“It’s more sensual in the dark,” said Trev, making his voice intentionally husky. “When you can’t see you have to focus on everything else; sound, smell, taste.”

I stiffened in awareness at the way he spoke. Why was he acting so weird today? “Didn’t peg you for a sensualist.”

“Hey, now that’s just insulting. Of course I am. How else do you think I got so good in bed?”

“Well, I wouldn’t know anything about that. You could be terrible,” I said, unable to resist goading him as we waited in reception for a table to free up. Looking around, I noticed it was mostly couples here, which made me feel a little self-conscious.

Trev pulled his phone from his pocket and began flicking through his contacts. “Oh, no way am I letting you away with that one. Let’s call up one of my exes and have her substantiate my claims to greatness, shall we? How about Lila?”

I swiped his phone from him. “No way. You know I was never fond of Lila. She freaked me out.”

Trev waggled his brows and grabbed the phone back. “Why? Were you jealous?”

“No, I wasn’t jealous. It had nothing to do with her being your girlfriend. She was just…weird. She always used to look at me like, I don’t know, like she fancied me or something. Plus, she never wore a bra. I don’t trust women who don’t wear bras. It’s not natural.”

“Au contraire,” Trev disagreed. “I think you’ll find it’s perfectly natural. In fact, you should try it sometime.”

I shot him a cynical look and he chuckled, relenting, “Okay, maybe not in public. With a rack like yours that might be a little obscene.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “Wow, thanks.”

“It’s a compliment, Reya.”

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”

“Anyway, Lila looked at you like she fancied you because did fancy you. Didn’t I ever mention she swung both ways?”

I tensed as my mouth fell open. “Um, no, you didn’t.” The idea of Trev’s ex-girlfriend fancying me made me blush. I’d had no idea.

“She was forever trying to convince me to lure you into a threesome. I told her that although that would make for quite the memorable evening, it went against the code.”

“The code?”

“The buddies code. Buddies don’t show each other their special places. Unless of course you’re one of those freaks who likes walking around communal changing rooms bollock naked.”

I laughed and shook my head. “Right. No special place exposure around friends. Makes sense.”

Trev’s eyes twinkled as he stared at me, clearly enjoying the topic of conversation. He loved talking about stuff that made most people squirm. Like anal sex, or getting caught watching porn by a family member, or whether or not you considered it healthy to masturbate on a regular basis.

A smartly dressed woman approached us, the maître d’, and ushered us into the darkened restaurant. I latched onto Trev’s arm, momentarily blinded. He took me by surprise when instead he took my hand in his and laced our fingers together. Warmth suffused my cheeks at the action.

By the time we sat down at the table my eyes had adjusted somewhat to the dark. A waitress came and recited the menu, and I opted for the lemon chicken and sweet potato wedges, because it sounded like the least messy option.

“This is weird,” I said to Trev once she left. “Isn’t it weird? I feel like there’s probably stains all over the table, and the cutlery could be dirty for all we know.”

“Stop being so anal,” he chided before he reached over and gave my knee a squeeze. I couldn’t exactly tell the layout of the place, but Trev had decided to sit right next to me.

I sighed and apologised. “Sorry. You know I’m a clean freak.”

He let go of my knee and I almost missed his touch. “This night is about pushing our boundaries. Think about it this way. The most uncomfortable experiences make for the most memorable memories. We’re making memories tonight, Reya Cabrera. Isn’t it exciting?”

I laughed at his enthusiasm. “I guess.”

Now he slapped me on the thigh. “That’s the spirit.”

The waitress returned with our drinks, and I’ll be honest, I spilled a little of my white wine down the front of my dress. I just hoped it dried before we left the restaurant. Trev and I laughed and giggled our way through the entire experience, which made it totally worth it. At one point he talked me into letting him feed me, and I had to guess what I was eating. When he ordered dessert, he’d insisted on whispering it to the waitress so I couldn’t hear.

“Is that meringue?”

“Yes.”

“And cream.”

“Uh huh.”

“And coulis. I’ve got it! Eton Mess.”

“Well done. Now you win the prize of me feeding you the rest of it,” he announced, and even though I could barely make him out, I just knew he was smirking. Before I could protest he had another spoonful nudging at my lips, but I wasn’t quick enough and half of it spilled down over my chin. I felt like a three-year-old eating custard.

I startled a yelp when Trev dove in and licked the fallen dessert from my chin like it was the most normal thing in the world.

I repeat. He. Licked. The. Dessert. From. My. Chin.

I sat frozen for a moment then blurted, “What was that?”

There was silence for a beat. “A dog just broke into the restaurant. Can’t you see? Get out, you filthy mutt!”

“Trev, that wasn’t a dog.”

“No?” I could sense his grin.

“No, it was your mouth.”

I saw movement in the dark as he raised his hands in the air. “Fine, you have me. I licked you.”

A shudder went through me at the simple statement. “Why?”

“Didn’t want it to go to waste.”

He said this like it was no big deal. Why did he always have to be so unaffected by everything? For once I wished for him to show fluster or even a hint of nervousness. But no, he was the cool one. I was the nervous one. Which was probably why I was so lost for words right then.

He took his phone out and the screen illuminated his face. I was glad he’d decided to check his messages, because I needed a few moments to calm down. Trev was my friend, nothing more. I’d crushed any flowery notions I had about him years ago. So why wouldn’t my stomach stop flipping over on itself? All I could think about was how his mouth felt on my chin. It reminded me of how men kissed women in movies, unable to get enough as they mouthed their chin, the edges of their lips, like they wanted to consume their entire face.