‘I just wanted to get out of there,’ Harry said, reaching out and dabbing two icy fingers on Charlie’s neck.

‘Buzz off!’ Charlie yelped, stepping back and catching her sneaker on a jutting drain cover.

Harry caught her as she stumbled. Charlie showed a wounded expression as she looked up into his eyes and pulled down her virus mask. Harry’s breath shuddered.

‘Are you gonna kiss me or not?’ Charlie asked.

Harry tore off his mask and closed in for a kiss. Gently at first, then pressing her against the car and sliding a hand down her back.

‘I never thought this would happen,’ Harry said hungrily.

Charlie enjoyed him kissing around her neck and biting gently on her earlobe, but pushed back when he started pulling her leggings down.

‘Not here, you horny goat,’ she said, pushing Harry away.

‘I want you so much.’

‘I’m not saying no,’ Charlie teased, ‘but what if your aunt looks out the window? And we should get Matt his vaccine.’

‘At least there’s no traffic,’ Harry said, burning with lust as he rushed round to the driver’s side. He kissed Charlie again, before reversing out of the spot.

She rubbed his thigh as they drove. A checkpoint officer scanned their licence plate and waved them through. Harry was so excited by the idea of seeing Charlie naked that he scraped her car roof on the underside of the rising barrier at his building.

‘It’s only paint,’ Harry said, pulling Charlie’s arm as she inspected the damage. ‘I’ll pay for the repair. Hell, I’ll buy you a new car!’

Charlie shoved Harry against the back of the elevator and wrapped her arms round his neck. They made out from the basement to the forty-third floor. Harry trembled with excitement, fumbling the lock and dropping his key as he tried to get into his apartment.

‘You are such a bad influence,’ he said, feeling Charlie’s hand between his legs as the pair stumbled into the hallway.

His mood was jarred by a shattered mug and coffee pooled across the lobby’s tiled floor. It seemed odd that Matt hadn’t cleared it up, but Charlie had his wrist and was leading him down the hallway.

‘Where’s your bed?’ she said, pulling off a sneaker and flicking it into the air.

‘Double doors at the end,’ Harry said, wishing he’d changed the sheets after his Saturday romp with Gemma.

But Charlie screamed sharply as she glanced through an archway.

Harry reached for her arm. ‘What’s wrong?’

Everything fell apart when he looked into the living room. A tea-coloured rug had a huge splat of bloody vomit. Dark red spots formed a trail to Matt. He’d tried to make it to the couch but had collapsed, grazing his head on the corner of a glass table.

‘Matt, buddy,’ Harry said, racing into the room.