She pushed her hand into the back of his hair and slipped her tongue against his, tilting her head for better access. She’d had some good kisses over the years. Andrew had been a great kisser. But nothing like this. This kiss started at her lips and zipped down her spine. She thought her toes were probably curling. She pulled back a little, nipping gently at Rob’s mouth.

‘So,’ Rob said. ‘You’re telling me that we could have been doing this for like fourteen years.’

‘God,’ she said, dropping her head back. ‘Don’t.’

She’d barely got the word out before she felt Rob’s lips on her neck, his tongue stroking over the muscle.

‘There’s a mole here,’ he said against her neck. ‘I never noticed before.’

Piper ran her hands over his wide shoulders. He was basically twice as wide as he had been in their teens – it was ridiculous. He kissed up her throat and she dipped her head down to meet his mouth. The second kiss was just as good as the first, turning hotter faster.

‘Can we…’ Rob said, his thumb brushing her lip again. She wanted to bite it. ‘Can we move to the sofa or—’

‘Yeah,’ Piper said, breathlessly. She wanted to lie down. She wanted to press herself up against him and feel his hardness against her softness.

He pushed himself up to standing, but immediately kissed her again, her head tipped back this time.

‘God,’ he said. ‘I can’t believe—’

‘I know,’ Piper said.

‘Do you want more wine?’ Rob asked.

‘No,’ Piper said. ‘Yes.’

‘Sit down,’ he said. ‘I’ll open another bottle.’

Piper sat on the sofa, leaning her head against the back and looking up at the ceiling. Her fantasies had featured Rob for years. From the first time they’d met until she’d moved to London. Once she’d left, she’d tried not to think about him any more, but occasionally he’d still crept in. She’d imagined him turning up in London, telling her he missed her, was lost without her, couldn’t believe he’d let her get away. In those fantasies she was thin. He’d be stunned. Would gaze at her and say, ‘You look amazing.’ In those fantasies, she spent as much time thinking about what she was wearing as she did about Rob.

Rob came back with two glasses of wine and set them down on the coffee table, along with the bottle.

‘This isn’t why I invited you for dinner,’ he said, sitting next to her. ‘I mean, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t cross my mind.’ He grinned.

Piper laughed. His thigh was pressed up against hers. She remembered sitting next to him on the bus once, years ago. Claire had sat on his other side, yelling, ‘Budge up,’ and he’d budged right up against Piper, his body pressed up all along her side. She’d barely breathed for the entire journey, trying to memorise the way he felt.

‘I thought maybe it was at first,’ Piper said. ‘And then when you asked about Matt I thought it couldn’t be.’

‘I didn’t think you were together,’ Rob said, dipping his head to graze his lips against her neck again. ‘But I needed to make sure first.’

‘First,’ Piper said.

‘First,’ Rob confirmed.

Piper turned her head, her lips drifting across his face before finding his mouth. He tasted of wine and steak and pepper. He shifted on the sofa, pressing closer to her, and she relaxed back into the cushions. His hand gripped her hip, fingers pressing into her skin and she arched up into him, moaning into his mouth.

---

Half an hour later, their glasses were empty and Piper was on her back with Rob on top of her, her shirt pushed up to her shoulders, his fingers making patterns against her ribs. She hadn’t kissed like this – just kissed – for years. Kissing always seemed to be the starter, gulped down before moving on to the main sex course. And she’d always been okay with that. But then kissing had never been like this. She never wanted to stop kissing Rob. Loved the sounds he made when she bit at his bottom lip or curled her tongue around his. Loved the taste of him and the scent of his neck. Loved how his hips pressed her down into the sofa, how his thigh rubbed against her crotch. Okay, maybe kissing wasn’t quite enough.

‘Do you want to—’ Rob said, pulling himself up and looking down at her.

She ran her hand over the ridiculous muscles in his arm.

‘Yeah,’ she said.

‘Stop?’

‘Stop?’ She blinked at him. ‘Fuck, no.’

Rob laughed. ‘Oh. Okay. Good. I thought maybe I was going too fast.’

Piper laughed then. ‘It’s been fourteen years. Take your clothes off.’

Grinning, Rob pushed himself up to kneeling and pulled his T-shirt over his head.

‘Holy shit,’ Piper breathed. She’d been touching him, had touched every bit of him over his shirt and under it, but she still hadn’t been prepared for how he looked. His chest was wide and muscled, with a patch of fine hair between his nipples. He had an actual six pack, and those ridiculous side grooves, like an Action Man.

‘You are ridiculous,’ Piper said, before she could think better of it.

Rob grinned at her. ‘All these years, when I’ve thought about you… and me… I dreamed that one day I’d take my clothes off and you’d call me ridiculous.’

Piper laughed. ‘I’m sorry.’ She shuffled back against a cushion. ‘I just keep super-imposing how you used to look over how you look now and it’s… a lot.’

‘Back atcha.’ Rob leaned down to brush his lips over her chest. ‘I mean, you were gorgeous then, but now…’ He growled into the junction between her shoulder and neck and she laughed as he lowered himself on top of her.

‘Actually,’ he said, lifting up again. ‘I don’t know why I’m the only one with my top off.’

Piper sat up just enough to let Rob get hold of the hem of her top and lift it over her head. She closed her eyes until it was off and when she opened them, he was staring down at her with an expression she could only describe as awe.

‘You are so fucking gorgeous,’ he said.

‘It’s the bra.’

‘It’s a good bra,’ Rob said. He leaned on his left arm and ran his fingertips from her shoulder, across her chest, along the edge of the bra to the dip between her breasts.

Piper shivered. ‘Careful. I saw on the Internet there’s a little man living in there.’

Rob laughed. ‘God.’ He dipped his head and kissed her. ‘I really am sorry—’

‘Shut up,’ Piper said. ‘And carry on.’

He ran his finger across the other breast to her shoulder, before curling his hand around the back of her neck, his thumb brushing behind her ear, lowering his mouth to hers again, sucking gently on her bottom lip.

‘You’re good at this,’ she murmured against his mouth.

‘I’ve been thinking about it for a long time.’ He dipped his head again, running his tongue along the path made by his finger.

Piper curled against him. ‘God. I still can’t believe you liked me back then.’

‘Same.’ He moved lower, kissing her belly, hands sliding over her waist.

Piper tried to move her leg to hook it around his hips, but he was on top of her, pressing her down into the sofa.

‘Can we move?’ Piper said. ‘I’m a bit…’

‘Fuck. Am I squashing you? Sorry.’

Rob shifted his leg so it fell to the side of Piper’s, their hips aligning, crotches pressing together. Piper tipped her head back. She wanted to move against him, make him move against her, hold his hips and press him tighter into her.

Rob dropped down again, moaning against her neck.

‘Can we—Do you want to—’

Piper kissed his neck, the hollow behind his ear. ‘Yes.’