She Goes to Town by W M James Page B

at her, but he was a terrible actor. God only knew how he
was keeping this a secret from Carmen, or anybody else for that
matter.
    'I sometimes wonder which of us is the
mature professional in this relationship,' he said archly.
    'Uh, less of the mature, thank you very
much,' she rejoindered. 'I am still in my twenties, I will have you
know.'
    'By a matter of weeks, wasn't it?' Andy
grinned, warming to the teasing now. She could see where this was
going. It was their pattern: they would verbally abuse each other
for a few minutes, inch closer and closer, then pounce on one
another. She licked her lips. She could feel a stirring even just
from analysing their pattern.
    'Do you ever wish it was...' Andy
blushed, stumbling over what he was trying to say. For a moment,
she thought he might not be going to finish his question. Then,
lamely, he added the single word: 'Real?'
    Tanya's ardour cooled again at
once.
    'Is this about what your friend Ade
said to you?'
    ' No, ' he replied, too quickly. His mouth squeezed shut,
scrunching up at the side. ' I just think
it would be nice if we went out some time. '
     
     
    ' One of your
students! ' Annette gasped.
    The waiter would have to pick just that
moment to bring the starters. He gave them both an odd look, as if
he had worked out what they were talking about just from that one
exclamation. Tanya felt herself blushing again. This was just
perfect: just exactly the way she wanted to announce her infidelity
and lack of professionalism to the whole town. Then again, after
what had almost happened a few hours earlier, this was a
comparative relief. She could still feel him
inside her: it brought a little smirk to her face.
    She waited until the waiter had moved away again
before she glared at her sister.
    ' Will you keep your voice
down! ' she hissed.
    ' So, ' Annette said casually. She picked up her fork and
started to crack open her little tartlet. ' What ' s he like? '
    This should still be awful, but Tanya found she was
smiling. It turned out she wanted to talk about Andy. Of course, if
they had both been single, she ' d be
shouting about him off the rooftops.
    ' He ' s very clever, ' she
admitted. ' I don ' t think he even realises how gifted he is. And
he ' s funny. He tries to do little jokes
all the time, which, ' she added, with a
nod, ' are terrible. But there ' s something about the way he does it. Makes me
giggle. '
    Annette put her fork down in disgust. ' No, not that teenager-in-love crap. What ' s he like ? '
    Tanya made a rueful face. ' He ' s gorgeous. Great hair:
messy blonde sort of choppy style. He has these amazing green eyes.
And he has this little-boy expression he does — he doesn ' t even know
he ' s doing it — it makes me go weak at the knees. I mean, that ' s an actual thing. Did you even know that was a
thing? '
    ' And? ' Annette pressed, giving her the impatient look.
    ' And, oh my god, his
body … I like muscles. You know I like
muscles. Well, he has them all. Every single one of them, and a few
extra ones, too. ' She gestured with the edges of her hands, down towards her
crotch area. ' You know that pelvic V
thing? '
    ' Mm-hm. '
    ' It ' s a thing of wonder. '
    Annette took a sip of her water.
    ' You ' d need to have seen him naked to know about
that. ' It was nonchalant, almost
dismissive, but Tanya knew her sister ' s
ways. Annette was deeply serious. The trouble was: Tanya
couldn ' t quite read which way she was
deciding to take all of this news.
    ' No, it was on his
application form when he signed up for the degree, ' she said, trying to diffuse the situation a bit.
    ' Does anybody
know? '
    ' About the application
form? ' She enjoyed watching
Annette ' s annoyed reaction to her joke.
She couldn ' t help noticing that
Andy ' s flippant humour seemed to be
rubbing off her on … and that
wasn ' t the only thing of his that was doing that.
    But Annette ' s question was
all the invitation that Tanya ' s memories
of the day needed for them to come
crashing