“C’mon,” he said, reaching out for my hand. “Thom’s just ordered food for us. He’s headed to go grab it right now.”
Well it’d just be rude to leave without eating, so I let him usher me in and told myself I wouldn’t stay for longer than four or five hours, or eternity. It was whatever.
“So this is our place,” he said, extending his arm to encompass the small living room that looked identical to ours. Really everything was the same except for…
“What’s that smell?” I asked, pinching my nose. “Is that tuna fish?”
His smile fell. “Thom ate a tuna sandwich for lunch and the bloody thing’s soul is now haunting the whole place.” He let go of my hand so he could walk to the coffee table and pick up the candle burning there. “Here, this should help with the exorcism.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Really, it’s not bad. It just smells like my meemaw’s house.”
He smiled quizzically. “What is a meemaw?”
“Nevermind.”
“Right, well. I’ve kept my room closed off, so it’s not nearly as bad in there.”
I quirked a brow. “Subtle.”
His smile widened.
“Oh, just come in here and slip under my covers to escape the smell of tuna! Oh, take off those clothes, the odor clings to the fabric!” I mocked. “Is that how you usually do it?”
“I quite like when you take the piss out of me,” he said, stepping closer.
I held my hand up to stop him.
“Wait. Where’s Thom gone?” He had apparently slipped by me during all the madness. “And wait, where are the other guests? Am I seriously the first person to get here?”
He rubbed his chin. “Right, well, about that. Like I’ve said, Thom’s gone to get the food. And, well, it’s set to be a small party.”
I frowned. “How small?”
“Well…quite.”
He dropped the candle on the kitchen table and whipped around the corner to grab something sitting on the counter. He held it behind his back as he walked back toward me, and then when he was just a few feet away, he lifted it up and slipped it around his head. A bright red paper party hat, sized for a five-year-old, sat sideways on his thick brown hair.
I burst out laughing.
“And look, here, this is for you,” he said, handing me one of those cheap paper party horns you blow at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I promised a party,” he said, stepping forward and holding the party horn out for me to take. “Here’s the party.”
I shook my head, grabbed it, and blew. A sad “wooooo” sounded from the end before it rolled back toward my mouth.
That sad, weak sound made the dam burst; we couldn’t catch our breaths for what felt like an hour. We laughed until tears filled the corner of my eyes and even then, I couldn’t stop.
“Why’d you make up a fake party?” I asked, wiping beneath my eyes.
“To get you here.”
That one sentence sobered me up fast. His brown eyes met mine and I watched his wide smile slowly fade into a flat, nervous line. “I knew you weren’t keen on dinner, but this is different. This is an intimate soirée.”
I dropped the party horn on the couch and took a shaky breath. “It’s cute, but it’s still not a good idea, Freddie. You kissed me yesterday in the middle of the training center. What if someone had taken a photo of that?”
“So what if they had? I want to be with you. I want to be kissing you.”
He’d come to stand directly in front of me, leaning down so his gaze was level with mine. His hands gripped my arms, so strong and powerful I couldn’t have pulled away even if I’d tried.
“I’m putting a stop to my betrothal, Andie. I’ve already talked to my mum and Georgie. It was all a sham and I should have seen that from the beginning. I just need to talk to Caroline and explain that I’m not going to roll over and marry some girl I don’t love.”
“Good.” I nodded, unable to pull my gaze from his mouth. “I want you to be with someone you can love.”
His eyes fell to my lips.
“What if I want to be with you?”
My gut clenched. “I’m currently…unavailable.”
The edge of his mouth perked up like I’d just declared a challenge he couldn’t pass up.
He bent forward and cradled my neck in his hand, bending low to whisper in my ear. “You didn’t appear to be unavailable the other day.” I dug my fingertips into his forearms and tried to form some kind of coherent response, but choppy stutters weren’t enough to deter him.
“Freddie…I-I…”
He took my earlobe between his teeth, just gently enough to tilt my world. I squeezed my eyes closed.
“Tell me you don’t want this.”
Obviously, I couldn’t. I wasn’t that selfless. I wasn’t even a little selfless. I needed Freddie so much my body hummed, and desire surged through me in time with the beat of my heart.
Stop.
Thump.
Walk away.
Thump.
This won’t end well.
Thump.
Who.
Fucking.
Cares.
I turned and crashed my lips against his.