BooksBarbecue
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Chapters (84)
  1. Chapter one
  2. Chapter two
  3. Chapter three
  4. Chapter four
  5. Chapter five
  6. Chapter six
  7. Chapter seven
  8. Chapter eight
  9. Chapter nine
  10. Chapter ten
  11. Chapter eleven
  12. Chapter twelve
  13. Chapter thirteen
  14. Chapter fourteen
  15. Chapter fifteen
  16. Chapter sixteen
  17. Chapter seventeen
  18. Chapter eighteen
  19. Chapter nineteen
  20. Chapter twenty
  21. Chapter twenty-one
  22. Chapter twenty-two
  23. Chapter twenty-three
  24. Chapter twenty-four
  25. Chapter twenty-five
  26. Chapter twenty-six
  27. Chapter twenty-seven
  28. Chapter twenty-eight
  29. Chapter twenty-nine
  30. Chapter thirty
  31. Chapter thirty-one
  32. Chapter thirty-two
  33. Chapter thirty-three
  34. Chapter thirty-four
  35. Chapter thirty-five
  36. Chapter thirty-six
  37. Chapter thirty-seven
  38. Chapter thirty-eight
  39. Chapter thirty-nine
  40. Chapter forty
  41. Chapter forty-one
  42. Chapter forty-two
  43. Chapter forty-three
  44. Chapter forty-four
  45. Chapter forty-five
  46. Chapter forty-six
  47. Chapter forty-seven
  48. Chapter forty-eight
  49. Chapter forty-nine
  50. Chapter fifty
  51. Chapter fifty-one
  52. Chapter fifty-two
  53. Chapter fifty-three
  54. Chapter fifty-four
  55. Chapter fifty-five
  56. Chapter fifty-six
  57. Chapter fifty-seven
  58. Chapter fifty-eight
  59. Chapter fifty-nine
  60. Chapter sixty
  61. Chapter sixty-one
  62. Chapter sixty-two
  63. Chapter sixty-three
  64. Chapter sixty-four
  65. Chapter sixty-five
  66. Chapter sixty-six
  67. Chapter sixty-seven
  68. Chapter sixty-eight
  69. Chapter sixty-nine
  70. Chapter seventy
  71. Chapter seventy-one
  72. Chapter seventy-two
  73. Chapter seventy-three
  74. Chapter seventy-four
  75. Chapter seventy-five
  76. Chapter seventy-six
  77. Chapter seventy-seven
  78. Chapter seventy-eight
  79. Chapter seventy-nine
  80. Chapter eighty
  81. Chapter eighty-one
  82. Chapter eighty-two
  83. Chapter eighty-three
  84. Chapter eighty-four

I can hear Dean moving around in his tent, humming gently to himself. This is very disconcerting, but I can hear him peeling off his clothes. At this moment, I think being blessed with a vivid imagination is actually a bit of a curse. The sound of his trouser zipper makes me gulp, then I hear the sound of his sleeping-bag zipper, followed by much wriggling as he snuggles inside. He clicks his torch off and I’m lying perfectly still, frozen. I can hear my own breathing and I can hear Dean’s too.

His voice comes through the darkness. ‘Night, Lyssa,’ he whispers.

‘Night,’ I answer. Dean fidgets until he gets himself comfortable. I’m not comfortable at all. I feel all bandaged up in my narrow mummy bag. It’s ages since I’ve worn pyjamas and they’re all wrapped round my legs like tourniquets. Gradually, the sounds of movement in the camp die down and the spots of torch light disappear.

And as I go to turn off my own head torch, my eye catches sight of my watch and I see, with something approaching shock, that it’s not yet eight o’clock. I can’t think of the last time I was in bed before EastEnders.

Chapter thirty-five

Chapter thirty-five

‘You’re not sulking again, are you?’ Neve said.

Jake wasn’t sulking. Not as such. It was just that he didn’t know exactly what he wanted to say to Neve. He hadn’t managed to see Pip, who was out on a client visit all afternoon and, even though Jake had texted him, his friend hadn’t replied.

It was late and Neve had persuaded him to stop at a restaurant on the way home to grab some dinner. The fridge was suffering another food crisis, as he hadn’t managed to get to the supermarket this week and Neve, as usual, hadn’t given it another thought. He might not be showing the results of it, in Alec’s eyes, but he’d certainly been putting the hours in. Jake regarded his surroundings. The place was minimalist to the nth degree. The walls were decorated with tiny, white ceramic tiles and white paintings. All the fittings were stainless steel and frosted glass and the waitresses wore white. They were sitting rigid and upright on steel chairs. It felt like having dinner in a morgue. There was some sort of bland jazz oozing from the sound system and Jake couldn’t believe that they’d often slipped away to eat together in here in the first throes of their love. What on earth had possessed them to view it as the right place for a romantic assignation? He felt like he needed another sweater on.

The atmosphere between them was decidedly cool too. They’d been eating in silence like an old married couple who’d run out of things to say to each other.