Chasing Daisy

sticking to small talk for the moment. I’m sure Will’s the same.
    ‘It was alright.’
    ‘You have to go to a lot of those things during race weekends, don’t you?’
    ‘A fair few. And a fair few when I’m not racing, too.’
    ‘Is that because your girlfriend organises a lot of them?’ My stomach tenses up.
    ‘One of the reasons.’
    ‘Have you spoken to her about any of this?’ So much for small talk.
    ‘No.’ He frowns. ‘Not yet.’
    ‘Not yet?’
    ‘I’m not going to cheat on her, if that’s what you’re asking. Not that I expect anything to happen between us,’ he hurriedly adds. ‘I just mean . . .’
    ‘I know what you mean.’
    He sighs.
    ‘Was she your first girlfriend?’
    He nods. ‘Yeah.’
    ‘You’ve never been with anyone else?’
    ‘Well . . . You’re going to think I’m a bastard, but I was unfaithful to her, once. I told her about it,’ he hastens to add. ‘And she forgave me. Well,’ he humphs, ‘only after she’d got me back by sleeping with someone else.’
    That’s a bit feisty of her. I wouldn’t have expected her to have it in her.
    ‘Who did you cheat on her with?’ I ask.
    ‘She was just a girl,’ he replies. That’s not very specific, is it? ‘I haven’t done it since.’
    I stare across at him and then ask a pertinent question, ‘Are you going to end it with Laura?’
    He meets my eyes before replying, ‘I guess that depends on you.’
    ‘Me?’
    He shakes his head. ‘I don’t even know how you feel about me.’
    I lean my head against the sofa, coyly. ‘I can’t believe you can’t tell.’
    My knees fall to one side so they’re resting against his. He closes his other knee in on me so we’re lying there, intertwined. I’m all jittery inside. He reaches over and takes my hand, pushing his fingers through mine. It’s blissful, like I’m experiencing my first high school crush all over again.
    We lie there in silence for a moment, just staring at each other. An image of Laura’s face flicks through my mind and I feel a twinge of guilt before pushing it out again.
    Eventually I sit up and he does, too. I tuck my legs back underneath myself and move closer to him on the sofa, so my knees are touching his left thigh. He casually rests his right ankle on his opposite knee and takes my hand again, looking at me sideways. I sit there and let him trace his forefinger in circles on my palm.
    ‘Do you remember when I fell off my scooter?’ I ask, smiling.
    ‘Mmm.’ His tone is wry.
    ‘You held my hand, like you’re doing now.’
    ‘Did I?’
    ‘Yes. That was the moment I fell for you.’
    ‘Seriously?’ He raises his eyebrows in surprise.
    ‘Yep. Instantly.’
    ‘Huh.’
    ‘What about you?’ I ask.
    He thinks for a moment. ‘I think it was at your nonna’s place. When you came out of the house wearing that green jumper. It matched the colour of your eyes, and you had your hair down . . .’
    I gaze across at him, but his expression changes and he looks away. His grip on my hand goes limp.
    I take my hand away and move back a little on the sofa so I’m no longer touching him. ‘Do you want me to go?’ It’s like déjà vu, this.
    ‘No,’ he replies, looking across at me with regret in his eyes. ‘But I think you should. You know, until I sort it out with . . .’ His voice trails off and I’m glad he doesn’t say her name.
    ‘Of course. I understand.’ I get to my feet and walk to the door. ‘Good luck for the race tomorrow,’ I say as he stands up and comes to the door.
    ‘You’ll see me in the morning.’ He smiles ruefully.
    ‘Okay, well, night.’ I reach for the door handle, but he leans against the door, folding his arms and staring at me.
    ‘What?’ I ask.
    ‘Maybe we should have a goodnight kiss . . .’
    I don’t speak, just stare at him, and my silence appears to be all the encouragement he needs to move forward and take my face in his hands.
    He kisses me, slowly, languidly, his tongue touching mine so lightly that it sends electric sparks tingling throughout my entire body. He runs his fingers through my hair and down my back, and then he pulls me back to the sofa and I’m on top of him. He pushes the hemline of my red dress up and over my bare legs as his kiss deepens and becomes more intense. I reach down to his jeans and unbutton them, unable to wait any longer. I want his T-shirt off. Right now. He tugs it over his head and is kissing me again as I run my hands over his smooth, toned