No Rebound

Chapter 7

Chapter 7I stretched languorously and rolled onto my back, glancing at the bedside clock and thinking how wonderful it was that despite being 9.30 am, as it was the weekend I could lounge in bed for as long as I liked.

My foggy morning brain registered the fact that I was sleeping in a tee shirt, rather than naked. I then sat bolt upright in bed as memories of the night before filtered through the sleep and I remembered that I had a guest. I was dying to know if she was still there so I jumped out of bed, used the bathroom, wrapped myself in a bathrobe and crept gingerly downstairs and into the lounge.

I wasn’t actually sure if I wanted her to still be there or not. I had no doubt that I found this woman attractive, both mentally and physically, however I still had no idea whether she considered me as anything other than a friend. Either way, I did know that I’d like to keep her in my life on whatever terms she would allow, so I crept over to the sofa and peered over the back.

I noticed that there was now a pile of clothes next to the sofa where she must have taken them off some time during the night and I heard a little sigh escape from my lips, knowing she was still here and was undressed.

The duvet was heaped up in such a way that it was impossible to see her at all, so I walked around the sofa and listened for any small noises, trying to tell if she was awake. Hearing nothing I bent close to where her head had been last night and started to pull the duvet down slowly, my heart beating just that little bit faster as I moved the covers as slowly and gently as I could.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when all of a sudden I heard ‘Trying to sneak a peak huh?’ followed by that tinkling laughter I was coming to like so much.

I looked up to find that her head was now exposed at the other end of the sofa and she was peering at me over the top of the duvet, a mischievous smile playing across her sleep rumpled face.

‘Jesus Jess, you scared the crap out of me!’

‘Well that serves you right for trying to take advantage of me when I was asleep!’

‘I wasn’t! I was just trying to wake ......’ but I left the sentence hanging as I realised she was just teasing me again. ‘Humph! Not my fault you migrated to the other end of the sofa during the night. So -- do you like tea or coffee in the morning?’

‘Tea please; strong with 1 sugar’ she called after me as I headed into the kitchen, shaking my head in mock annoyance.

How had this woman learned how to push my buttons so effectively in just a few hours? I couldn’t help smiling to myself as I put the kettle on; I had a feeling that life would never be dull when Jess was around.

I turned around to find her standing right behind me and was somewhat surprised when she wrapped me in her arms and hugged me tightly, placing a little kiss on my cheek.

‘Thanks for a great night last night and for making me comfortable on your sofa; I’m sorry I fell asleep on you.’

‘That’s ok Jess. For future reference there’s a spare bedroom upstairs that’s more comfortable than the sofa though.’

‘Future reference huh? So are we going to do this again?’

‘Absolutely!’ I stated firmly ‘It’s my turn to pay next time remember, so we have to do it at least once more so I can get even.’

We’d spent a comfortable hour drinking tea and chatting about nothing in particular when she sighed, saying she really ought to go home and feed Jasper.

She seemed quite reluctant to go and after she’d left, having hugged me and kissed my cheek again, I thought I understood why. Despite living comfortably on my own for some years, my house now felt curiously empty and I knew that she was also going home to an empty house, apart from Jasper that is. Maybe I should get a cat now I no longer had Sarah to fill my time?