Playing Evelyn

Chapter 17

“I love you,” he whispered against my lips and with barely a pause, he moved his lips back to mine and kissed me hungrily. His words didn’t click at first and when they did I pulled back and stared at him. He still had a dazed look on his face and his lips were a bit swollen but he looked amazing. His hair was messy from my fingers running through it and his blue eyes were bright as he gazed at me.

“What did you say?” I said quietly, positive that I’d heard him wrong.

He smirked at me. “You heard me.”

I shook my head. “No I didn’t. Please repeat what you just said.”

He gave me a knowing look. “I can’t remember.”

I narrowed my eyes at him but let it go. Maybe it had been in the heat of the moment. Maybe I had heard him wrong and a gust of wind had made his words sound so much like ‘I love you’. I shook my head and pulled away from him. “We should go back. The band thinks I’m going to London.”

He squeezed my hand and started walking with me. “So, how come Liam thinks you’re going to London with him?” Gabriel asked.

I cringed, remembering the scene in the practice room earlier. “Well, when Henry invited me, I didn’t exactly say no but I definitely didn’t say yes. I told him I would think about it because when I’d said no he got this heartbroken look on his face and I just couldn’t stand it.” I shrugged.

“But you’re definitely not going, right?” he asked, squeezing my hand and looking down at me.

I smiled up at him and shook my head. “I’m going to Clayton. It’s been my plan for years now and a little thing like a free trip to London isn’t going to change that. I’ll just go for a visit every once in a while. I’m sure he’ll understand.”

“You know,” Gabriel said, running his free hand through his hair and sending a sideways glance at me. “I’m going to Clayton too.”

“What!?” I screeched, shocked that I hadn’t known this before. Had I never asked him what his plans were after high school? I guess not. “What are you talking about?”

“I’ll be in the medical program. I want to be a paediatrician,” he said quietly, his cheeks going a little pink. “I know I’m not the most likely candidate but─”

“Are you kidding?” I cut him off. “I’ve seen you with your brothers, remember? That’s the perfect job for you!” I grinned at him and he gave me one of his lopsided smiles.

“About what I said earlier,” he began, pulling on my hand to get me to stop moving.

“Yeah?” I asked, prompting him to continue.

He cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair again, making it stand even further on end. “I─”

“Evelyn!” I groaned as I heard Freida shout my name. She came up to the two of us and grabbed my shoulder, spinning me away from Gabriel so that I was facing her. “We talked about it and we decided that you’re not leaving.”

“Yeah,” Frank said, moving behind Freida and crossing his arms over his chest, giving me a stern look. “You can’t just back out of our plans like that. We’re going to be roommates, remember?”

I looked at Alice who was looking at my hand connected with Gabriel’s. Her eyes came to rest on mine and she gave me a knowing smile. “I think you should do whatever you think is best, Evie,” she said softly.

“What!?” Freida and Frank screamed as they whirled on her.

She just smiled at them serenely before looking back at me. “Was this a horrible misunderstanding?” she asked.