Excerpt from Tumbling Through Life
We meet in a bar near to Crick’s. I have managed to ignore the confrontation with Jeremy that needs to happen soon and I have also neglected to tell him that I am meeting Russell tonight. I feel a little guilty but also in some small sense justified in keeping Russell a secret. After all, I am not the only one keeping secrets in this relationship. Even as I think this I can hear my mother’s voice chiming in – two wrongs don't make a right, she would say, but even so I press on to the bar.
When I arrive Russell is already waiting, and even dressed down in jeans and a jumper he looks incredibly handsome. In the old days people would swoon at the sight of him. He greets me with a hug – obviously a touchy-feely person I think. We order drinks, get seated and he quizzes me about all things Crick’s. He already seems to be knowledgeable so I am sure that he doesn’t really need this meeting. I am fairly sure that he is on a shortlist of two and I know that Alex warmed to him in their first meeting. If that’s the case I am sure he will be getting his pupillage offer by the end of the week.
‘You know, I don’t think you really need me, you seem fairly clued up already. You’ve followed all our recent cases, you have a good degree and you have a good idea about celebrity and the misfortunes we have to extricate them from. What’s your real reason for this rendezvous?’
He blushes, something I hadn’t expected – I was only teasing!
‘Ok, you caught me,’ he said. ‘I was curious – I’ve met you twice, the first time you threw coffee on me and the second time you were trying to break your neck on a buggy. I wanted to get to know the staff before the interview, you know, just in case you’re all crazy.’
‘Oh, I see,’ I take a sip of my drink. ‘So where did you take Priscilla when you met with her? And I am sure that Alex and Miranda would be expecting a dinner on a grander scale than this,’ I say. There is the blush again, and I can’t help finding it cute.
‘OK, you win round two as well. I don’t think I would dare be alone with Priscilla, and wining and dining prospective bosses is probably against the rules. I did have a pint with Gerald and Robert though. Did you know Gerald fancied you?’ Now it is my turn to blush.
‘Don’t be silly, he’s got a girlfriend; I think they might even be engaged now.’
‘Well, he warned me off you, made it clear you were out of bounds and was less than complimentary about Jeremy?’ The question hangs in the air and I can feel my ears burning, meaning that my face is probably a delightful shade of red. I am relieved when the waiter pops up to take our order, giving my racing mind an opportunity to find a suitable explanation.
‘I suppose you are wondering why I haven’t mentioned him,’ I say.
‘None of my business,’ Russell shrugs. I interpret the look on his face, however, as meaning that it is definitely his business and that he want to know exactly who Jeremy is.
‘Well, it’s just a difficult time between us at the moment. I am not sure where we are heading, it’s...’
‘Complicated?’ he offers.
‘Exactly, that’s the exact word – complicated.’
We pass the rest of the evening easily. Conversation and wine flows, and we agree it is a good job that his interview is not in the morning. We hail a cab and we agree to drop him home first. His place is near London Bridge, a very tasteful looking building I think.
‘Coming?’ he says, offering me his hand. I don’t know why but I go with him. I know I shouldn’t, but he is so nice and it looks as if things with Jeremy are at an end anyway. So I find myself in his flat overlooking the Thames, standing on his balcony. I admire the way the water reflects the moonlight as it ripples in the breeze. I am not surprised when Russell puts his arms around my waist and kisses me softly on the back of my neck. I could stop it here, make my apologies and say goodbye but I don’t. Lust takes over and I turn to face him and we kiss passionately, needfully, progressing slowly to the bedroom where I wake the next morning.
Author's notes
This is a short excerpt from my novel Tumbling Through Life. It is taken from the end of the second chapter and I hope it won't give too much away.