Chapter 1 #2
She looked around trying to find out more information about the man she was going to be living with.
He was clean and tidy, that was something.
A bookshelf was filled with books which had to be his.
Her nan was a big romance reader and these books with their mostly black covers were definitely not romance.
She wandered closer. You could tell a lot about a person from their bookcase.
She could see all of Tolkien’s books, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit obviously but some of his lesser-known titles too like The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and The Silmarillion .
She loved The Lord of the Rings though she secretly loved the film more than the books, although she would never admit that to any of the die-hard Tolkien fans.
Luke had some of her favourite Terry Pratchett books too, plus Game of Thrones and The Wheel of Time .
He clearly loved his fantasy, which was a bonus for her.
Although she would read pretty much any genre, fantasy was probably her favourite.
There were also some well-thumbed copies of Shakespeare’s plays as well as more classical literature like Dickens’s Oliver Twist and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein , and a whole range of Agatha Christie. She liked that he had diverse tastes.
She wondered which room was hers. All the doors were closed.
She’d only been a child when she’d last been up here, and back then it had been used just as guest bedrooms for people attending the retreats The last time she had visited her nan, she’d still been living in a tiny cottage in the main part of the village before her nan had sold that to help to fund this place.
She approached the first door, knocked and, when there was no sound from within, she opened it and saw a large bathroom which was all white but with seaside paraphernalia everywhere.
She moved to the door next to it and knocked again.
There was still silence on the other side so she opened it and froze.
This was definitely not her room, she could tell that from the man standing naked on the other side.
She noticed he had earphones in his ears, which was probably the reason he hadn’t heard her, but she couldn’t help noticing that he seemed to be studying himself in the mirror and one area of his body seemed to be holding his attention, avidly.
She screamed in shock. His eyes widened in horror as he saw her and he screamed too, grabbing a cushion to hide his manhood. She quickly hurried from the room but she heard him chase after her.
‘I’m so sorry, I knocked but there was no answer.’ Flick cringed. Of all the ways to introduce herself to her new flatmate, this had to be the worst.
‘Flick wait, I can explain.’
‘No need.’ Flick waved her hand, hurrying to the door on the other side of the room. ‘What you do in the privacy of your own bedroom is none of my business.’
‘Flick, please.’
She stopped to look at him, cautiously, and thankfully his manhood was hidden behind a cushion.
‘I’m so sorry,’ the man, presumably Luke, said.
‘What do you have to be sorry about, I barged in on you,’ Flick said, shaking her head. So much for first impressions.
‘I’m sorry for the way we met,’ he gestured back to his room.
‘I wasn’t expecting you this early, I thought I’d have a shower so I was somewhat presentable and I hadn’t realised you were here.
’ He looked at his watch. ‘Oh, you’re not early at all.
I must have lost track of time. Look… I’m not a vain person, I don’t spend hours looking at myself in the mirror, styling my hair.
I barely glance at myself before I go out, just enough to check th at the t-shirt or jumper I’m wearing isn’t too stained.
And I’m not ridiculously proud of my… tackle that I like to stare at it in the mirror.
I…’ he sighed heavily. ‘My dad died of testicular cancer when he was thirty-one, the same age I am now, and it’s just made me super paranoid about it.
I check myself for lumps every week, I know that sounds weird but—’
‘It’s not weird, I check my breasts regularly too.’
‘That’s… important to do.’
‘It is.’
They stared at each other. They had strayed into very weird territory with this conversation.
They hadn’t even been properly introduced yet, and they were talking to each other about examining their bodies as easily as if they were talking about a favourite pizza topping.
Would now be a good time to introduce herself?
Although Flick didn’t exactly think it was appropriate to hold out a hand for him to shake as he was standing there with only a cushion to protect his modesty.
He had a nice body. It was strong, muscular and toned but not defined by hours down the gym; his muscles, large arms and thighs looked more natural than they would if they’d been achieved by lifting weights. He had a lovely face too, behind those black-rimmed glasses he was wearing.
Jesus Christ, why was she checking him out? And he must have seen her do it too, her eyes roaming all over his body. Now really wasn’t the time.
She gestured to the door behind her .
‘I’m going to go to my room and when I see you next we’ll just pretend this whole debacle never happened.’
‘I like the sound of that.’
She moved over to the door and tentatively pushed that open.
It was decorated in pale blue but there was nothing in here to suggest this was where her nan normally slept.
In fact there was nothing in the rest of the flat that looked like her nan lived there either.
Maybe she had cleared the bedroom out for Flick or maybe her nan was a lot more minimalist than she’d remembered.
She looked back into the lounge to find that Luke was still watching her.
‘I’m not being creepy, I just don’t want to show you my bum as I go back to my room.’
She smirked and gave him a wave before closing the bedroom door.
The bed looked so inviting and, despite it being only nine o’clock, she was exhausted from driving so she decided to call it a night and hope that by the morning she could introduce herself to her new flatmate properly.
She changed into her sleep shorts and vest and climbed into bed.
She stared at the ceiling, trying to shake the image of a naked Luke Donnelly from her mind, recognising that spark of attraction as it bloomed to life in her chest. She shook her head, she didn’t need complications.
She was here to save the art studios and things could get messy if she got involved with one of the artists and her flatmate.
She knew her best friend, Tabitha, would say something complicated and messy was exactly what Flick needed, that she should let her hair down and have some fun.
But she would keep things friendly but professional between her and Luke.
Feeling better after making that decision she rolled over and within a few minutes she’d drifted off to sleep.