by R. M. Walker
“Hey, can you tell me where I can find Mrs Johnston’s place?” His smile revealed a crooked eye tooth. His dark eyes seemed like liquid as he watched her. He was handsome, and she found herself smiling back at him.
“I’m sorry, I just moved here. I don’t know where anyone lives yet.” She heard another car and saw Matt’s Land Rover coming up. “Matt might, he lives here,” she told him, pointing at the Land Rover. She jumped down from the wall as Matt slowed, his window opening.
“Everything alright?” he called out, a deep frown between his eyes.
“Where’s Mrs Johnston live?”
“Number four, Toll Lane. Second road around to the left.”
Lily repeated it to the man in the car, and he grinned at her.
“Thanks. That’s the good thing about small communities, everyone knows everyone. See you around, beautiful.” He winked at her, his smile becoming slightly sardonic. She had the feeling he despised small village life or he was laughing at some joke she didn’t know. He drove forward, and she watched as the car disappeared around the end of the road.
“Hey, Lily Pad, c’mon. Another day of institutionalized learning awaits us.” She went over and climbed into the passenger seat.
“Who was that?” Matt asked, and she shrugged.
“No idea, never seen him before.” She looked behind her at the others. “Hey, guys.”
“Good morning, Lily May,” Nate said softly. He wasn’t wearing glasses today, and Lily did a double take. He was hot with glasses, without he was breath-taking. His crystal blue eyes were clear to see, and it made his cheekbones stand out even more.
“What happened to your glasses?”
“Matthew happened,” he said and let out a long sigh. Lily grinned, looking over at Matt.
“What did you do?”
“He sat on them,” Josh answered for him.
“And broke the frame,” Jake finished, and then they both started to laugh.
“It’s not funny!” Nate whined. “I’m practically blind without them!”
“You have contacts in; you’re hardly blind, Nate. And I already told you I’d take you to the optician's after college to get them fixed,” Matt said with a sigh.
“Oh, yeah,” Josh sat forward now that he was in the middle. “Lily Pad, we’ll be taking a detour after college.”
“That’s okay, I’ll catch the bus.” She almost felt him roll his eyes as he sighed heavily. He leant his chin on her shoulder.
“Nope.” He popped the ‘p’. “We”—his breath fanned over her ear, sending a shiver down her spine—“includes you now. You haven’t seen the town yet, have you? We’ll get Nate sorted with his glasses, and then we’ll nip in for a pizza.”
“Well, I don’t know, my mum—”
“Text her.” Matt cut her off gently.
“No. I mean, yes. I mean, she told me we were supposed to be at your house tonight,” she spoke to Matt, hyper aware of how close Josh still was. If she moved at all, his nose would brush against her skin.
“Really? Nothing was said this morning to me. What’s that for?”
“Mum wants some photos of the manor in twilight, and your dad invited us for dinner at six. Semi-formal affair apparently.” She kept perfectly still.
“Oh, bloody hell.” Nate grunted. “Alright, we’ll postpone till tomorrow for my glasses.”
“It’s okay, I can go on the bus. You have to get your glasses fixed, Nate,” she said. Josh shook his head, and she felt his nose brush her skin. It sent a frisson of sensation zinging through her. He moved back and relief was tinged with regret; a regret that she didn’t quite understand, so she ignored it.
“I’ve got an idea,” Jake spoke up. “We get out in time to nip down to the optician's today. We can drop Lil on the way back to change, and then we can go for pizza after college sometime next week.”
“Good thinking, Jacob,” Josh said, and held out his hand for Josh to shake.
“Why thank you, Joshua,” he replied poshly, accepting his hand and making Lily giggle. She looked at Matt. He was grinning as he steered the Land Rover through the winding lanes.
“All in favour?” Nate asked, and four ayes were heard. “I said all in favour? Do try to keep up, Lily May.”
“Aye,” she said quietly, and she felt fingers slide across the back of her neck quickly, but she wasn’t sure who it was. “Do you always vote on things like that?” she asked.
