The bed shifted next to me, which woke me up, and it took a handful of seconds to realise where I was. The room was brightly lit, both by the white of the walls and by the sunlight streaming in; Fred had sheer curtains, which I hadn’t noticed the night before. I was facing away from her, and I took a quick glance towards the bedside table next to me in search of a clock. There wasn’t a clockface to be found, though there was a steaming mug. She settled down behind me, then, and kissed my bare shoulder one, two, three times before moving away.

‘I hope you’re a tea drinker,’ she said, as I pushed myself upright in bed next to her. I bunched the bedsheets up around my unmentionables – as though I had any left. ‘I took an educated guess and left the bag in until it stewed.’

I smiled as I reached around to grab the drink. ‘That’s exactly how I take my tea.’

‘You don’t have to be polite.’ She set her mug down and extended an arm out. ‘Fancy doing the cuddle thing?’ I didn’t answer, only moved a few inches closer and tucked myself into the space between her torso and her arm. She gasped. ‘Look at what a good fit you are.’

I laughed and, despite nerves, turned and set a kiss just beneath her collarbone. ‘Thank you.’

‘Jesus, after last night I should be thanking you.’ I half-laughed but half-cringed. God, it had been— ‘Seriously, Edi,’ she cut my thought off, ‘that was your first time?’

I looked up at her. ‘Are you going out of your way to be nice?’

She kissed my forehead and softly squeezed my shoulder too. ‘I don’t know whether anyone has ever told you this, but you’re actually quite easy to be nice to. Plus, I had a great time, Edi, seriously. And, Jesus, I remember the first time all too well. So first off, you smashed it straight out the gate, at the risk of sounding like a horny teenager there …’ I laughed at her comparison – even though that was exactly how I’d felt with her the night before. ‘Second off, you’re going to worry whether it was okay and whether you knew what you were doing. But you definitely did.’

‘God.’ The word came out in a groan. ‘Am I that desperate for reassurance?’

She moved away, then, and reached around to get her own mug. ‘Pre-emptive. Have the compliment, just in case.’ She sipped at her tea. I stole a glance across and saw that she took hers the same way I took mine. ‘I like a woman who knows what she wants, what she likes.’

Is that the type of woman I am?

‘Now, what do you want or what would you like for breakfast?’