The Byron Journals Read Online Free

wall near the stereo. And the pornographic way Jade was kissing and straddling Tim on the back verandah.
    â€˜Cute, aren’t they?’ Heidi said, then raised her voice. ‘Feel free to clean the house when you’ve finished fucking!’
    She smiled at Andrew’s raised eyebrows, took his hand and led him into her room. He could smell unwashed clothes and lavender oil. The sheets lay twisted on the mattress and there were clothes, shoes and paperbacks strewn across the floorboards.
    â€˜I need a shower,’ she said. ‘I’ll be quick.’
    He heard the tap whine, followed by the patter of water. He liked the thought of Heidi naked; he liked the thought of her naked with water streaming over her. A couple of photos were stuck to the dressing-table mirror and he moved closer to look. They were old, professional shots, curled at the edges and faded with age. Heidi as a little girl, her hair in plaited pig tails, and her parents, he assumed, looking severe and conservative. The drawer beneath was open and overflowing with underwear, rich, silky colours. And stuck to the wall were paintings on butcher’s paper, mostly lumpy, badly composed female nudes.
    Heidi opened the door and walked in with a stained purple towel wrapped around her. ‘Can you just…?’
    He turned and moved towards the window. She pulled some clothes out of the drawer and he caught a whiff of honey-scented soap. When he heard her towel drop to the floor, he stole a glimpse in the dressing-table mirror: her long, dark hair hanging wet over her shoulders and her small, pale breasts, spattered with moles. There was also a long Y-shaped scar running up the inside of her left forearm. She caught his eye in the mirror. He looked away, heart thumping. ‘Sorry.’
    He heard the snap of her bra, and the sound of her putting on the rest of her clothes. He picked up a book from the floor. The author was Anaïs Nin. He skimmed the back cover: a glittering cascade of sexual encounters… ‘Read it?’ she asked.
    â€˜Not this one,’ he said, still thinking of her naked. ‘But I’ve read a few of his other—’ ‘You mean her other?’ Wearing a red patterned dress and long sleeved shirt now, she fixed her hair in front of the mirror.
    â€˜Yeah… her other.’
    She looked at him sideways, her eyes twinkling with delight, then she sprayed herself with perfume and grabbed her sunglasses. ‘Let’s go.’
    She lit a joint on the front verandah and they started walking. Dark clouds hung low and heavy in the south, infusing the air with the sweet smell of approaching rain. Heidi drew on the joint a couple of times before offering it to him.
    â€˜I thought I told you not to look,’ she said.
    He took the joint. ‘I didn’t do it on purpose.’
    â€˜The scar on my arm—just so you know—it’s not what it looks like. I got pushed through a window when I was a kid.’ She lifted her arm in front of her then let it fall to her side. ‘I wear long-sleeved shirts ’cause I get sick of people staring.’
    He decided to say nothing, then replied too late. ‘I barely noticed.’ The smoke burned his throat and he struggled not to cough as he handed the joint back to her. An image of her half-naked flashed through his mind. Anyway, her scar was sexy.
    They crossed over disused train tracks and passed between the vehicles in a potholed car park. She stopped beside an old silver Mercedes, looked around, then bent the Mercedes badge forward, snapped it off with the base of her palm, and shoved it into her purse. Her technique was efficient enough for him to assume she’d done it before. He opened his mouth to say something, but she gave him a look that told him to keep quiet. They continued through the car park and finished the joint.
    â€˜Where are we going?’ he asked.
    â€˜The café where I work.’
    They turned