Free The Ice Marathon by Rosen Trevithick Page B

news.
    “So do you like me now?”
    “I wouldn’t go that far!” I laughed.
    I was surprised when Simon put an arm around me, and further
surprised when I fell back into his embrace. I told myself that I was too tired
to think straight. The Coupling episode began. As it happened, I could sleep. Before I knew it, I’d drifted off.
    At five, I awoke confused about the arms that seemed to be
around me and the warmth of my back pressing against another person. I
recognised Simon’s cool cologne. Oh heck! Did something happen? I patted
my legs – definitely clothed. Thank goodness! I could think of nothing
more twisted than sleeping with the father of my child.
    Although being clothed was almost certainly a good thing, I
felt hot and sticky. I sat up, being careful not to disturb Simon. Leaving him
fast asleep, I made my way upstairs for a shower.
    Ooh! Lovely, relaxing warm water – just what I needed. What
would I say to Simon about the cuddle? Did I need to say anything about the
cuddle? I remembered the sex and the embarrassment caused by letting that go
unremarked. But then again, he had smashed me against the floor and sunk his
teeth into my neck before pounding me on a surface designed for food
preparation before finally impregnating me. Falling asleep in front of the
television was probably less significant.
    I got out of the shower and began to get dry. I wrapped a
towel around myself and left the security of the bathroom to find myself some
knickers.
    Then, I saw it – the beast. Fuck! It was on my towel!
I let out a blood-curdling scream. I chucked my spider-infested towel as far
away from me as I possibly could.
    “Everything all right?” asked a familiar, deep voice.
    I immediately realised the horror of my predicament. If I
looked down, I would surely see Simon Moran looking up at me – getting an
eyeful of my naked body. In slow motion, I looked down. Sure enough, there he
was, right beneath me.
    I screamed again.
    He covered his eyes.
    I hurried as quickly as I could into my bedroom.
    Shit – now that was embarrassing. For some crazy,
inexplicable reason I seemed to be somewhat aroused – dammit. A cuddle and an accidental nude moment resulting in arousal – was that something we
needed to talk about?
    * * *
    The pitch-black night hid the rain but the splattering as
the drops hammered against the windows reminded me that a storm was in force.
The prickly night only made me feel worse about what I had to do.
    “You’re always here! We don’t want you always here .
We need a break from you!” I forced myself to shout.
    Simon looked taken aback, his blue eyes wider than ever.
    “Joseph is only thirteen days old and you have been here
every single day!”
    “Well, I am his father …”
    This was killing me. I didn’t want to send Simon away. But
if I didn’t, he was going to cancel his trip to Antarctica and the marathon
he’d been training for since before we met. It wasn’t a race to him; it was a
way of honouring his best friend. Finishing the course would help him to move on
with his life and put the tragic loss behind him. He needed this.
    I had tried telling him to go many times. It was always the
same story. He’d agree that I was right, that it was a trip of a lifetime and
he’d trained for too long to give up now; then he’d take one look at Joseph and
we’d be back to square one – plans to cancel his flight.
    “You said you wanted me to be involved!” he pleaded.
    “I do, but not every day . I can manage; you treat me
like I can’t manage!”
    He tried to put his hand on my arm and I shook him off,
accidentally backing into the table and sending the contents a-wobble.
    “Mind my camera!”
    “I didn’t touch it! What’s it doing here anyway? This is my house!”
    “Are you sure you’re not just having a mood swing?”
    “Don’t patronise me!” I snarled. “I think we need a break
from each other. This trip has come at a good time.”
    “Don’t say that, Emma.”