‘My dad nearly had a heart attack. Assumed it was a joke. But I surprised everyone. I liked it. Liked the fact that every day was different. That you never knew what was coming at you. And I liked the craic with the boys. We didn’t have female superiors in those days.’
She raised an eyebrow. Then slid off to the bar to buy another round. So this clearly wasn’t just a quick drink after work then. Mark wondered how he should play this, but was none the wiser by the time she’d returned. Her cleavage winked at him as she placed the drinks on the table. Whether this was accidental or not was impossible to tell.
‘How about you? Why’d you join?’
A brief pause, then:
‘To help people.’
Brief and to the point. Was that all? Then:
‘When I walked into Ben’s house. Saw the carnage. And helped save that boy from a similar fate. That was it for me. I couldn’t stop. Couldn’t walk away after that.’
‘You’re good at it. Saving people I mean.’
She looked at him intently. He hesitated, then continued:
‘I would have quit by now, if it wasn’t for you. I didn’t tell you this, but I’d written the letter. Was ready to hand it in. To give up. But you saved me. Saved me from myself.’
Said with passion and from the heart – for a moment Mark felt ashamed of his openness, his nakedness. But it was true – without her who knows where he’d be. She looked at him, suddenly earnest. Had he messed this up? Then she leant across the table and kissed him.
Outside, he smiled as he offered her the cheesiest line he could think of.
‘Your place or mi-’
‘Yours.’
Mark’s flat was a tip. He hadn’t planned on seducing his superior that day and the vestiges of last night’s meal were still in evidence. Still, he’d changed the bed linen that morning and it felt clean and crisp as they sank down on to it.
She’d never been one for small talk. And the same was true now. Usually the man sets the pace in these things – or tries to – but that was not the case here. Mark was both surprised and aroused by how firmly his boss took the lead.
The cab ride to the flat had been silent – expectation of what was to come made conversation irrelevant. They didn’t touch or hold hands, but the air was still charged. Once they’d buzzed in, he attempted as he always did (always? When did he last do this?) to break the tension with humour:
‘I’d offer you a drink, but…’
She didn’t bother to reply. She just crossed the flat and kissed him. Then dropping her coat on the floor, she asked him which direction the bedroom was in. Once inside, she shoved him down on to the bed and reached for his belt.