Page 51 of Wild Swimming at Croftwood Lake
‘Good for you. Did Constance catch you sneaking in this morning?’
‘She did.’
Nora laughed. ‘I love that.’
‘She’s keen for me to make an honest woman of you.’
‘Oh god, really?’
Archie laughed. The annoyance he’d felt with his mother earlier dissipating now he was telling Nora.
‘Perhaps you could save me the trouble of sneaking around and stay the night with me?’
She was standing in front of him in her swimming costume and he had the urge to slip the straps off her shoulders and see what it would be like to seduce her outdoors. Instead he settled for wrapping his arms around her.
‘I don’t think I can have sex knowing your mother is in the house.’
‘It’s hardly a three-bed semi where she’ll hear us through the wall. My room is practically in a different wing.’
‘You didn’t show me your room when I came round.’
‘You want to see my room?’
‘Yes.’
For some reason, it thrilled him that she did. Forget the fact that his room was nowhere near as comfortable as Nora’s bedroom, which was more like a luxury hotel room, he wanted her in his bed.
‘Come tonight.’
‘Should I drive? Just rock up like a normal visitor? Do you even have normal visitors?’
‘No, we don’t. But yes. Drive up to the house and knock on the front door.’
Nora looked at him wide-eyed. ‘No way am I knocking on the door. I’ll text you and you can come and meet me outside.’
‘You want me to sneak you in?’ This was an idea he found thrilling. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to wait until later to ravage her. It astounded him how much he wanted her. Right now by the lake.
‘What are your thoughts on doing… you know… al fresco?’
She laughed softly and buried her head in his chest. ‘Are you asking me to have sex with you here?’
He gulped. And nodded.
‘Oh my god, Archie. We can’t.’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Can’t we?’
20
THE FOLLOWING WEEK was the next meeting of the date-with-a-book club. By this time, Nora had stayed at Archie’s every other night, and he’d stayed at hers on the nights in between. Tonight, because of the club, Nora was staying at his because she’d offered to take Constance with her. It would have been Archie’s turn to give his mother and her friends a lift, so it seemed silly for him to turn out when she was going anyway.
Nora and Archie were in his bedroom. It was huge but since Nora had stayed the first night, he’d dragged a sofa in there and made a sort of lounge area around the window. Nora sat there now reading while he was busy making space for her in his chest of drawers and on the bedside table.
‘You shouldn’t go to the trouble,’ she said, watching him over the top of her reading glasses. ‘I’m not going to leave any of my stuff here.’
‘I want you to feel at home,’ he said, shoving a handful of paired socks into a different drawer.
Nora didn’t want to point out that it would take more than a drawer for her to feel at home here. She’d only just moved into her own home and she loved it, so however this relationship continued with Archie, she wasn’t going to give that up.
