The Train by Sarah Bourne (fiction books to read txt) 📕

the three-storey terraces in need of repair, and the front gardens were full of weeds and broken bits of furniture.

She followed Tim up the cracked stone steps to the front door and into the hallway where she was surprised to smell new paint. The walls were pale yellow, the woodwork startling white.

‘The landlady let me do a bit of painting. Only finished the day before yesterday.’

‘It’s fresh,’ said Alice. ‘Classy.’ She tried not to imagine what it had been like before.

Tim looked pleased. ‘Must have known you’d be coming.’ He led her up the stairs. On the top landing he opened a door and ushered her into a large room with two more doors off it, both closed.

‘Bathroom’s there if you need it.’ He pointed to one of them. ‘I’ll get plates for this.’ He held up the bag of food and headed through the other door.

Food was the last thing on Alice’s mind, but she realised Tim wouldn’t be rushed. She thought he was as keen as her, or else why would he have suggested coming back to his place? But maybe playing host like this was his way of putting her at her ease, of telling her he wasn’t just into her for sex, and she liked that.

She looked about. Inside was definitely better than outside. There was a bay window with a seat built into it, an old sofa and matching armchair in front of a fireplace with a gas heater instead of an open fire. A table with two wooden chairs stood in one corner. There was a poster of Florence and the Machine on the wall, a couple of charcoal sketches, a small bookcase full of paperbacks by people Alice hadn’t heard of. The carpet was threadbare, but clear of all the clothes and other junk she let spread about her own room. She liked that he was a tidy type, that he looked after things. She let her bag slip off her shoulder onto the floor.

Hearing the ping of a microwave she turned to see Tim coming back into the room. The smell of curry wafted towards her.

‘Here we are then,’ he said, putting plates and food containers on the table and pulling cutlery out of his back pocket.

‘No bed. Are you a vampire?’ she asked.

‘What?’ His eyebrows shot upwards.

‘Like in Twilight – Bella goes to Edward’s house and he doesn’t have a bed because he’s a vampire.’

Tim still wasn’t getting it.

‘Vampires don’t need to sleep, see?’

‘Oh!’ Light dawned, and Tim blushed scarlet and looked anywhere but at Alice, who clapped a hand over her mouth.

‘Sorry – I didn’t mean – oh God. I just noticed that – where do you sleep?’ She felt her own blush heating her cheeks. What a stupid thing to say.

But Tim was laughing, gripping the edge of the table, tears in his eyes. ‘Sorry,’ he gasped, ‘but you should have seen your face just then.’

Alice smiled. It wasn’t often she was lost for words, but none came now. She sat down and enjoyed watching Tim’s laughter. If he hadn’t been relaxed with her before, he was now.

‘Sorry,’ he said again, when he’d managed to stop. ‘It’s there – a pull-down job. It saves space.’ He pointed to what looked like a tall cupboard.

‘So how does it work?’ asked Alice, going over and inspecting it. She ran her hands down one side trying to find a button or a lever. She felt Tim behind her, reaching over, their bodies so close she could feel the warmth of him, smell the faint, end-of-the-day aftershave on his skin. He took hold of the top of the cupboard and pulled the bed down. The duvet was held in place by two straps. Alice undid them and sat down.

‘It’s comfy,’ she said, smoothing the cover.

She looked at Tim who was staring at her. She smiled and lay back, holding a hand out to him. He took her hand and she pulled him to her, pleased he didn’t resist, that he lay along the length of her, fitting himself to her curves. Alice sighed and stretched, and felt Tim’s eyes on her. She started undoing his shirt, slipped a hand inside and felt the smoothness of his skin. He removed his trousers as Alice wriggled out of hers.

Tim took her top off and started stroking her breasts. She quivered as he kissed her all the way along her neck, setting something off in her belly.

His phone rang. He looked over at it.

‘Not now.’ She pulled him close, kissing him greedily. Tim’s hands stroked the length of her torso and she shuddered, her nipples hardening.

The phone rang again. ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I’d better get it. It’s Brian.’

Alice rolled away from him, crossed her arms over her chest.

‘Yeah, course I will, mate. Okay. See you soon.’

Tim sat up. Alice knew what was coming and was suddenly furious. How dare that man expect Tim to leave her and go to him. And how dare Tim even contemplate it. She was giving herself to him and he obviously thought of her as a worthless chick to be played with and dropped on a whim? No one treated her like that and got away with it. And to think she’d thought he really liked her. What a fucking joke.

She got out of bed, started gathering her scattered clothes.

‘I’m so sorry, but I can’t leave him. He’s discharged himself. I gotta go.’ Tim reached out to her.

Alice was too angry to respond. Tim started getting dressed, hopping around on one foot as he pulled a pair of jeans on.

‘I’ll call you,’ he said. ‘Can I?’

‘Do what you like.’ She took her clothes into the bathroom and got dressed. When she came out, he was standing by the door. He reached for her but she swept past him and down the stairs.

‘Alice… please…’

What was she going to tell her friends?

6

Sandeep

Sandeep rubbed his eyes and replaced his glasses, then bowed his head in silent prayer. What a terrible thing, to take