Dedicated to iLuvChad because according to her previous comment, the Flaniel kisses made her cry. I didn't realise people were getting that emotionally invested in this story. Sorry, guys. I should probably tone that down.
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Several hours later, I was roused from my slumber by the trilling of my phone on the bedside table. Letting out a low groan, I rolled over under the covers and snatched it up, but refused to raise my head above the comfy mass of duvet. “Hello?”
“Flo?” Erin’s loud voice didn’t exactly make for the smoothest transition from sleep to consciousness. “Wait, you’re not still in bed, are you?”
“No…” I mumbled sheepishly, my voice muffled by the sheets.
“You lazy arse. God, you’re just as bad as Daniel. It’s half eleven and there’s been no sign of him this morning either.”
Blinking hazily, I lifted my head to catch sight of the glowing digits of my alarm clock; true to Erin’s word, a large 11:32 stared back at me. I didn’t usually sleep in this late, but then again, it wasn’t like I’d spent much of last night doing any sleeping. A hearty chunk had been spent breaking about fifty different rules with Daniel, before returning to my room at just past four in the morning. Quite frankly, I hadn’t known I had it in me.
“Yeah, whatever,” I dismissed, blinking away my sleepiness. I pulled myself into a sitting position, keeping the phone pressed to my ear. “Did you want something?”
“Actually, yeah. I was calling to tell you about this party happening at Collette’s place later. Fancy thing. Her parents are throwing it to show off to their friends, I think. Or maybe it’s got something to do with getting contacts for Beth’s modelling… I don’t know. I wasn’t really listening.”
“Right…” I said slowly. “So?”
“You’re invited,” she told me. “All five of us are. Apparently Collette’s got her hands full with helping her parents set things up, so she’s lumbered me with the job of making sure you all drag yourselves along.”
An uncomfortable sinking had become prevalent in my stomach, and I shifted my position. “What? We’re going?”
“Yeah. She wants us to come. It won’t be the most exciting thing in the world, but it’s free food, right? With you guys there it’ll be bearable, at least.”
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”
“Oh, come on, Flo,” she pleaded. “Look, I know you and Collette aren’t the best of friends, but it’s not like you two are going to be locked up in a room together or anything. She’ll be too busy having to prance around in front of her parents’ cronies to bother with you. We’ll just hang out together.”
“I still don’t—”
“Please?”
Sighing in resignation, I sunk back against the head of the bed, feeling the cool metal press into my back. An evening at Collette’s wasn’t exactly appealing, but the other guys were going to be there. If what Erin said was true, we could just have a laugh together. And I couldn’t exactly cop out, leaving them to suffer their friend’s upper-class acquaintances alone. I wasn’t that selfish.
“Okay,” I said reluctantly. “What time?”
***
When I found myself stood on Collette’s porch that evening, the front door swung open before I’d even had the chance to take my finger off the bell. The woman behind it had obviously been expecting somebody; her eyes swept over me with hopeful expectation, but her face fell when recognition – or lack of it – kicked in. She was a tall lady, uncomfortably slight in an expensive-looking cocktail dress, and possessed deep brown eyes that looked vaguely familiar. It was then that I realised I was standing face-to-face with what had to be Collette’s mother.
“Oh,” she said. Clearly, I was not the guest she’d been hoping for. “And you must be…?”
“Flo,” I told her, understanding now where Collette and Beth had inherited their intimidating manner. A mere few seconds under the scrutiny of this woman’s gaze gave me the urge to squirm. “I’m Collette’s… friend.”
“Right!” Through her falsely bright tone, I could tell she didn’t have the faintest idea who I was. “Well, come on in. The party’s in the garden; go right through.”
She ushered me inside, but made no attempt to point me in the right direction, clearly too agitated in the anticipation of another more important guest. I made my way through the hallway, guided by the sound of lively chatter from the back of the house, smoothing the skirt of my dress as I went.
The patio doors at the back of the lounge gave way to a huge garden, one of a size you’d expect to find a home furniture brochure, not belonging to someone you knew. It was almost a wonder how they had room for such a monstrosity in a place as tiny as Walden. Still, Collette’s family were obviously not short of money, and this fact showed in everything from the marquee on the lawn, to the floral decorations lining the patio, and the intricate paving around the pond.
The only thing that was missing was a fountain.
It was pretty intimidating, really, especially as the scene came complete with suited waiting staff milling around, juggling canapé platters in their hands. Needless to say, when my gaze landed on three familiar faces gathered on the lawn, I made an immediate beeline for them.
