UC17 Preview
Have a little preview of Chapter 17 of University Challenge:
Mary woke up to blinding sunshine streaming through the light curtains of the sitting room and felt instantly aware of being very uncomfortable. Her mouth felt furry from not having brushed her teeth the previous night, her eyelids when she opened them were stuck together with make-up, her short, tight dress had ridden up her thighs and felt shorter and tighter than ever, and it was never pleasant to sleep in tights. Hot, sticky, unrefreshed as she was, her second impression on waking up was a kind of new but entirely delightful realisation that she was not alone. An arm across her stomach kept her in place on the narrow sofa and the regular breathing that warmed the back of her neck was both exciting and soothing at the same time.
Mary blinked a few times, rather uncomfortably, and shifted experimentally, trying to work out where exactly her body brushed against his (most places) and whether she could move and stretch without waking him (unlikely). Her legs were stiff and one foot had almost gone to sleep. She wriggled, flexing first one foot and then the other, trying to disturb him as little as possible, but it didn’t quite work. Matthew made a quiet, content, snuffling noise against her shoulder and her breath caught in instant, uncontrollable reaction. She stiffened, not knowing quite how to respond and, as his arm moved unconsciously against her belly in a caress, she jerked in surprise and overbalanced, sliding ungracefully to the floor.
The thump, the “oh!” that she could not hold back, and the loss of her warmth against him was enough to wake Matthew up. He sat up directly in shock, his eyes opening and staring straight at her.
“Oh my God!” he exclaimed, sounding so surprised it was hard to hold back a burst of laughter.
For a moment she stared back at him from where she was sprawled on the floor, her heart pounding, and then his expression softened as he looked at her properly.
“Hello.”
The desire to laugh faded and she could not help the slow smile that blossomed on her face.
“Hello.”
Mary woke up to blinding sunshine streaming through the light curtains of the sitting room and felt instantly aware of being very uncomfortable. Her mouth felt furry from not having brushed her teeth the previous night, her eyelids when she opened them were stuck together with make-up, her short, tight dress had ridden up her thighs and felt shorter and tighter than ever, and it was never pleasant to sleep in tights. Hot, sticky, unrefreshed as she was, her second impression on waking up was a kind of new but entirely delightful realisation that she was not alone. An arm across her stomach kept her in place on the narrow sofa and the regular breathing that warmed the back of her neck was both exciting and soothing at the same time.
Mary blinked a few times, rather uncomfortably, and shifted experimentally, trying to work out where exactly her body brushed against his (most places) and whether she could move and stretch without waking him (unlikely). Her legs were stiff and one foot had almost gone to sleep. She wriggled, flexing first one foot and then the other, trying to disturb him as little as possible, but it didn’t quite work. Matthew made a quiet, content, snuffling noise against her shoulder and her breath caught in instant, uncontrollable reaction. She stiffened, not knowing quite how to respond and, as his arm moved unconsciously against her belly in a caress, she jerked in surprise and overbalanced, sliding ungracefully to the floor.
The thump, the “oh!” that she could not hold back, and the loss of her warmth against him was enough to wake Matthew up. He sat up directly in shock, his eyes opening and staring straight at her.
“Oh my God!” he exclaimed, sounding so surprised it was hard to hold back a burst of laughter.
For a moment she stared back at him from where she was sprawled on the floor, her heart pounding, and then his expression softened as he looked at her properly.
“Hello.”
The desire to laugh faded and she could not help the slow smile that blossomed on her face.
“Hello.”