by L.H. Cosway
“Yeah, but it’s the whole ‘not opening my eyes’ thing that got him thinking I was too shy, which, by the way, I am. Anyhow, it’s not like I would’ve said yes. Travelling around with a bunch of smelly boys barely out of their teens isn’t exactly my dream job.”
I glanced at her hands, noticing how she was fiddling with the cardboard coaster. It got me thinking that maybe she wasn’t being entirely truthful.
“So there’s nothing going on between you two, then?” I probed.
Reya blushed, which was a feat to achieve on her caramel complexion. “Nope, just texts. Oh, and he friended me on Facebook.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Don’t ‘uh-huh’ me, Karla. There’s nothing going on. He told me I’m not his type, and I’d well believe it. His profile is full of pictures of him with tiny blondes, and I am neither blonde nor tiny.”
“Right, so you’ve been snooping through his profile,” I continued, goading her.
“Yes, of course I have. I’m a student. I have lots of free time and I get bored. What else is there to do?”
“Plenty.”
“Oh, shut up. You barely ever go online. You don’t understand the temptation to snoop.”
“Especially when there’s a twinkly-eyed pretty boy in the mix.”
Reya scowled. “That’s it. I’m changing the subject. When do I get to come see Lexie’s baby? I need some cuteness in my life.”
“Whenever you like. I doubt she’s gonna get the chance to leave the flat any time soon.”
Reya smiled like she couldn’t wait, and then a curious gleam lit her eyes. “So how was it with Lee? He drove Alexis to the hospital, right?”
“Who told you that?”
“Trevor,” she answered, like it was obvious.
“That boy’s got a big mouth. And it was fine, positively civilised, actually. We chatted for a bit. He told me he’s opening a restaurant, asked me to stop by.”
“I’m sure he did,” said Reya. “He’ll be all, Oh, I just spilled marinara sauce all over my muscle-T, whatever shall I do? Then he’ll whip it off, flex his abs at you, and you’ll be putty in his hands.”
“And then we’ll go at it right out in the open for all the world to see,” I deadpanned.
“So you’re saying there were no unresolved feelings, no longing glances or hot stares?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“Liar!”
“Hey, if you want to talk about Lee, then we have to talk about Trevor. How’s that sound?”
She pursed her lips, frowning. “You’re no fun.”
I shot her a pointed look. “Neither are you.”
“That’s not true. Talking about your love life is a lot more fun than talking about mine.”
“Right, so there is something going on with you and Trev.” I grinned.
“Oh, my God, shut up. Fine, let’s talk about these cocktails, then, shall we? They’re pretty amazing. I want to sample at least five different ones before the night is through.”
Smiling wide, I lifted my hand to her for a high-five. “Sounds like a plan.”
By the time I arrived home, I was more drunk than tipsy. It was barely ten o’clock, but we’d started drinking at six. When I got in, I kicked off my shoes, dropped my bag on the floor, and turned to find Alexis and Lee sitting in the living area, cups of tea placed in front of them on the coffee table. Positively cosy, my drunken brain mused.
“Looks like somebody was out celebrating,” said Alexis with a smile. “Congratulations again, by the way.”
I grinned at her in a way that revealed my drunkenness, and wobbled slightly on my feet as I went to the kitchen to find a glass of water. It was at the back of my mind to ask why Lee was there, but I thought he must have come to visit the baby and see how Alexis was doing. With my glass full, I hobbled my way over to them and plonked down on the couch next to Lee.
“Reya and I went for cocktails. I think I might have gone a little overboard,” I said, trying not to slur my words. When I looked at Lee, I found him regarding me fondly, his arm resting along the back of the couch. I scrunched up my mouth and pointed a finger into his chest, half the water in my glass sloshing out onto my lap. “Did you know about Reya and Trevor?”
He shook his head. “What about them?”
“I dunno. I think they’re having a thing.”
“Sounds serious.”
“Don’t be cheeky,” I warned, pointing at him again. A noise came from the baby monitor, and Alexis went to go check on Oliver. I might have been drunk, but I didn’t fail to see the cynical, knowing look on her face as she glanced between the two of us.
