Chapter 40
Chapter forty
Billy grabbed her own mug and carried it to her room. She watched the screen as Rosa’s face disappeared, then everything went dark.
She settled her phone on the nightstand, upright against the mug, not paying much attention to it as she untied her dressing gown and let it slide off her shoulders.
She caught it before it hit the ground and hung it on the back of the door, and when she turned, she found Rosa back, her face staring at her.
“All set?” Billy asked.
“No, I need to get undressed and into my pyjamas.”
Billy grinned and grabbed the phone as she flopped onto the bed. Her image blurred with the movement until her face came back into focus. “Okay, go ahead. I’ll just sit quietly and watch.”
Rosa pursed her lips playfully. “You want to watch me strip?”
“I mean…it’s not like you haven’t done it before.”
“That was a long time ago.”
“Not in my head.” Billy chuckled. “Still as vivid now as it was then.”
“Well, you won’t need a repeat then, will you?”
“Spoilsport.” Billy grinned, her face pressed up close to the screen. She scanned the room—surroundings she hadn’t seen in a long time. Rosa had a different taste in décor now, more chic than the neon prints and bright colours they’d once shared.
Rosa placed the phone on the bed, leaning it up against the pillows.
“Not even a little peek?” Billy continued to tease.
With her fingertips gripping the hem of her jumper, Rosa inched it up just enough to show the merest hint of skin before she laughed, dropped it, and reached forward to knock the phone over, giving Billy a close-up view of her bed.
Within a minute, the phone was lifted into the air and Rosa came back into view.
“Considering your plan is for me to fold you over on Monday, I think this prudish behaviour is far from befitting.” Billy smiled, enjoying the flirting. “You look pretty.”
“I look a tired mess, but thank you.” Rosa returned the smile.
“Tired is understandable, but I’m not sure you could ever look a mess.”
“I’ve already agreed to have sex with you.” Rosa chuckled.
Billy smiled again, enjoying the ‘negotiations’.
“Yes, but you haven’t agreed to spend your life with me again yet.
” She settled back against her pillows and watched as Rosa did the same.
“I’m super serious about us, Rosa. I know where you stand, and I’m all for taking the time.
But I’m there already, and I’m going to keep trying to make sure you hear that from everything I say and do. ”
“I know, and I’m on board for finding out—” She stopped speaking when the landing light clicked on and soft footsteps hit the squeaky floorboard. “Imogen is up,” she whispered.
“Okay,” Billy whispered back and sniggered at them both behaving like teenagers about to be caught by their mum for being up late.
Rosa listened to the toilet flush and then the squeaky board again, holding her breath.
She gasped when a quiet knock came at the door instead of the expected click of the landing light switching off.
Pulling the phone to her chest and then changing her mind and sliding it under the covers, she said, “Yes, Immy?”
The door opened and a sleepy Imogen poked her head around it. “Who are you talking to?”
“Just…I was watching something on my phone and I reacted to it. Sorry, I’ll keep it down.”
Imogen nodded, then yawned. “Okay. It’s fine, I can put my earbuds in,” she said, shrugging. “Night.”
“Night.”
When she was gone and the light clicked off outside, Rosa pulled the phone out and found Billy with her hand over her mouth, laughing.
“It’s not funny,” Rosa hissed. But it was, and she couldn’t stop the smile appearing on her own face. “Honestly, you’d think she was the parent.”
“Well, get used to it—we’ve got a whole lot of sneaking around to fit in.”