Page 5 of Five Things I Love About You

She stares at me as if I’ve gone mad. ‘So if you didn’t actually see his face, what makes you so sure it’s him you’re dreaming about?’

‘I—’ I stop, unsure how to explain it, even to myself. ‘Well, they both had Geordie accents.’

‘Right. And?’

‘And dark hair.’

‘And?’

‘Well, and nothing else.’

‘That’s it?’

‘Yeah.’

She frowns. ‘I still don’t understand what makes you so certain you were dreaming about this bloke who stepped out in front of you then?’

I shrug. ‘I just… know.’

‘Okaaaay.’ She grins. ‘But it was hot, right?’

I nod, but say nothing. How can I convey the sheer intensity of the dream? How can I explain how every sense had been on fire, how his voice had given me shivers, how his touch made me burn. It all sounds so clichéd and ridiculous, there’s no way I can say it out loud. Especially not to Kirstie.

Kirstie laughs. ‘Well, I guess a random sexy dream is a pretty positive side effect of a concussion, eh?’

‘Who’s having sexy dreams?’ says a voice, and we both look round to see Sophie drawing the curtain closed behind her. She’s a vision in a bright purple kaftan, her auburn curls piled on top of her head.

‘Bloody hell, you look like a wizard,’ Kirstie says, standing up to give her a hug.

‘Love you too,’ she says, before turning to me and gently encircling me in a waft of flowery perfume. When she pulls away there are tears shining in her eyes. She drags a chair up to the bed and sits.

‘I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get here,’ she says. ‘The traffic was horrendous, some accident on the North Circular and… oh God, never mind. What on earth have you been up to? And what’s all this about a sexy dream?’

‘She dreamed she was snogging the bloke she nearly ran over,’ Kirstie says loudly, and we both shush her.

‘It’s true,’ I say, burying my face in my hands. ‘I did dream that, and I really thought he was here, with me. God, how embarrassing.’

‘Sounds pretty hot to me,’ Kirstie says.

Sophie reaches out to stroke my cheek. ‘Maybe it’s the universe trying to tell you something.’

‘Oh here we go,’ Kirstie says, rolling her eyes. ‘I was waiting for this.’

Sophie gives her a sharp look. ‘I know you think everything I say is complete bollocks?—’

‘Noteverything. Just…’ she waves her hand in the air, ‘this.’

Sophie ignores her and takes my hand. My skin is sore and my wrist hurts. ‘It’s true though, M, dreams can be significant, and after a head injury sometimes those dreams are more intense than usual.’

‘But they don’t actuallymeananything though, do they? Apart from the fact that Miranda needs a shag so she dreamed about the first sexy man that popped into her head.’

‘Ooh, was he sexy, this guy?’ Sophie says, her eyes wide. ‘In real life, I mean.’

‘Not you too. I mean, I don’t know, I only really saw him for a few seconds, and then I swerved and then… well, then I was on the ground.’

‘And he just buggered off and left you there?’ Kirstie sounds indignant.

‘Actually he didn’t. He stayed to make sure I was all right, and he spoke to the police and that’s when I heard his voice.’ I shiver as I think about the sexy voice with a Geordie twang from my dream. ‘Oh, and that’s the other thing,’ I say, something else coming back to me suddenly.

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