“You should get to bed, Snap. Sleep off all that booze,” Lee murmured.
“I have to drink this water first. Otherwise, I’ll be hung over in the morning.”
His laugh was soft. “I think that’s gonna happen anyway, beautiful.”
“Ugh, you’re so…so…annoying,” I said, and lifted the glass, downing the rest of its contents. Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I added, “And don’t call me beautiful. You think I’ll let you in my pants because I’m drunk, wellll, no way, José.”
“Ah, you have me pegged. I’m a dirty opportunist.” Lee sighed dramatically, unable to wipe the grin from his face. He thought I was funny. Getting up from the couch, I stumbled slightly, but he caught me in time to prevent my fall.
“Easy,” he murmured, his hands clasping my elbows.
Looking up at him from beneath my lashes, I swallowed tightly and stepped out of his hold. Turning, I managed to make it to my bedroom, where I unceremoniously bumped into my wardrobe.
“Ow,” I whined, clutching my knee.
Lee stood just a few feet shy of my doorway. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” I answered, and then proceeded to face-plant onto my mattress. Fully clothed; I had no intention of going to the effort of undressing. I could sleep like this.
Lee entered my room. “You sure you don’t need some help?”
“Nope, I’m good,” I said, waving a hand in the air.
“You’re just going to sleep in your clothes?” he asked.
“Pretty much.”
“Karla, let me help you.”
Annoyed, I flipped over onto my back and levelled him with a hostile glare. “I said, I’m fine.”
Lee sighed and went back out into the living room, not bothering to shut my door. I closed my eyes and tried to go to sleep, but the waist of my jeans began to bite into my skin, and I felt uncomfortably sweaty in my silk blouse. Only a minute or two had passed when I called out sheepishly, “Lee?”
The smile in his voice was unmistakable. “What is it, Snap?”
“Maybe I could use some help.” No way were these skinnies coming off on their own. Chuckling, he returned to my room and stood at the foot of my bed, grinning down at me.
“You’re adorable when you’re drunk.”
I scoffed. “Sure.”
“Let’s get these off you, then,” he said, resting a knee on the mattress and bending forward to undo my fly. With effort he pulled them down my legs, finally getting them off. I was already unbuttoning my blouse when I realised he’d gone quiet, and looked up to find him standing over me, heat in his eyes as they traced my bare legs.
“You good from here?” he asked, swallowing tightly.
I couldn’t answer, because his stare was creating a burning need between my thighs. My throat was thick when I finally said, “Yeah, I’m good.”
He had turned to leave when I added, “Wait, can you help me with the duvet before you go?”
I shouldn’t have said it. I could easily deal with a bloody duvet by myself. The truth was that I didn’t want him to leave. Not yet. Nodding, he didn’t say a word as he returned, slid an arm around my waist, and lifted me up while pulling the duvet out from under me. Exhaling heavily, I stared at his thick lashes, then at his lips, before finally resting my gaze on his.
Acting
purely on instinct, I seized his mouth, moving my lips and coaxing his to open. He groaned as I kissed him, his entire body still and tense. My skin heated, my body responding to the contact as I arched my hips and felt the stirrings of an erection in his pants.
“You’re drunk,” he said as he broke away briefly, like he was trying to reason with himself.
“Mm-hmm,” I murmured indistinctly, pulling him back as I slid my tongue into his mouth and wrapped my arms around his neck. Lee hissed when I ground myself off his dick, seeking friction. For a second he kissed me hungrily, drinking me in and tasting me. Then a moment later he was gone, rising off the bed and running his hands through his hair.
“Fuck,” he swore. “You can’t test me like that, Karla. I’m not strong enough,” he said gruffly.
I lay there, staring up at him, breathless. “I’m sorry.”
Lee frowned and shook his head. “Don’t be sorry. I just don’t want to take advantage….”
“It’s okay, I know. You’re a good person, Lee,” I told him, not sure if that was drunk Karla talking, or sober Karla.