“You came!” Erin breezed as I approached. “Thought I was going to have to come over to your place and drag you out of bed myself.”
With her hair tamed into neat waves, the stud in her cartilage noticeably absent and a heart-shaped necklace resting below her collarbone, she looked more normal than I’d ever seen her before. Scott also looked distinctly more well-groomed, with Jay the exception, still yet to ditch the bucket-load of gel in his hair.
“Excuse you. I got up right after you called, actually.”
“You sure? You wouldn’t be if you were anything like Daniel. He didn’t grace us with his presence until about three o’clock.”
Alongside Collette, he was the only person missing, his absence inducing a mild pang of disappointment I’d never admit to. I was kind of nervous about seeing him again, especially considering the way the thought of last night still made me break out in tingles, but the excitement had the edge. Briefly scanning the garden, my gaze caught upon a couple of brunets about his height, but there was no sign of him.
“Daniel as well?” Scott raised an eyebrow. “What, did you two sneak out together or something?”
He was joking, but the harsh pink hue that rose to my cheeks instantly gave me away. I ducked my head, but knew I couldn’t escape; they’d all picked up on it.
“You did as well!” Erin screeched, disbelieving. “You dirty little stop-out!”
“Shh! You don’t need to be so loud!”
Predictably, Jay was smirking. “You and Daniel sneaking around at night? You bad girl, Flo,” he drawled. “You’re not as innocent as you seem.”
“Nothing happened!”
“Lies,” Scott chipped in. “Come on, spill. What’d you get up to?”
“But keep it PG-rated,” Jay added, “there are kids around here.”
“Nothing!” I insisted through gritted teeth. “Neither of us could sleep, and we just happened to bump into each other…”
“Tut tut.” Scott shook his head in mock disapproval, before shooting an amused look at Jay. “We’ll have to quiz Daniel about this later.”
“Oh, God, definitely. I’m not leaving him alone until he tells everything.”
I groaned in frustration. “Stop it. It wasn’t like that.”
Erin looked over at me. “So what was it like?”
I was tempted to send daggers in her direction, but the truth stood that they were all bound to find out sooner or later. Maybe it was easier to get it over with, like ripping off a plaster. Though I wasn’t overly keen on reciting a full recollection just yet – and here, of all places – I knew it was better than the ridiculous stories Erin and Jay were likely to make up.
It wasn’t that I was embarrassed about what had happened. In a way, it just seemed… private. Like a secret that was meant to be kept between the two of us. It was pathetic, I knew, but there was a tiny part of me that was afraid if I shared it with other people, the memory would lose its charm.
“We just talked, okay?” I said, picking at a nonexistent thread on the waist of my dress. “And maybe he sort of kissed me just once… or twice.”
Erin clapped her hands together loudly, attracting the attention of a few of Collette’s acquaintances in close enough proximity. “I knew it!” she practically yelped. “I knew there was something going on between you two.”
“God, didn’t everyone?” Jay rolled his eyes. “I mean, you can practically feel the sexual tension every time they’re in the same room.”
This time, I decided a look wasn’t sufficient to convey my feelings towards him. Instead I reached over, whacking him across the arm with all the force I could muster. It wasn’t a lot, but it did make me feel better; I’d wrinkled his pressed shirt, if nothing else. “You’re a pervert, you know that? I’m going to regret telling you anything.”
“Don’t pretend you don’t love it.” He winked. “You know, one day you’ll fall for my charm.”
“Not me, but I’m sure one day some poor girl will.” I paused, making an exaggerated display of looking pleadingly up to the sky. “God help her.”
“Hey, I don’t like this Flo.” Jay was pouting now, looking over at Erin for support. All she offered him, however, was a smirk, arms folded over her chest. “The innocent one was nicer.”
“Just because she didn’t shoot you down when you tried to flirt with her,” she said.
“It’s only because she’s getting it on with Daniel.”
“Excuse me,” I interjected. “I’m not getting it on with him.”
“Yet.”
I groaned. “Why am I friends with you guys? Seriously, you’re all annoying as hell.”
“Because Walden is a pathetically small town and we’re your only option?” Scott offered.
“Yeah,” I replied. “You hit the nail right on the head with that one, actually.”