“I guess.” Josh spoke as if he’d not really thought about it. “I don’t remember a time when we didn’t vote on things. I know Nate likes to think he runs the show, but it’s mostly just us letting him think that.”
“I don’t think it, Joshua, I know it,” Nate said smugly.
“Careful there, Nate,” Josh said slyly. “One could always let slip what Nate is short for. One doesn’t think you’ve been brave enough to let Lily Pad know yet, have you?”
“It’s nothing to do with bravery,” Nate spluttered. “And if one doesn’t shut up, one will be hurting.”
Lily turned in her seat to look at Josh. “So what is Nate short for?”
“I’ll tell her, not you!” Nate shoved Josh. “When I’m good and ready. Besides, I’m waiting to see if you can guess first, Lily May.”
“Really?” Lily grinned at him. “And what do I get when I get it right?”
“Jesus, Lily, don’t ask him that,” Matt shot out, laughing.
“You get the dubious honour of being one of a very small number of people who know,” Nate said, glaring at the back of Matt’s head. His eyes slid to Lily’s, and she saw a gleam of wickedness there. “Unless there’s something else you would like from me?”
Lily blushed when she realised how her words could be taken. She turned around abruptly.
“Oh, look, cows.” She pointed out of her window at a group of cows in the field they were passing. There was a snigger from the back and then a thump, but nothing could make her turn around now. Her face was far too red, especially since she’d just compounded her embarrassment by saying something as dumb as, oh, look, cows!
Trying to cover her embarrassment, she fished her phone out of her bag and sent her mum a quick text letting her know she’d be a bit later and why. Matt reached forward to put the stereo on, and music blasted out that had the twins singing along. She was glad of the diversion, but still couldn’t look at any of them. The song changed, and she recognised it and began to sing along quietly. They all knew this one and belted it out loudly.
By the time they had parked, Lily was happily singing along with them, her earlier embarrassment forgotten. Matt turned off the engine, and Lily moved to open her door.
“You’re on your own for last class again.” Matt put his hand on her shoulder to stop her getting out. “Don’t hang around waiting for us. Come straight here, okay?”
“Okay, thanks.” She nodded. He winked at her and squeezed her shoulder gently before letting go and jumping out his own side. She got out and shut her door, the twins came up to her.
“C’mon, Lily Pad, let’s go get registered.” Jake gripped her hand and started to pull her along.
“I can find my way now, Jake,” she insisted. His hand was cool against her own, his fingers curled around hers tightly. She made no move to loosen his hold. Her heart skipped a beat and heat flooded her cheeks.
He looked at her sideways as they walked, a smirk played around his lips. “Josh,” he said.
She narrowed her eyes at him, certain she had it right when she called him Jake. She studied his profile as they walked and then looked to see where Josh—Jake—was. He was coming up behind her, a matching smirk on his face. He caught up, took her bag and then caught her hand in his. She blinked, thrown from her thoughts of figuring out which was which. They were both holding her hands, and it made her feel… she wasn’t sure how it made her feel. She’d held hands before, although granted, never two boys at a time. But it hadn’t felt quite like this
before; even though she wasn’t quite sure how it felt yet. One thing she did know was that it wasn’t a bad feeling.
At least it wasn’t until she saw the looks they were getting from the people they were passing in the corridors. She pulled her hands free and stuck them into her jacket pockets, putting her head down. She could feel the heat in her cheeks.
“What’s up? Are we contagious?”
“Everyone is staring,” she told them.
“So? Who gives a fuck?”
“They’re going to think—” She snapped her mouth shut. They were going to think she was dating both of them at the same time. And she wasn’t even dating one of them.
“And in which realm would it matter what someone else thinks?” snorted Jake/Josh, she was almost certain it was Jake now. “I’m your friend, Jacob is your friend. Friends hold hands all the time. How many times have we watched you girls band together and hold hands going to the toilet?”
“So you hold Nate’s hand as you walk into the loo?” she inquired, certain that she hadn’t mixed them up.