The way his eyes raked my half-naked body gave me chills. “The thoughts I’m having right now are far from good. Tell me to leave.”
“Leave?”
“Okay, I’m going,” he said, still staring at me, or my chest, to be more exact. “Yep, definitely leaving now.”
Turning, he walked out of my room, this time closing the door behind him. I pulled the blanket up around me, savouring the warmth but wishing it was another kind. In the end the alcohol in my system won, and I passed out cold.
Twenty-Two
I woke up to the sound of Reya’s voice, and, sure enough, when I walked into the kitchen, she was sitting across from Alexis, holding Oliver in her arms and cooing at him like an annoying grandmother. Or maybe I just found it annoying because my head was spinning.
“How are you not dying right now?” I asked, opening the fridge and pulling out a carton of orange juice.
Reya shrugged. “I don’t really get hangovers.”
“Just you wait,” said Alexis, pointing to me. “A few years, and you’ll be as bad as this one.”
“Yeah, no offence,” I added, “but I kind of hate you right now. I’m going to take a shower.”
When I came back out, clean and dressed, I found breakfast waiting for me. Apparently, Reya felt guilty for her lack of a hangover and decided to cook me bacon to make up for it. She was such a gem. Sitting down at the table, I dug into my food. Her phone went off with a text, and she hurried to check it. I was willing to bet I knew who it was.
“Trevor?” I asked between bites.
She nodded sheepishly and put her phone back down. “He wants to hang out today.”
“Really? You should go.”
She shook her head. “It’s more of a group hangout. He and a few of his buddies are practicing for some free-running competition. He wanted to know if I was interested in coming to watch.”
“That sounds exciting. I could think of worse ways to spend a Saturday.”
“So why don’t you come with me?” she put in eagerly. “It’ll be fun, and I’ll buy you ice cream.”
There was something about the innocent look in her eyes that I couldn’t say no to. “Sure, I’ll come. Got nothing else planned anyway.”
“You’re the best,” she said, reaching across the table to squeeze my hand.
A half hour later we were on the Tube, heading toward Hyde Park. Trevor texted Reya, telling her to meet him at the Albert monument. When we got there, we found him, Liam and a bunch of their friends leaping up and down ten steps at a time, like they were running drills. There were also lots of people hanging about watching; not surprisingly, they were mostly female. That wasn’t what caught my attention most, though, because sitting off to the side and shouting encouragement was Lee.
I grabbed Reya’s arm, my voice tight as I said, “You never told me he’d be here.”
She shrugged out of my hold, smiling at me like butter wouldn’t melt. “Trev never mentioned it.”
I knew she was lying when I caught the both of them sharing a secret little smile as Trevor waved to her from the steps. They were trying to play Cupid, I could tell. Deciding not to let it get to me, I continued walking toward Lee.
“Hey,” I said tentatively, and sat down next to him on the steps. “So what are you, their coach or something?”
He looked up at me, eyes moving down my body before settling on my face. “Or something. How’s the head?”
“Thumping. I’m sorry about, uh, last night,” I said, fiddling awkwardly with the zipper of my jacket.
Unfortunately, I remembered every second of my embarrassing attempt to kiss him and his subsequent rejection. I wished I could scrub the humiliating behaviour from my brain, but they hadn’t created a pill for selective memory loss yet.
I knew from the set of his mouth that he was trying not to smile. “Nothing to be sorry about.” Leaning forward, he nodded to Reya.
“Good to see you again.”
“You, too,” she replied shyly. My friend tended to get quiet around good-looking men, which explained her behaviour with Lee. What it didn’t explain was her friendship with his brother. Then again, when Trevor decided he was going to be friends with someone, they didn’t really get a say in the matter. I’d learned that firsthand.
“So what are they all practicing for?” I asked in an effort to make conversation.
Lee rubbed a hand over his jaw, where an attractive bit of stubble was growing. “Big competition up in Brighton next week. The winning team gets a round trip to Thailand to climb the Doi Inthanon Mountain.”
“And that’s their idea of a good time?” I said. “I’d rather stay on the beach.”
