The gesture was simple enough, yet it sent a shiver through me that almost stopped my heart. Em used to do that, and it used to drive me wild. Just like it was doing now.
“Maybe because sometimes I feel like this is all too good to be true,” I murmured.
Forcing the ghosts aside, I leaned forward to kiss her again, closing my eyes and inhaling the sweet scent of her. She didn’t need to speak. I could feel the urgency in her kiss, as if she felt the same way but was too afraid to say it out loud.
It soothed me, knowing we were in agreement. Perhaps the shared wonder at what we had stumbled across was part of the magic.
I SPENT THE ENTIRE DAY thinking about that. Perhaps it was a mixture of magic, timing and fate, stepping in just when I’d given up. Some kind of cosmic cupid’s arrow, even. I wanted to laugh at the notion – at myself, for even thinking like that. I didn’t believe in that kind of thing.
Did I?
Maybe it wasn’t a matter of belief. Maybe it was a matter of experience. I had never had this happen to me before, so I had nothing to compare it to. Scepticism, born out of ignorance. Whatever it was, it felt real, and it was happening to me. To us.
As I was finishing up for the day, my phone buzzed with an incoming text and I fished it out of my pocket. It was from Vinnie.
’Sup stranger?
Sledgehammer subtle, as usual. He was right, though. I hadn’t spoken to him since his party on Friday night. I’d been so busy with Maia, I hadn’t even noticed. I felt a bit guilty, now. I swiped the text off the screen and called him back instead. He answered on the first ring.
“Who is this?”
“Yeah yeah, very funny,” I smiled.
“Hello?”
“Vin. You texted me, remember?”
He chuckled. “So I did. How’s things?”
“Great. You?”
“Fine.” He paused for a moment. “You sound weird.”
“Define weird.”
“Happy. Not your usual self. Weird.”
I couldn’t help smiling. “Whatever.”
“It’s Maia isn’t it?”
The smile disappeared. “What? I mean, how –“
He chuckled. “Bridget. She told Jas you were seeing a bit of her. I was just calling to find out which bit.”
“Jesus, Vin… ”
“What?”
He was loving this, I could tell.
“Let’s have dinner, or go for a drink. Jas spent some time with her setting up for the party, and she says she’s pretty cool, so she has the Jas seal of approval. I feel left out, though. I want to get to know her better, too – there are some things she should know, and being your big brother, it’s kinda my job to fill her in.” I could just imagine the kinds of stories he wanted to tell, and I was less than keen to subject Maia to that. “So, tonight?”
“No bloody way!”
“Why not?”
“Because!”
Him acting like a two-year-old was making me act like one, too.
“Aw, come on. I’ll be on my best behaviour – promise. So will Jas. Please?”
“Jas isn’t the one I’m worried about. She’s got class, unlike you.”
He gasped dramatically. “Whoah! That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?”
“Look, it’s way too soon for that. We just need a bit more time to, y’know, sort through some stuff. Trust me though, when she’s ready for this, you’ll be the first to know. Okay?”
I wanted to keep Maia to myself for a little while longer. We were still figuring this thing out. Henry was one thing – I knew he wouldn’t embarrass me – but Vinnie was something else entirely. I needed to make sure Maia was able to handle his particular kind of ‘humour.’
“Fine,” he huffed. “But meet me for a drink after work? If she’ll let you out unsupervised, that is.”
I was torn. I wanted to spend the evening with Maia, but I needed to see Vinnie, too, to try and explain properly so he’d get off my back for a while.
“Funny,” I said, without a trace of humour. “Yeah, okay. Just one though. I’ve got plans with Maia tonight and I don’t want to be late home and screw them up.”
“Jeez, it must be serious,” he mumbled. “One beer. Hardly seems worth it, but okay. Because I miss you and because you never call anymore.” Sarcastic bastard. “What kind of plans?”
“Picnic.”
He started making kissing noises into the phone.
“I’m not doing this,” I sighed. “See you at the pub in an hour. I need to finish up here and get a shower.”
He was still making kissing noises.
“Vin?”
He stopped. “Yeah, alright. See you there, Romeo.”
I finished up and went home to shower. It’d been less than a week since I’d met Maia, yet it felt like my whole world had turned upside down. Hell, we were living together and I still knew bugger all about her. Still, I had plans to rectify that, hopefully tonight.