“If he feels lonely.” He shrugged casually and then ruined it by sniggering. They stopped outside the classroom.
“That I have to see,” she said with a laugh. They leant against the wall, shoulders touching, and she took the opportunity to really study them as she stood in front of them. They watched her through strands of dark hair, their chins tilted down slightly, and their arms folded. They really were handsome, but she’d caught one of their tells. They’d been trying to catch her out, but there were small things that told them apart that she didn’t think they were aware of, and she wasn’t going to tell them. In this case, they crossed their arms differently, something she’d already seen.
She stepped closer to who she was now certain was Josh. She stood toe to toe with him, so close she could feel his breath fanning over her face. His lips twisted into a sinful smirk as he watched her through his fringe. She reached up, a grin on her lips as she kept eye contact with him. Slowly, she slid her hand into the inside of his jacket pocket, her fingers closed over the smooth, round tin of the button badge.
“Hello, Joshua,” she whispered. She stepped back, and her hand slipped free of his jacket. She uncurled her fingers, and held out the button badge to him. She saw his smirk grow, and then he reached forward to take the badge from her. He let his fingertips trail over her palm, making her shiver at the contact, his eyes never leaving hers.
“Well done, Lilith.” The shiver extended down her spine. She’d never heard her name purred quite like that.
“Okay, people.” Mr Peters broke the moment as he came down the corridor with a stack of yet more papers. “You know the drill now. Sarah, get the door if you would.”
Lily stepped back from the twins and took her bag. Jake caught her hand before she could move right away; he stepped forwards till his mouth was by her ear.
“What gave us away?” he whispered, and the shiver became a shudder. They were affecting her in ways she’d never experienced before.
“I’m not telling,” she whispered back. She felt his lips brush her ear, and then he was moving back from her. Lily’s breathing wasn’t quite even as she went into the classroom. She saw them move ahead of her, shoulders bumping as they walked with their heads bent together. She took a deep breath and shook her head. She was attracted to them, and that was a perfectly normal reaction when faced with how gorgeous they were, but it didn’t mean any of them were attracted to her, or that she should read into anything that wasn’t there. They wanted to be friends with her, and that was all it was. She wasn’t going to ruin that by being stupid.
Rain Check
They’d left the college grounds quickly after final bell. Matt managed to get out of the car park before the buses started to leave, so it hadn’t taken them long to get into town and park up.
“Shame we can’t grab a pizza,” Jake murmured, rubbing his stomach as he jumped down from the Land Rover.
“You can,” Nate spoke up. He pulled his tie off and undid his top button. “We’ll wait for you if we get done first.”
Lily closed her door and looked up and down the high street. From where she was standing, she could see a couple of second hand shops, a pet store, two cafes, and a clothing shop. She would like to come back another time and explore. Matt had found a spot just outside the optician's, and Lily was impressed by his skill in parallel parking.
“Ten minutes,” Josh called, already crossing the street with Jake beside him.
“C’mon, Flower.” Matt tapped her shoulder, ran his fingers down her arm and caught her hand in his. He led her to where Nate was holding the glass door open for her. She let him tug her inside but kept her eyes on Nate. She wondered what he thought about Matt holding her hand. He gave no reaction, just smirked at her as she passed him. He went over to the main desk, and they went across to the racks of men’s glasses.
“Will they be able to fix them?” Lily asked as Matt let go of her hand to take a pair of black framed glasses.
“I think so.” He slid them onto his nose. “Nethercotts! To which one am I speaking?” He did an excellent imitation of Mr O’Connor, making her laugh.
“Are you with Nate for Maths then?” she asked him, trying on different pairs of glasses and pulling faces at him. “You’re not with us.”
“No, I’m in O’Connor’s Trig and Calc class.” He moved over to the ladies’ frames. He picked out a bright pink framed pair and put them on.
Lily laughed and reached up to touch the frames. “They suit you,” she giggled. He caught her hand and tugged her slightly closer to him.
