Page 109 of The Friend Zone Experiment

“I want you inside me,” she said, and felt his cock jerk against her thigh. “There are condoms in the bedside cabinet. In the bottom drawer.”

“OK,” said Ket Siong breathlessly.

So then they did that. And it was good. It was very good.

Ket Siong was a postcoital cuddler. Renee had forgotten that about him.

“We should have dinner,” she said. “Do you want to order in?”

Ket Siong murmured something contented and indecipherable into the back of her neck.

“Can I ask you a question?” said Renee.

“Hmm?”

“What was up with this woman you had a coffee with?”

Ket Siong didn’t react to this particularly. Renee would have been able to tell—they were touching all along the length of their bodies. Any tension in him would have communicated itself to her.

“What woman?” he said sleepily.

“You know, when Nathalie ran into you at Foyles. She got worried because you didn’t mention you were having coffee with someone when she asked what you were doing there.”

That did get a reaction. Ket Siong stiffened—not in a good way. Renee turned, wriggling away a little so she could get a proper look at him.

His eyes were open. He was frowning. “Was Nathalie spying on me?”

“She just happened to be there,” said Renee. “But for the record, she absolutely would spy on you. Nathalie’s hated you ever since you broke my heart. She made me burn your pictures.”

“Really?”

“She thought I needed to move on,” said Renee. “I had a hard time getting over you.”

Ket Siong’s eyes softened. He brushed Renee’s hair back, tucking a lock behind her ear. “It was Low Teck Wee’s daughter. The woman I was meeting. I was trying to find out about Stephen.”

“Oh,” said Renee. “Is that how you found him?”

Ket Siong shook his head. “It was through a journalist. Helen Daley. She writes a blog called—”

“TheHornbill Gazette.” At Ket Siong’s look, Renee said, “I told you, I did some research. Is she writing an article about Freshview?”

“Er…”

“It’s OK, you don’t need to answer that. You’re really bad at lying, by the way,” she added, kissing him on the chin. “It’s cute. Can you put me in touch with her? Just to talk.”

Ket Siong was looking like he couldn’t decide whether to be miffed or not. “Talk about?”

“Business,” said Renee. She was buzzing with energy, the beginnings of a plan coalescing in her head. “You told me I’d figure it out, and I think I have.”

She rolled over onto Ket Siong, pushing him onto his back, and kissed him. Partly because it was thanks to him she’d had her idea, but mostly because she could. His mouth opened under hers. She nipped his bottom lip, licking it to soothe the sting. Ket Siong hummed deep inside his throat, sliding a hand up the back of her thigh.

Renee had been starting to feel a little peckish, but she decided she wasn’tthathungry—not for food, at least.

For once, Ket Siong didn’t seem inclined to worry about her food intake. She wasn’t about to remind him. Dinner could wait.

29

Renee insisted onwalking Ket Siong to the station in the morning. He put up some resistance, but not much. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her yet.