The evening is drawing to a close, a few friends remain. I share out the last of the hash brownies, J takes a handful and puts them on a plate, where I have to reach past him on the sofa to reach. He pulls me down next to him on the sofa, telling me what a great night he's had.
Taxis pull up for the last remaining guests, and one by one they thank us and take their leave. J is standing behind me as we wave them off from the front door, he is much taller than me, and I can feel his hot breath on the back of my neck, giving me goose bumps. If he's that close, he must be bending down to me, and so I very slowly turn to face him, closing the door as I do so.
His eyes are inches from mine, the cheeky grin in place. There is no space between us, either he will kiss me or step backwards, and I wonder which will happen. Then I lean back against the closed door, but to my surprise, he steps backwards, and the intimate gap that was there seconds ago is now a huge space. I mustn't be able to hide my disappointment, as J smiles and walks back into the living room and flops his long frame onto the sofa. My alcohol and pot fuzzed head tries to make sense of what is going on, I come to the conclusion that he is a master flirt, but also married, that I am a friend and nothing more.
This series of thoughts means that I can slouch next to him on the sofa without thinking too much about the situation, I can relax my body against his without being awkward.............................................
J feeds me more cake, whilst eating more himself, laughing and telling me how good they are. I am unwinding so much that I alter position, putting my legs across his lap. The music is still playing and the candles have burnt low, but we stay up chatting, J gently tracing his long agile fingers across my shins as he does so. I murmur that it feels nice, he tells me how smooth and soft the skin is. His fingers trace down to my feet, with their brightly painted toenails, unfortunately, I am exceptionally ticklish and begin to squirm and giggle. J takes the opportunity to tickle me behind the knees, which turns me into a gibbering wreck, before I know it, he is above me, tickling my waist, neck, arms. I am now totally helpless, and totally benath him.........................................