“And then there’s the attraction of Daniel, of course,” he continued. “Except the rest of us just come as part of the package deal. If you’re screwing him, then you’re screwing us too. Wait, hold on, that came out wrong—“
We all turned to stare at Scott momentarily; Jay was the first to splutter with laughter, shortly followed by the rest of us. I shook my head at the four of them, realising I’d completely forgotten that we were at some posh party with Collette’s parents. Though upper-class guests still milled around us, I’d completely tuned out from the buzz of their chatter. “Well, you know, I could say the same thing about you two,” I said innocently, gesturing between Jay and the bright-haired girl next to him.
As expected, their laughter dried up immediately. “What?”
“You two,” I repeated. “Come on, don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. You can almost feel the – what did you call it again, Jay? – sexual tension.”
He was stuttering now, tripping over his words in his haste to get them out into the open. The role reversal was strange; he usually made me feel uncomfortable with his shameless flirting. Maybe they couldn’t see it, but I remained convinced there was something more between them, even if hidden beneath sarcastic banter and sideways smiles they thought nobody else noticed.
Or maybe there wasn’t – but it was worth it, just to see Jay’s cheeks tinged pink as he shook his head vehemently.
“You have got to be joking.”
Erin, to say the least, did not look amused. Her brows were creased, and I was pretty sure it was me intended to be on the receiving end of her glares. If looks could kill, my gravestone would’ve been sat right in the middle of Collette’s garden. Yet even through the intensity of her stare, I couldn’t overlook the faint pink tint that was dusted across her cheeks, making her look distinctly girlish.
Clearly, I’d touched upon a nerve for both of them. And I was enjoying every second of it.
“Me and Erin?” Jay was trying to scoff, but instead just ended up coughing awkwardly. “Yeah. Right.”
Her response, as I should’ve expected, was a little more creative. “Are you joking? I have more sexual tension with my brother than I have with him.”
Holding my hands up in mock surrender, I smirked. “Okay, okay,” I said, “you made your point.”
However, now they’d put themselves on my radar. I’d had a previous suspicion, but the reaction had only strengthened my theory. Erin did pay the most attention to Jay’s jokes, even if her responses were usually dripping with sarcasm, unconcerned by their sheer cheesiness. I watched as Jay shot her a sneaky sideways glance, double-checking her reaction.
I was so onto them.
“So,” I said, trying to sound casual, “where is Daniel?”
“Missing him already?” Jay cooed. I could see him making exaggerated kissing faces at me in my peripheral vision but did my best to ignore him.
“Beats me,” Erin said, shrugging. “He got dragged off by Collette the moment he walked through the door, so he could be anywhere.”
“Oh.” Though I tried to keep my expression impassive, I couldn’t hold back the chord of jealousy that struck me at the mention of her name. What had happened between us last night should’ve been enough proof that Daniel liked me, but I couldn’t erase the niggling doubt in the back of my mind. Collette obviously wanted him back, and she didn’t seem like the type of girl to give up easily. She’d probably be more than happy to make a move on him, and who was to say that Daniel wouldn’t resist?
“Actually,” Scott said slowly, his eyes fixed on a point over my shoulder, “I think we just found him.”
I turned around, following his line of vision until my gaze fell upon the guy I was looking for. My heart leapt when I saw him; he looked as adorable as ever, his wavy hair trying to break free of its tamed style, one corner of his mouth curled upwards in a half-smile. The image of that same face, the inches between us closing rapidly, bringing us close enough to count each other’s freckles, flashed across my mind. It took all I had not to blush.
He was standing in the doorway with his hands dug into his trouser pockets, giving the garden the once-over as he scanned the lawn for familiar faces. It didn’t take long for him to locate us, and when his eyes locked with my own, his smile widened into something so incandescent I wanted to melt on the spot.
I was expecting him to come over – mostly because he sort of moved his foot, like he was about to take a step towards us. However, he didn’t get the chance; in a matter of seconds, someone had appeared by his side, hooked her arm through his and brought her lips alarmingly close to his ear.
Collette whispered something that was impossible to make out before tugging gently at his arm. Though he looked like he wanted to say more, he nodded and followed her mutely in the opposite direction, seeming to forget all about coming over here.
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Oh dear. Only one chapter after the kiss scene and I'm already messing things up. Sorry about that. I hope you won't get too annoyed with me ;) The next chapter is crazy haha
Oh, and thank you all so much for the lovely comments on the previous chapter. There were so many more than usual and they made me have the stupidest grin on my face everytime I checked them. This story is like my baby and to hear people like it so much just makes me unbelievably happy. I love you all :)