Page 35 of The Mismatch

She dug a fingernail into her palm, Magnus was none the wiser. With the sharp pain she gained clarity, and pushed past the guilt, and began kissing his neck.

Eventually he looked up at her, his eyes wide, his lips swollen and a deep pink. Somehow his top had come off, exposing his broad shoulders and hairless chiselled chest. In the moment she enjoyed the feel of his muscles against her and allowed her hands to explore his chest and back, to feel how ripped and taut they were. He looked even better than in the photos.

His hand trailed its way lower, past her breasts and to the waistband of her underwear. In the heat of the moment she had let him take her clothes off, with the exception of her bra and pants. She was glad she’d worn semi-sexy lace underwear.

Sensing her stiffen, he stopped. ‘Are you OK?’

‘I just …’ She didn’t know what to say. Here was a man many women wanted naked in their bed, a man who wanted to pleasure her, and she couldn’t allow it. She didn’t know how to explain why she couldn’t. ‘I’d like to take things slow, like I said before.’

‘Of course, I’m sorry. I thought you wanted …’ he trailed off, an edge to his voice.

She shut her eyes. It wasn’t his fault.

‘I know, I wanted it. It’s just …’

‘It’s OK.’

‘It is?’

‘Of course. We’ll only do what you want to do. That’s important to me.’ She could imagine many men saying this and not meaning it, but when Magnus said it she knew he did. She’d expected to feel shame or embarrassment when this conversation came up – which didn’t explain why she had allowed herself to be in this situation in the first place – but she didn’t feel like that at all. ‘It might be nice to take things slow,’ Magnus said. They lay in silence for a while, her head leaning against his shoulder. She liked the way he smelt of man, sweat, and musky cologne.

She looked up at him, about to say something when she noticed a dark mark on his neck. ‘What’s that?’ Soraya said, gasping when she realised exactly what it was.

Magnus got up and looked at himself in the full-length mirror. He laughed. ‘Well, you were kissing my neck for quite a while.’ He shrugged, coming back to the bed to sit next to her. He looked incongruous in her room, almost too big for it. His body took up so much space. She supposed that was because she had never had a man in her room before, Oliver being the exception. But despite being tall her friend had the catlike ability to make himself appear smaller.

Suddenly Magnus had a smile on his face. ‘I think you’re trying to mark your territory.’

She let out a short laugh. ‘Absolutely not.’

He lay back on the bed, arms crossed behind his head, the picture of ease. ‘Trying to ward off other girls,’ he said. ‘I don’t blame you to be honest.’

She swatted him with her Hello Kitty cushion, horrified at what he was saying. Despite this, the sight of him lying onher bed bare-chested was startlingly attractive. The biceps she’d once thought too much were now immensely appealing to her. She imagined him lifting her up and pinning her to the bed. The weedy indie boys couldn’t do that.

‘You have such a big fucking head,’ she said.

‘Yeah, but you love it.’

CHAPTER 15

Soraya

London, 2014

‘Let me get this straight. You’re seeing himagain?’

There was only so long Soraya could keep something secret from Oliver. She did live with him, after all.

‘I just feel being with him would be good practice for when I meet someone else,’ Soraya said, cringing as she said the words aloud. They’d sounded much more reasonable in her head; saying them out loud she sounded like a monster.

Truth be told, she didn’t know what she was doing. She knew from what happened to Laleh that being with a man was dangerous – let alone someone like Magnus. And yet, here she was.

‘Just to clarify, this isn’tAngus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging.’ Oliver lifted a vintage velvet dress from a rail and held it against Soraya’s body. ‘This would suit you, by the way.’

She took the dress from him, checked the price tag. It wasn’t actually expensive but she wasn’t sure she could justify any unnecessary purchase with no student loan or approaching job prospects.

Oliver began rummaging through another rail. He had an impeccable eye for finding gems within a hoard of moth-eaten garments.

She put the dress back. ‘I thought you and Priya liked my plan.’