“You girls want anything?” asked Adam.

“No thanks, we’re fine,” said Robbie as Finna snuggled close to her, shaking with silent laughter.

Adam put the kettle on and stood around awkwardly, pretending to watch the movie.

As Finna’s giggles subsided, she whispered in Robbie’s ear, “We may as well give him something to gawk at.”

“Okay,” Robbie whispered back.

She leaned in close to Finna and closed her eyes. As soon as their lips met, Finna’s tongue slipped past them and began exploring her mouth. The kiss was urgent and insistent, and Robbie felt the hard lump of a tongue stud.

Interesting, she thought.

They separated, and Finna looked challengingly at Adam, who quickly looked away.

Eventually, Adam went back to his room.

“Did you like my girly scream?” asked Finna with a wicked little smile.

“It was very authentic,” Robbie replied. “Like the kiss.”

She wondered where this was going. Did Finna really like girls, or was she just playing along for fun? Robbie realised that was just one item on a long list of things she didn’t know about this little punk chick. Still, it might be fun to find out more about her.

“It’s getting kind of late. You can stay over if you like. Just, you know, for the look of the thing.”

“Okay. This couch is pretty comfy. Though, really, for the look of the thing—”

“You should sleep in my room,” Robbie finished for her, surprising herself. “Sure. I can kip on the floor.”

“Or not. How big’s your bed?”

“Queen-size.”

“Well that’s plenty of room for two. I should warn you, though, I tend to hog the covers.”

When Robbie returned from the bathroom, having changed into her nightgown, she felt a mixture of relief and disappointment to see Finna sitting up in bed still wearing her coat. She had removed her boots and hung her bra, tights, and belt over a chair, but there was no sign of the mysterious item of clothing Robbie had seen earlier in the night. Maybe she had stashed it in her purse.

Ah well, a little mystery is one of the pleasures of a new relationship, Robbie mused. Swift on the heels of this thought came another. Hang on! Relationship? She was just planning to fool Adam, not herself. But if it did lead somewhere, wouldn’t that be a bonus?

She climbed into bed and plumped her pillow.

“Well . . . nighty night then,” she said as Finna settled in under the sheet.

“Goodnight.”

Robbie switched off the lamp. For a while, she lay there in the darkness, thinking how nice it was to hear another person breathing beside her again.

I could get used to this, she thought as she slowly drifted off into a contented sleep.

 

 

Sometime later, Finna eased the bedroom door closed and crept out into the hall. The tiles were icy under her bare feet.

“Looking for something?” asked a voice, making her start.

She turned to see a silhouette against the window.

“The bathroom,” she said.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw that it was Adam. He was naked to the waist and his well-muscled chest was covered with thick, dark hair. Around his navel, it almost met with the trail of dark curls emerging from the waistband of his boxer shorts.

“Just down the hall, past my room.” He indicated the passage behind him with his head, but did not step out of the way. “Unless it’s my room you were really looking for.”

“No, thank you. Robbie’s is lovely.” Tiny as she was, she ducked easily under his arm and continued down the hall. Looking over her shoulder, she added, “Robbie is lovely. You’re lucky to have her as a friend.” She placed a slight emphasis on the last word.

“Not as lucky as you, I take it. So, are you going to be coming here often?” He sounded very pleased with this hackneyed double-entendre.

“I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.”

“Because I wouldn’t mind if you do. Maybe we could all have some fun together.”

Finna grimaced. “Well, firstly, I don’t need your permission to come here; it’s Robbie’s place too. Secondly, if by fun you mean you want to kick back and watch Mystery Science Theatre 3000 and eat Malteasers with us, that could be good. If, however, this is a come-on, give it a fucking rest. Your flatmate is not a fan of the penis, okay? Yours or anyone else’s.”

“So she says. What about you?”