When the movie finished, Mia said. “I should go.”

“Play later?” Mark said.

“Maybe,” Mia said to Mark. “I’m kind of tired though.”

Mark nodded. “I’ll be on if you want to.”

“Okay,” Mia said, and stood up. She looked at Ellie, and then made a show of looking around for her bag and keys.

Then she looked at Ellie again and picked up her bag.

Ellie thought she understood. She thought Mia was still playing some kind of game. Ellie stood up too, as if by chance, and picked up her glass and Mia’s empty beer bottles to take through to the kitchen. So she could follow Mia. So they could have a quick meeting in the hall. A kiss and a grope as Mia left, at the least. Ellie was pleased. It wasn’t much, it wasn’t sex, but she needed this, after looking at Mia all evening.

She started to follow Mia out into the hall, and thought it was going to actually work.

Then Mark stood up too.

Ellie was disappointed, but she had to keep going. She went into the kitchen and put down the bottles and her glass. Mark followed her and put his plate on the counter. Mia stayed in the lounge, looking into her bag.

Mark opened the dishwasher, like he was going to load it, so Ellie went back into the lounge.

Mia was still standing there, grinning at her.

“I put my keys somewhere,” Mia said, slightly too loudly, looking right at Ellie.

The keys were beside her foot, in plain sight.

“Oh,” Ellie said, loudly too, and glanced back at the kitchen. Mark was doing something in there. Putting plates in the dishwasher, it sounded like, noisily.

“Shit,” Mia said. “Oh dear.”

“They might be over here,” Ellie said, and went to the corner behind the door that was out of sight of the kitchen.

“Maybe,” Mia said, and followed her.

Ellie grabbed Mia. She grabbed Mia’s arm, and her shirt, and pulled her close for a kiss. She opened her mouth, and kissed Mia desperately.

“I want you,” Ellie whispered into Mia’s mouth. “Let’s sneak off now.”

Mia didn’t answer. She was busy kissing.

“Please,” Ellie said. “It’ll be worth it.”

Mia opened her eyes and looked at Ellie. She started to grin.

Ellie didn’t know what that meant. Whether she was being too demanding, or too obvious, or just Mia had meant them too all along.

Ellie could still hear noise from the kitchen. She decided she didn’t have that much to lose by being obvious. She wasn’t going to be caught, only be embarrassed if Mia told her know.

She undid her shorts, and grabbed Mia’s hand, and pulled it down the front of them.

Ellie was wet. She was wet so even she could feel it. The tips of Mia’s fingers slid inside her.

“Please,” Ellie said. “Really fucking please? I need to.”

“Now?” Mia said, her fingers inside Ellie.

Ellie nodded, helplessly. Delighted, so pleased almost couldn’t speak. She listened, checking, and could still hear Mark rattling around in the kitchen.

“Where?” Mia said.

Ellie thought. She thought about keeping secrets, and making sure they kept them. Not the lounge, she decided, Mark might come back at any moment. They had to go somewhere, but also not her room. Not the bathroom either. Not somewhere Mia would have to leave again later and Mark might see her slipping out.

“Wait in your car,” Ellie said. It was the best she could think of. She had an idea.

Mia nodded, and kissed her.

“You will?” Ellie said.

“Of course.”

Mia kissed Ellie again.

Ellie suddenly realized the noise from the kitchen had stopped. Ellie hadn’t been listening carefully enough to know how long ago.

“Shit,” she said. “Go.”

Mia grinned and took her time.

Ellie was expecting Mark to walk into the lounge at any moment and catch then, but Mia still took her time, sliding her fingertips out of Ellie, and her hand out of Ellie’s shorts.

She took her time, and Ellie didn’t actually stop her. Ellie still wanted to be touched.

Ellie stood there, and watched, and Mia lifted that hand, and put it near her face, and breathed in.

“I’ll wait outside,” Mia said quietly, and then went out into the hall.

Ellie couldn’t move for a moment. Her knees felt weak, her breathing shakily ragged.

From the hallway she heard Mia shout, “Okay, I found them, bye,” and then open and slam the front door.

She stayed where she was until her breath was back to normal and she trusted her knees to work properly. Then she picked up the last of the bottles, and went into the kitchen.

“I might go to bed,” she said.

Mark nodded. He was making his lunch for tomorrow. “I’ll turn the volume down,” he said.

“Thank you,” Ellie said, then, “Goodnight.”

“Night.”

Ellie went to her room. She closed the door, then opened the window, and climbed straight out. She probably should have waited, and mucked around more, actually brushing her teeth and taking off her makeup and doing all the things she usually did, in case Mark noticed.

She didn’t think Mark would notice, and more, she couldn’t wait to see Mia.

She climbed out her window, feeling like she was back at school, sneaking out of home.

Sneaking out to make out with someone in a car.

That was exactly what she was doing, she supposed, just like she had then. Except this time it was Mia.

She went around the side of the house, and ran down the drive in bare feet, and saw Mia waiting.

She went and opened the car door.