I shrug and peek up at him, hating myself for revealing so much information. “It seems I have the opposite problem to you Josh.” I quickly start to walk up the road. I am not having this conversation with him—how embarrassing. He doesn’t follow, he stands still and I know I’ve shocked him. I turn. “Are you coming?” I yell out.
He nods and starts toward me. He reaches me and links his arm with mine as we turn the corner. “How long?” he blurts out.
“What?” I ask.
“How long?” he asks again.
I shake my head. “I’m not having this conversation with you, Josh, forget it.”
“Natasha, I need to know.” He stops still.
“Why?” I frown.
“I just do,” he repeats.
“Years, Josh, it’s been years.”
“Years,” he repeats. “Why has, I mean that’s not possible, I mean.” He stops again still. He looks at me and all traces of amusement have left his face. I can’t help it, I giggle. “What?” He looks shocked. “What’s funny?”
“You are,” I answer.
“How am I funny?”
“Why are you so shocked I haven’t been with anyone for a long time?”
“You had a boyfriend for years. Do you expect me to believe you didn’t sleep with him?”
“Believe what you want, you asked me.”
“Why?” he whispers. I shrug. “Tell me” he demands. I stay silent, my eyes searching his. I want him to work this out for himself. He must know how I feel about him, surely he can’t be that stupid.
“Listen, are you taking me shopping or not?” He nods. “Just drop the twenty questions ok.”
He seems to regain his composure. “Ok,” he nods. “Where to?”
“I have to buy a dress for a wedding in three weeks.”
“Whose wedding?”
“A girl I went to uni with. Actually, will you come with me?”
”What, to the wedding?” he frowns. I smile. “No I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he answers.
“Why not?”
“Because you know it’s not like that between us anymore Tash.” Did he just really say that? I fake a smile and rearrange my shirt to hide my hurt.
“I know but we are friends, aren’t we?”
He nods. “Yes, but that’s not what I meant.”
”I know what you meant. If you don’t want to come, I can ask Simon.”
His face drops. “You want to ask Syral.”.
I roll my eyes. “It’s Simon. I’m sure he would love to pick up the slack,” I whisper. I’m wicked. I’m so playing him right now. Come on, baby. Take the bait. “Well, if you won’t come with me as a friend then I’m sure he would come as a friend. You know what I mean. Pick up the slack, so to speak.” I smile sweetly at him.
His voice drops several degrees. “Are you threatening me?”
“What do you mean?” I quickly duck into a boutique to change the subject. Ok, I’ve planted the seed. Let’s watch it grow. He follows me and stands just to my left as I start to flick through the clothes on the rack. I can feel the heat radiating from his body. I inhale deeply, he sure does smell good. The idiotic shopgirl’s jaw is on the ground as she stares, yes, stares at my shopping companion. I turn back to see what she is looking at. Joshua is leaning up against a pole with his hands behind his posterior and his eyes closed. He’s obviously tired. I smile. Yes, if I saw a god like him in a store I would stare too. He looks perfect and a disturbing thought enters my brain. I am totally punching above my weight here with him. Utterly gorgeous, crazy rich and so intense in the bedroom that he’d bring any woman with a pulse to her knees. Basically he could pick out any woman he wants. And here I am thinking I can make him jealous with Simon, frigging Simon, the motormouth. What am I thinking? He opens his eyes on a start and quickly looks around. I give him a broad smile. He shuffles his feet and returns his own beaming smile and mouths the words, “Sorry, tired.”
I nod. “Me too,” I mouth back.
“Come on,” I grab his hand and lead him to the change rooms. The familiar heat rises from where we touch. He’s on fire. I am armed with ten dresses, surely something will fit. I sit him on the large velvet chair just outside the change room. He doesn’t seem to know the drill.
“You want me to sit here?” he asks.
I nod and smile. “Yes, haven’t you been shopping for girl’s clothes before?”
He does wide eyes at me. “No, why would I?”
“What about other girlfriends?” I look puzzled.
He smiles a broad smile as he runs his hand through his hair. “So you’re my other girlfriend now?”