French Kissing Read Online Free PDF

said.
    â€˜Very much.’
    Natalie broke in, ‘I see that my in-laws have just arrived. I must go and say hello to them.’
    She hurried off. Sensing that neither Izzy or Alex were particularly anxious for my company at that precise moment, I left them discussing the delights of the French cinema, and went in search of another drink.
    The evening went on. Oliver produced a cake (Natalie swore there really was no need for him to have put forty candles on it), and pink champagne (Natalie decided turning forty wasn’t so awful if you got to drink champagne), and after she’d blown out the offending flames, and we’d all sung ‘Happy Birthday’, there was dancing. Or what passes for dancing among the mildly inebriated. I danced with Oliver, Alfie, and some of the other guys from work (and with Nick, of course). Alex danced with Izzy, and I saw that he was a remarkably good dancer, one of those rare men who moves easily with the music, rather than flailing about. I’d have liked to dance with him myself. Annoyingly, he’d led Izzy off the improvised dance floor and vanished back into the conservatory before I got the chance.
    Towards midnight, the party quietened down. People lounged on sofas and floor-cushions, drinking coffee and ‘maybe just one more glass of wine’. Several older couples (not old, but older than me) left, citing the need to ‘get back to drive the babysitter home’. I was talking to one of Natalie’s school-friends (who was very interested to discover that Alex didn’t have a girlfriend pining for him back in Paris), when Nick appeared at my elbow, and said that we should also be making a move. I’d have happily stayed longer at the party (no need to rush home before dawn when you’re not a parent), but I could see that Nick was determined that we were leaving. The clue was that he already had his coat on. And he was holding my faux fur and Alex’s leather jacket.
    â€˜Where’s Alexandre?’ Nick said, passing me my coat.
    â€˜Well, he’s not in here,’ I said, gesturing towards the people scattered about the living room, ‘so he must still be in the conservatory. I’ll get him. You go and start saying goodbye to Natalie and Oliver.’
    I took Alex’s jacket from Nick, and went out into the conservatory. Alex and Izzy were sitting on a wicker bench, twisting towards each other, so that their heads were very close together. He was talking, too quietly for me to hear what he was saying, and she was smiling, laughing softly at something he whispered in her ear. He reached up his hand and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes.
    I thought, this, I do not need to see. It was one thing reading about Alex’s amorous exploits in his letters, but it was quite another watching him in action. Feeling excruciatingly awkward, I cleared my throat. Loudly.
    Alex turned his head towards me. ‘Hey, Anna. You ready to go home?’
    â€˜Er, yes.’ I said. ‘Are you coming with us?’
    Alex looked at Izzy, and his mouth lifted in a lazy smile. ‘I think I’ll stay a while longer. But you and Nick head off, Anna. Don’t worry about me. I’ll make my own way back – I’ve got my key.’
    Alex had a key to my flat, and Nick didn’t. I realised I really should give Nick a key.
    â€˜I’ll see you later, then, Alex,’ I said. ‘Bye, Izzy.’
    I don’t think she heard me.

Four
    Alex and I are alone in a capsule on the London Eye, looking out over the city. I am wearing the dress I wore to the party, but he is naked except for a towel slung around his hips. I point out various landmarks, Buckingham Palace, the O2, the Gherkin, and the Shard. He reaches up and unzips my dress. I shrug it off my shoulders so that it falls to the floor. When Alex sees that I’m not wearing any underwear, he smiles, and cups my breast with his hand …
    I awoke with a