“What are you saying, Lily?” He arched an eyebrow at her, a tiny smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
“Pink is your colour. It brings out the brown in your eyes.” She grinned up at him.
“It brings out the weird in him.” Nate joined them and reached out for a pair of black frames. He slid them onto Lily’s face and tilted his head. “These suit you.”
“Yeah, they do,” Matt agreed, putting the pink ones back. “You look cute.”
She caught Matt’s eyes, and her smile faded. His whiskey eyes were intent on her face, and it made her toes curl.
“Did they fix them for you?” she asked Nate brightly, dragging her gaze to him and away from Matt.
“They’re going to. I have to come back Monday for them,” he said quietly.
Matt reached out and slid his fingers along the frames of the glasses, his fingertips trailed over her skin. He pushed his hands into her hair, unhooked the glasses and drew them slowly down, his fingers brushing against her skin. His eyes held hers, and she was completely unable to stop the shudder that overtook her. His eyes dropped to her lips as he slid the glasses free, and it made Lily’s breath catch. Her whole world narrowed to just him.
“We can go now,” Nate said softly.
Lily drew in a sharp breath, flustered at her reaction to him. This was ridiculous. She was feeling things for all of them that she had no right to be feeling. It was basic attraction, that much she understood. But to feel more than attraction would be bad, and to feel it for all of them would be a disaster.
She turned to leave, annoyed with herself. She rushed through the door and collided with what felt like a brick wall. Her face was shoved against a rough wool coat that smelt good. Hands gripped her shoulders, and she was held tightly, stopping her from falling.
“Whoa, where’s the fire?”
She looked up and recognised the man she’d spoken to that morning in the BMW. He seemed to make the connection at the same time as recognition dawned on his face.
“Well, hello again, beautiful.” He smiled widely at her. She felt her cheeks burn in embarrassment as she bit her lip.
“I am so sorry,” she breathed out. “Did I hurt you?”
He laughed as if the idea of her hurting him was ludicrous.
“If I say yes, would it guilt you into going to g
et some coffee with me?” he asked her, his hands still on her shoulders. His eyes were so dark she was almost certain they were black, but there was no emotion reflected in them, and it made her uneasy. His skin had a slightly olive tone to it, and his hair was black as ink, thick, wavy, and on the long side. Her first impression that he was attractive was spot on, but his eyes looked dead.
“We have to go now,” Nate spoke up and his voice was icy cold. Lily frowned and looked around at him. He was right behind her, his arms folded as he stared at the stranger. Matt was right beside him with an identical stance. Lily had the vague idea that this must be like having older brothers. They were clearly not happy with the stranger and were showing it, but she had no idea why.
Her shoulders were released, and he moved past her into the optician's.
“I’ve rented the cottage opposite yours, beautiful. Maybe we can take a rain check on the coffee,” he said as he passed her. He showed no reaction at all to the animosity rolling off the boys. He didn’t even acknowledge their presence as he carried on into the opticians. Lily shrugged it off and looked back at Matt and Nate.
“C’mon, Lil,” Matt said quietly, and she went with them to the Land Rover. He unlocked the doors, and she climbed in.
Neither of them looked happy. She doubted it was the odd man that made them unhappy. She wondered if she’d done something wrong, if she was who they were unhappy with. Maybe Nate didn’t like Matt touching her face like that. But he’d seen her hold hands with him and hadn’t said anything. And if she was honest, Nate had made no real indication that he liked her like that anyway. Sure, he’d held her hands whilst she told him about her seizures, but that could have been nothing more than friendly concern. In fact, when she thought about it, none of them had made any indication that they were interested in anything but friendship. Not really.
She made an impatient sound in the back of her throat. She had to stop this. She had to stop thinking like this. She was going to let it ruin the friendship she was building with them. She wasn’t in a position to have a serious relationship with anyone anyway; she had to remember that. Even if she was normal, and didn’t have a seizure at the drop of a hat, she knew without a doubt that come the summer holidays she’d be moving, and most probably she would never see them again. Sadness slid through her.