Lee chuckled. “That’s you and me both.”
I noticed Trevor and the rest of them stopping to take a break, and he ran over to us, plopping down next to Reya. Waggling his brow at her, he teased, “I know I’m delectably sweaty right now, but do try to resist.” He leaned closer, but she pushed him away.
“Eww, get off. You need to take a shower.”
“I’ll just go hop in the pond, shall I?” he joked, lifting the end of his T-shirt to reveal an inch of toned stomach.
Reya laughed tightly. “I dare you.”
“And I’ll second that dare,” I added, goading him. “Crack on.”
Trevor scowled at us both playfully. “It’s a good thing I’m immune to peer pressure. There’s probably typhoid in that water.”
“And cholera,” said Lee. “So don’t even think about it. I’m not taking you to the hospital.”
“You just don’t want to clean up after I get the shits.” Trevor grinned, trying to gross him out. Lee stared at him, expressionless, which was kind of funny.
“Can we leave bowel movements out of the conversation, please?” I grimaced.
“You don’t know what he’s like,” said Lee, still eyeing his brother. “He’s off his nut. Can’t back away from a challenge.”
Trevor scoffed. “Jumping into a pond is no challenge. Now, if you’d asked me to climb atop old Albert, strip off all my clothes, and jump to the ground while crying out the lyrics to ‘Dancing Queen,’ I might have to take you up on it.”
Reya stared at the monument. “You’d break your neck.”
He leaned closer to her. “Is that a dare?”
Her eyes flared with worry. “No! Absolutely not.”
“Too bad. Could’ve been fun.”
“I think there might be something wrong with you,” I said, my brow furrowing.
Lee smirked and shook his head. “Nah, he’s just flirting with your friend.”
“Hey, now, bruv, don’t be tellin’ porkies. Reya here’s a good buddy of mine,” said Trevor, throwing his arm around her shoulders. Reya looked away for a second, and I thought she might be feeling awkward. It was clear that she fancied him, so maybe she was embarrassed that her crush was unrequited.
&nbs
p; Lee eyeballed his brother, his pull the other one expression pure comedy gold.
Reya caught my attention, a pleading look in her eyes. “Do you want to go get ice cream now? I spotted a stand on our way into the park.”
“I’ll go,” Lee said. “You stay where you are, love.”
Reya frowned, annoyed that he’d thwarted her escape plan, and settled back onto the grass beside Trevor. I was about to lie back and enjoy the unseasonably sunny weather when I felt Lee nudge me with the toe of his shoe. “Come help,” he said, eyeing me pointedly.
“Oh, sure,” I replied, and got up to follow him. I waited until we were a good enough distance away to whisper, “They’re trying to set us up.”
Lee smiled. “I know. You like how I turned it back around on them?”
“I do. You’re an evil mastermind.”
“Just giving them a taste of their own medicine. See how they like it. By the way, I never got to congratulate you properly last night, what with you being shitfaced drunk and all.”
“I do believe that’s the technical term for it, yes.”
He laughed. “Well, I heard you passed your exam, so, well done.” Reaching out, he gave my hand a small squeeze. My skin tingled where he touched me. It wasn’t long before his hand was on me again, this time when we reached the ice cream stand. He placed his flattened-out palm to the base of my spine, standing beside me as I scanned the choices. His warmth spread through me, both soothing and disconcerting.
Slipping his other hand inside his jeans, he pulled out a small business card and handed it to me. Glancing down, I saw it was for his restaurant.
“Address is on there,” he said. “You should come see the place.”
“You already invited me, remember? At the hospital.”
“Just wanted to make sure you knew the invitation was still open,” he replied, eyeing me intensely. I swallowed back the lump in my throat that always seemed to come when I was around him these days.
“I’ll come next week on my day off.”
“Good.” I saw his Adam’s apple bob in his throat. Was he feeling this just as much as I was?
After we got the ice creams, the walk back to the monument was quiet. I thought I could feel him looking at me out of the corner of my eye, but I couldn’t be certain.
