about?’ inquired Alex, handing him a fresh bottle of lager. ‘Is it connected to that Sarah? She seems like fun. Classy too, and you really strike sparks off each other. Her friend’s not bad either, although she looks far too long-term for me.’ He waved at a group of girls in skyscraper heels and short skirts by the bar. ‘I’ll stick to the babes over there for now. Coming?’
‘Nah.’ Tom pulled his phone out. ‘They’re not my type. I’m more of a steak man nowadays and they’re definitely fast food.’ The way Sarah’s tongue had swiped her luscious lips, he’d just wanted it on his body. Wanted to eat her up, morsel by morsel. Lick her all over. His body tightened further and he had to imagine freezing-cold showers to clear his head for his next move.
‘Fast food?’
Tom paused in scrolling down. ‘Yeah, you know, enjoyable for a moment but ultimately not very satisfying. And certainly not very good for you in the long run.’
‘You sound like the team nutritionist. I, for one, am enjoying the different cuisine down south,’ Alex announced grandly. ‘Are you sure you don’t want to join us for a drink?’
‘I have plans to make and people to coerce, sorry. Maybe later at the club.’
Tom watched Alex being welcomed by the girls and saw him shrug his shoulders as they pointed in his own direction. He wondered for a moment why he was going after this one woman, then recalled why. Unfinished business. The chase was on. And he loved a chase. She wouldn’t know what had hit her.
Chapter Two
‘What the hell was that about?’ Clare stumbled after Sarah as she almost sprinted away from the bar. ‘Slow down, I’m sure he’s not going to run after you.’
Sarah stopped and leant against a nearby bus stop. ‘Sorry,’ she gasped, ‘I had to get away, otherwise I was going to embarrass myself. I think I’ve had too much to drink; I was melting into a puddle at his feet.’
Clare perched on a seat and pulled off one of her high-heeled shoes. ‘OK, but give me more warning next time – these killer heels are killing me.’
Sarah forgot about her own plight for a moment. ‘Aren’t they a bit higher than your normal taste?’
Clare flushed in the stark overhead light and fixed her attention on moving the straps. ‘I was being silly. I – I wanted to feel more attractive.’
Sarah stared at Clare in concern. ‘I told you at my place, you look lovely.’
‘Well, it’s not going to do me a heap of good, is it?’ Clare stood up and blew the hair out of her eyes. ‘Look at us: you’re running away from a man and I’m wasting my time trying to attract one. Sod it, let’s go into town, get plastered, and have a boogie.’
Sarah nodded and agreed, and, as they wandered down the road to flag down a taxi, her attention drifted off again, as she remembered an earlier Tom, an earlier autumn season …
Sarah had gone to university in Kent and came away with a respectable business degree. Despite her natural reserve and being far from her family home in West Wales, she’d settled in well. The campus was a friendly one with frequent socials, and, as was traditional in most universities in Britain, each Wednesday afternoon’s was the biggest. This was when all the universities’ sports teams played each other, and the matches would often be followed by alcohol-fuelled fun and games in the campus bars.
She had considered joining the hockey team but instead had been pulled into attending the women’s rugby training. To her surprise, she’d enjoyed learning to play a sport she had, until then, only followed on TV. Sarah felt she fitted into “a sport for all shapes and sizes”. There were two light-hearted coaches who coaxed the girls into a fast, challenging side, and Sarah, once fit, could sprint around with the best of them.
Within months she had lost a stone, dropped a dress size, and developed a well-toned torso and firm, shapely legs. Her new body attracted more male attention
‘Nah.’ Tom pulled his phone out. ‘They’re not my type. I’m more of a steak man nowadays and they’re definitely fast food.’ The way Sarah’s tongue had swiped her luscious lips, he’d just wanted it on his body. Wanted to eat her up, morsel by morsel. Lick her all over. His body tightened further and he had to imagine freezing-cold showers to clear his head for his next move.
‘Fast food?’
Tom paused in scrolling down. ‘Yeah, you know, enjoyable for a moment but ultimately not very satisfying. And certainly not very good for you in the long run.’
‘You sound like the team nutritionist. I, for one, am enjoying the different cuisine down south,’ Alex announced grandly. ‘Are you sure you don’t want to join us for a drink?’
‘I have plans to make and people to coerce, sorry. Maybe later at the club.’
Tom watched Alex being welcomed by the girls and saw him shrug his shoulders as they pointed in his own direction. He wondered for a moment why he was going after this one woman, then recalled why. Unfinished business. The chase was on. And he loved a chase. She wouldn’t know what had hit her.
Chapter Two
‘What the hell was that about?’ Clare stumbled after Sarah as she almost sprinted away from the bar. ‘Slow down, I’m sure he’s not going to run after you.’
Sarah stopped and leant against a nearby bus stop. ‘Sorry,’ she gasped, ‘I had to get away, otherwise I was going to embarrass myself. I think I’ve had too much to drink; I was melting into a puddle at his feet.’
Clare perched on a seat and pulled off one of her high-heeled shoes. ‘OK, but give me more warning next time – these killer heels are killing me.’
Sarah forgot about her own plight for a moment. ‘Aren’t they a bit higher than your normal taste?’
Clare flushed in the stark overhead light and fixed her attention on moving the straps. ‘I was being silly. I – I wanted to feel more attractive.’
Sarah stared at Clare in concern. ‘I told you at my place, you look lovely.’
‘Well, it’s not going to do me a heap of good, is it?’ Clare stood up and blew the hair out of her eyes. ‘Look at us: you’re running away from a man and I’m wasting my time trying to attract one. Sod it, let’s go into town, get plastered, and have a boogie.’
Sarah nodded and agreed, and, as they wandered down the road to flag down a taxi, her attention drifted off again, as she remembered an earlier Tom, an earlier autumn season …
Sarah had gone to university in Kent and came away with a respectable business degree. Despite her natural reserve and being far from her family home in West Wales, she’d settled in well. The campus was a friendly one with frequent socials, and, as was traditional in most universities in Britain, each Wednesday afternoon’s was the biggest. This was when all the universities’ sports teams played each other, and the matches would often be followed by alcohol-fuelled fun and games in the campus bars.
She had considered joining the hockey team but instead had been pulled into attending the women’s rugby training. To her surprise, she’d enjoyed learning to play a sport she had, until then, only followed on TV. Sarah felt she fitted into “a sport for all shapes and sizes”. There were two light-hearted coaches who coaxed the girls into a fast, challenging side, and Sarah, once fit, could sprint around with the best of them.
Within months she had lost a stone, dropped a dress size, and developed a well-toned torso and firm, shapely legs. Her new body attracted more male attention
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