander over to the round turret space.
I stand, looking down at the street a few floors below. “This is such an amazing spot,” I tell Cam as he steps closer to me. “I think it might be my favourite thing about the whole building. If it was mine, I’d get some kind of cosy bench seat fitted and sit here reading and daydreaming.”
“It’s a strange shaped space to decide what to do with. I was thinking about setting up a desk in here for now to keep my laptop and paperwork away from all the dust downstairs.”
