‘Just what I thought,’ Robert said, wandering into my room, nodding as he inspected the place. ‘It’s basically the same as mine, but with your added girlie touch.’
‘It’s not girlie!’
‘No, you’re right,’ he said, picking up one of my floral pillowcases from my bed as he sat on it – just to prove his point.
I wouldn’t have normally gone in for the floral thing, I was the least girlie person in the world, but I’d become obsessed with all the colourful sheets and towels when working in Magpies that summer. I don’t know what had come over me.
‘Compared to your boyish lair, which no doubt has nothing out other than your weights, I think you mean it’s more welcoming and homely,’ I said, jumping on top of him and wrapping my arms around his neck – I was so excited to have him there.
‘Ah, yeah … that’s totally what I meant,’ he said with a wink before kissing me. ‘Your housemates seem fun.’
‘They’re great. Love you already, I can tell.’
‘They seem like a nice bunch.’
‘They are.’
‘Make sure that Pearl doesn’t lead you astray.’
‘What? How do you mean?’ I asked, instantly feeling defensive over my new friend.
‘She’s a wild one,’ he shrugged. ‘I bet she’ll be getting you lot into all sorts of trouble.’
I thought back to the previous night – us girls and Ben had all gone to Castle Park to sit and relax on the green while taking in the gorgeous views of the castle and the river. We hadn’t been there long before Pearl whipped out five plastic cups, a family-sized carton of Tropicana orange juice (with the bits) and a litre bottle of vodka. Remembering the sore head I’d woken up with that morning, I realized Robert might have had a point – not that I was going to tell him that.
‘What makes you think I’m so easily led?’ I bluffed. ‘You never know, I could be the ringleader.’
Robert raised both eyebrows at me.
‘Yeah, fair point,’ I giggled.
‘I’m sure if you got your camera out right now there’d be all sorts of incriminating evidence.’
I smiled and gave him an innocent shrug, remembering that, as was usually the case, the evening had been well documented – I was always snap happy, but more so when I’d had a bit to drink. I made a mental note to leave my camera at home on nights that might take a turn to the drunk-photos-are-never-a-good-idea zone.
‘So, you’ve managed to find your way back here okay since your first-night adventures?’
‘Yes!’ I groaned. ‘Ben now has my room number memorized, so he’s able to point me in the right direction and get me back safely.’
‘Ha! Just as well he’s here with you. Can you imagine what would’ve happened if you were alone?’
‘I’d have been fine … Well, I would have found my way eventually, I’m sure.’
‘Hmmm …’
‘Although Ben’s bed is actually far more comfortable than mine.’
‘Should I be worried?’
I rolled my eyes. ‘Yes, Robert. You should totally be worried that, due to the fact that he has a comfier bed, I’m going to run off with our mutual best friend.’
‘Why, you little …’ he laughed at my cheekiness, squinting his eyes at me before placing his fingers on my ribs and tickling me, making me jerk around with laughter. He lifted me from his lap and swung me around so that we were lying next to each other, leaning in for a kiss with that look in his eyes that left no doubt as to where the moment was leading. His hand expertly found its way under my t-shirt to my skin, where it roamed around in a playfully teasing manner. God I missed having him with me every day, I thought.
‘MATE!’ Ben screamed, opening my unlocked door without knocking, and jumping on top of us with a diving hug, squandering our hopes of a quick fumble. ‘We’ve missed you, buddy!’
‘So I see,’ Robert laughed, returning the hug.
‘We’re just so boring without you – it’s like we’ve lost the ability to have fun,’ I joked.
‘I bet.’
‘We’re like Samson when he chopped off all his hair!’
‘Well, unless Pearl’s around,’ argued Ben. ‘Did you tell him about last night?’
I groaned.
Robert turned to me with a smile – what was it he’d been saying about Pearl? ‘No, she hasn’t … spill!’
‘She got us roaringly drunk. I only signed up for a chilled night with a couple of cans – but somehow we ended up skipping through the city centre at four a.m. pretending we were animals from Snow White – no idea why.’