Page 62 of Charlie Sunshine
“Whatever that means.” I sit and scrub my face with my hands.
“I’ve been waiting for this to happen for so long.”
“Don’t tell me that you had a bet?” I say sourly.
She shakes her head. “I’m not risking my hard-earned money on you two twats.”
“Charming,” I sniff. She stares at me with a gimlet gaze, and I give in. “Okay, we slept together.” I wince at her squeal.
“Yay, I’m so pleased.”
“Why?” I ask, bewildered. “Why is everyone so ecstatic about my sex life? What is there to be pleased about? We’ve probably just fucked up the most important relationship of our lives by having sex together.”
“But was it good sex?”
I glare in answer.
She nudges me. “Come on. It’s been a long dry spell for me. Was it good? That boy certainly looks like he knows what he’s doing. I’d hate to think it was false advertising.”
“He should know what he’s doing,” I say sourly. “He’s had enough practice over the years.” She pushes a strand of my hair behind my ear and looks at me expectantly. I sigh. “It was absolutely amazing.” Iswallow as I remember him poised over me, his cock in my arse and a transported look on his face. “The heavens opened, and the angels sang,” I finish flippantly.
“Iknewit.”
“How did you know that?”
“Because the two of you have this insane chemistry. You always have, Charlie.”
“Well, I must have missed it during the wilderness of my best-friend years.”
“You both missed it.” She scoops some pound coins and puts them in the little plastic bag. “You were so busy looking outwards. You never saw what was right in front of you.”
“Well, we’ve done it now.” I shove my hair back from my face. “There’s no avoiding it.”
There’s a shocked silence. “Wait,” she says. “Do youwantto avoid it?” I look at her, and she groans. “Oh, Charlie, don’t fucking say that.”
“Why?”
“Because the two of you are perfect for each other. That’s why.”
“How are we perfect for each other? I go for commitment and relationships. The longest relationship Misha has had has been with his right hand, and he hardly needed to use that with the amount of men trooping through his boudoir.” I slump in my chair. “This has disaster written all over it. We’ll fall into bed a few times, he’ll get bored and cheat, and then we’ll never speak to each other again. The sex was amazing, but nothing will ever be worth losing Misha from my life.”
Bethany eyes fill with busy thoughts, and then she pokes me hard.
“Ouch! What was that for?” I protest.
“Because you’re astonishingly pessimistic for someone who everyone calls Charlie Sunshine. Why on earth does it have to turn out like that?”
“Because that’s how it is. I nest, while Misha flies around showing off his feathers.”
“Just because something has always been like that doesn’t mean that it will stay that way forever.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that Misha has never had a relationship withyou. That’s the unknown equation.”
“I was always terrible at maths,” I say glumly.
“Well, he wasn’t. Hopefully anyway, because otherwise, the British banking system might be in for a nasty surprise.” She shoots me a quizzical look. “What did he say this morning?”
