He nodded and picked up his mug, standing. I led him into the lounge and breathed a sigh of relief that Rory hadn’t trashed the place. As I sat down on the sofa, Carson sat next to me and hooked his arm under my knees, pulling my legs onto his lap casually, as if this happened every day.

“These clothes are sexy,” he joked, pulling playfully at the leg of my trousers.

I laughed and rolled my eyes. “They’re warm and comfortable. Usually no one sees me when I finish work.” I pouted at him, feeling like a dirty tramp again.

He smiled and ran his hand up my leg, his fingers curling around the back of my knee. “I wasn’t joking, Em. These clothes are sexy on you. Though, maybe one of my hoodies would suit you better. I’ll bring you one, a team one. Then you can really show an interest in what I do, instead of the fake ‘I’ll turn the TV on when you’re done racing’ interest you normally show,” he teased, grinning.

We chatted easily about random things for well over an hour. He was incredibly easy to talk to. He seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say, which confused me a little. We usually talked and stuff, but this just felt different for some reason, nicer, more intimate. The whole time we were talking, he rubbed my feet again gently. I sighed contentedly and rested my head against the back of the sofa. This would be a perfect life, sitting and chilling with Carson, our little girl asleep peacefully in the other room. I couldn’t ask for more than that.

“So, about what you said to Jason about going to work tomorrow night…” he trailed off, frowning.

“Yeah, are you coming to the club?” I asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

“Emma, if you’re ill you shouldn’t be going to work. Take the night off,” he insisted sternly.

I shrugged, making a scoffing noise, which hurt my throat again. “Carson, I’d love to, really I would, but I can’t. This flat doesn’t pay for itself, my student fees are already building up, and Rory eats like a horse. I need the money.”

He sighed. “How much do you earn a night?”

I bit my lip. Did I really want to be having this conversation with him? “That’s not really any of your business. I don’t ask you how much you earn.”

“I’d tell you if you did. Want me to tell you?” he asked, smirking at me cockily. I shook my head quickly. I didn’t really want to know, because I didn’t really like to think of him as having money. To me, he would always just be Carson, the guy I met on the first night of my job, the one I fell in love with, the father of my angel. “Seriously, though. How much do you earn, on an average night?”

“I don’t know really. I get paid about fifty quid for working a shift and then maybe a dance or two on top, but that’s not all the time.” I shrugged. That was why my life was so hard; sometimes I lived off the bare minimum and that wasn’t even enough to pay my rent.

“How about the backroom?” he asked, frowning.

I laughed and rolled my eyes. “You know how much I get for that; you’re the one who gives me the money.”

He swallowed, still frowning and looking a little angry for some reason. “Other than me, Emma.”

I shook my head. “It’s only you,” I replied, shifting in my seat uncomfortably. Did he think I slept with a load of guys at the club?

His eyes widened and his mouth popped open in evident shock. “Just me? You don’t… not with anyone else?”

I grabbed another throat sweet, popping it in my mouth and sucking on it as I shrugged. “No one else. Not ever.”

Before I could protest, his lips crashed against mine. I went to pull back because of my throat, but one of his hands went to the back of my head, holding me still, his fingers tangling into my hair. He made a little moan, which seemed to set my skin alight with passion. My fingers curled, gripping his shirt as I pulled him toward me roughly, making him practically fall down on top of me, crushing me for a split-second before he gained his balance and pushed himself up to hover above me. He sucked on my bottom lip, asking for entrance and I couldn’t refuse him, not again. I opened my mouth, kissing him eagerly as his other hand cupped the side of my neck. I dug my fingers into his back as he kissed me deeply. The kiss was so good it made me go weak at the knees, and I was suddenly glad we were lying down because if I had been standing, I would have fallen for sure.

He pulled back just as I was getting slightly breathless. His beautiful, dimpled smile stretched across his face. “You lost something,” he chuckled, opening his mouth and showing me the little red throat lozenge sitting on his tongue.

I snickered awkwardly, feeling heat creep over my cheeks. “I’m gonna need that back.” I gripped my hand around the back of his head, pulling his mouth back to mine. I giggled against his lips as he pushed the sweet back into my mouth, his tongue tracing across mine slowly before he pulled back.

“Mmm, cherry flavour. Nice. I guess I’m gonna need to buy some of those when I get your germs,” he teased, digging me in the ribs with one finger. I giggled and squirmed under him while he just laughed. He stopped tickling me and brushed my hair back from my forehead before he just stared into my eyes with a hopeful expression on his face. “You really don’t go into the backroom with anyone else but me?” he asked quietly.

I shook my head. “It’s only ever been you there.” That was the truth. He was the second person I had ever been with intimately, my first time being the one and only time I had ever been with anyone other than him. I couldn’t see that changing anytime soon, either. I would never sleep with someone else while I was in love with Carson, and I just couldn’t see myself falling out of love with the stupid guy.