Scandalous by Tilly Bagshawe Read Free Book Online Page B

just we haven’t seen each other for ages.”
    No one said anything. In the end Danny, a wry engineer from Glasgow, said gently, “You know, Sasha, it’s none o’ my business. But I would n’ae say the two of you have an awful lot in common.”
    “We do,” Sasha shot back automatically. “Honestly. At home we do. I think he feels a bit out of place here, that’s all. He’ll get used to it.”
    I hope not
, thought Georgia. The thought of Will Temple becoming a regular feature of their weekends was enough to make her bring up her lasagna.
    On the walk back to college, it started to snow. Thick, soft flakes drifted down onto the cobbles, their progress illuminated by the warm, orange glow of the streetlamps. In front of them, King’s College Chapel rose out of the darkness like a fairy-tale castle. Sasha snuggled tighter into Will’s body.
    “You can see why I love it here, can’t you?”
    “Sure.”
    Not a flicker of interest. Sasha tried again.
    “I mean, there’s a magic to it. Something in the air. Do you know what I mean?”
    “The air?” said Will absently. “The air’s arctic. How far are we from your college? My nuts are about to drop off.”
    For the first time all day, Will noticed that Sasha was upset. She’d pulled away and started walking faster up ahead of him.
    “What’s the matter?”
    “It’s you.
You’re
the matter.” She turned around. Snowflakes began to settle on her shoulders. “You were really rude to my friends back there.”
    “Oh, come on, Sash. They weren’t exactly the most exciting bunch. Apart from the blonde.” He smiled knowingly.
    “They’re my
friends
, Will. Do you know how bored I am with
your
friends? But at least I make an effort.”
    Now it was Will’s turn to get angry. “An effort? Don’t talk to me about making an effort. At least I came up here to see you, which is more than you’ve been bothered to do all autumn.”
    “Well, why
did
you come? You don’t want to see me. All you want to do is have sex!”
    “So? What’s wrong with sex? Jesus, Sasha. If you want to go out with a fucking intellectual why don’t you go and marry Stephen bloody Hawking? It’s not me that’s changed. It’s you.”
    That night they lay together in stony silence. Will fell asleep after about an hour, but Sasha lay awake, staring at the ceiling, trying to sort through her conflicting feelings.
Is he right? Have I changed?
She couldn’t bear the thought that she’d abandoned him. They’d been so happy last summer, in the woods at Tidebrook. Was this how Professor Dexter felt, lying in bed next to his mean, bipolar wife? A stranger in his own life?
    The next morning they patched things up, on the surface anyway. Will’s train was at two, so they spent the morning walking along the snowy trails and had a good-bye lunch at Wagamama.
    “How are your noodles?”
    “Fine, thanks. Would you like another Coke?”
    “Oh, I’m OK. Thanks.”
    The politeness was awful.
    By three o’clock, Sasha was back at St. Michael’s. It was properly winter now, and the sky was already beginning to fade to a bluish twilight that made the snow-covered college looklike a Christmas card. But Sasha couldn’t enjoy it. She’d blown things with Will. It was over. In a few weeks she’d be home in Sussex for the holidays, and he’d be out with some other girl.
Carolina Fuller probably. She’s been after him for months. Slut.
Would Sasha regret it once she got home? Here at Cambridge, her life in Sussex felt like a dream. But what if it was the other way around? What if home and Will were her reality and her undergraduate life was just a passing phase? What if she never found love again?
    “Penny for your thoughts?”
    Theo, looking ruggedly gorgeous in a blue cable-knit sweater and jeans, emerged from his rooms on First Court.
    “It can’t be that bad, surely?”
    Sasha shrugged. “I don’t know if it’s bad or not. I think I just broke up with my boyfriend.”
    With immense