‘Good,’ says Art.
And he kneels.
I can hear Nadia laughing in the next room. As Art pushes up my dress a part of me can’t believe he’s doing this, as he pulls off my underwear a part of me can’t believe I’m letting him do it, and then his tongue flickers against me and I can’t believe someone I used to hate can make me feel this good.
And when he pauses for a second I find myself desperate for him to keep going, which he does until I forget where I am andmaybe evenwhoI am, because no one, absolutely no one, has ever made me feel like this before.
He was right. He isreallyfucking good at this.
And after I come – because of course I come, wave upon wave upon wave, with one fist clutching Art’s dark hair and the other pressed against my mouth so I don’t cry out – Art stands up, pulls me up so I’m sitting on the edge of the bed and kisses me, all salt and sex.
He says, ‘You taste incredible, by the way. I thought you might.’
I can’t say anything. I feel utterly untangled.
‘Did that clear your head?’
I still can’t say anything. I just nod.
‘Excellent,’ says Art. ‘I’m going to the bathroom. And then we can do some more work on that script.’
A few weeks ago I was rolling my eyes at the sight of him and now he knows what Itastelike. How the hell have things between me and Art turned out like this? As the door closes behind him I fall back onto the bed and let out a sigh.
Except, to my own surprise, the sigh sounds so happy it’s almost a laugh.
Chapter Twenty-Two
INT: ANNIE AND ROO’S HOUSE / EXT: GRIFFITH PARK / INT: MARINO CRESCENT
I wake up on Sunday morning feeling weirdly optimistic.
We ended up sharing a takeaway last night with Roo and her friends, who were all slightly tipsy by then. Maybe that was why Nadia was definitely flirting with Art. At one point she put her hand on his knee and I felt a sharp pang of something that was definitely not jealousy but was strangely … territorial. But that didn’t mean anything, did it? I mean, he was literally eating me out a few hours earlier. It’s only natural I’d feel a bit odd seeing another woman come on to him.
Still, I was slightly unsettled by how relieved I felt when Art immediately moved his legs so her hand fell away.
‘We’d better get back to work,’ he said. ‘What do you say, McDermott?’
And we did. Art giving me one of the best orgasms of my life really must have cleared both our heads because we worked productively until eleven, when we realised we were both yawning too much to talk. When I walked him to the front door Art popped his head into the sitting room to say goodbye to Roo and friends, who urged him to stay for one drink.
‘Much as I’d love to,’ said Art, ‘I’m driving home and Annieand I have an early start tomorrow. We’ll have to do it another time.’
‘It’s my birthday on Wednesday!’ said Roo. ‘I’m having drinks in that new place on Dorset Street. You should come!’
I’m pretty sure Roo would not have invited Art to her party if she hadn’t consumed so much rosé. She definitely wouldn’t have invited him without checking if I was okay with it. I wasn’t sure if Iwasokay or not, but I suppose it didn’t matter because Art said, ‘I’d love to, but it depends on work.’
‘I doubt I’ll get much sleep tonight,’ I said, after I’d closed the door on Roo and her friends. ‘They’ll be up for hours.’
‘You can use those noise-cancelling headphones to block out the sound.’ Art smiled at me as he opened the front door. ‘We need you well rested tomorrow.’
‘I’ll do my best,’ I said.
If we were a couple instead of … whatever we are, this is when we’d kiss goodnight.
But we’re not, of course. So we didn’t.
Miraculously, I did sleep well, and I’m positively bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready for a productive day’s work, when Art arrives at ten.
‘Morning,’ he says, following me into the kitchen. ‘Where’s Roo?’