The temperature in the house soared, and Eva could see the sheen of sweat across the back of Callum’s neck as he led the way through the crowd. She liked the proprietorial manner of his hand holding hers, the way the sea of people parted as he led her into the living room where they danced and kissed and gyrated against each other, both of them taking swigs from a bottle of Coke laced with rum. Across the room, Alicia mouthed ‘Told ya!’ moving in her own synched rhythm with her boyfriend, Josh.

After a while, Callum pulled Eva close and said into her ear: ‘Come with me.’

He brought her through the kitchen where two girls from her class were belly-dancing in bra-tops and mini-skirts while a couple of guys snorted lines off the veined marble surface of the island unit. Callum led Eva outside to the back garden where the party had spilled on to the darkened lawn.

‘I’m so glad you’re here,’ he told her. ‘I felt like a dick after what happened the last time. That guy scared the shit out of me. I shouldn’t have legged it though.’ He looked genuinely concerned, and she slipped her arm around his waist and snuggled in close to him.

‘That’s okay. I could handle it.’

‘But God, what a perve.’

She stiffened. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean him, standing there like that, eyeballing you for like ages!’

‘Was it ages?’

‘Jesus, Eva, his tongue was practically hanging out.’

She’d had two driving lessons with Ross since that night and while she harboured a casual interest in him, it had never occurred to her that it was reciprocated. Could it be true that Ross had lingered? That he had stayed a fraction longer than necessary not out of shock but out of arousal?

‘Not that I blame him,’ Callum went on, pulling her close. ‘You’re super fit. I just wish I’d got to spend a bit more time checking you out myself.’

‘Well, that could be arranged,’ she said, smiling into his mouth as they kissed.

‘There’s something I want to show you,’ he said, drawing her further from the house.

Eva giggled and stumbled over the damp grass. ‘Where are we going?’ she asked, but he just shot her a devilish grin.

They had reached the end of the garden black with shadows thrown from the trees that lined the property. Behind them, the house was lit up against the night, shrieks of laughter and music pouring out of the open windows and doors. Callum took a key from his pocket and unlocked a gate that she had not noticed. It was a wrought-iron affair, all scrolls and spikes, and he led her through it now towards what she saw was a small house with a shiplap exterior, vines trailing around the windows.