" They'll be at their cups then," she said, standing, picking up her book and taking my elbow. "Come along."I pulled her to my chest and took a kiss, ...a good healthy one, kneading her round buttocks in the process."You are wasting time," she said crossly as she pulled away. "Hurry up."I followed her up the stairs and into her fancy bedroom. She doffed her clothes carefully and quickly and then pulled out her combs and let her long hair fall with a shake of her head. "I have to change for this. You know I’m here until tomorrow, so you are going to spend today with me. And tonight. I can feel my mouth breaking into an enormous smile; it’s the best news you could give me right now. “Well, if you’re sure,” I say, trying to sound like I’m not really bothered. “But don’t let me stop you if you want to make a move.” You smile suggestively and remind me that I am not capable of stopping you if you do indeed want to make a move. You take hold of one of my hands, rubbing the point on my wrist. “You should be getting home quickly now. Curfew is in twenty minutes.” It was bonfire night and curfew had been extended by ninety minutes in many parts of the country.For a brief moment the youths surrounded the pair of patrollers before they carried on, but behind them the patrollers had gone.Anyone looking carefully would have seen two extra pairs of feet, both of them dragging along the ground. But this was mid evening in November with few street lamps, and fewer cars around, so no-one was. ‘Everything okay in here?’ she asked. Julia jumped at the question, but did her best to put a smile on her face when she replied. ‘Oh, everything is fine. Just came to get away from all the noise for a while.’ ‘You really had no idea, did you?’ The question caught Julia off guard, and at first she considered playing dumb. She had tried her best to hide her feelings for Mark, but if there was one person who would pick up on it then it would be Marilynn. She knew everything there was to know.