“Wow, you don’t sound old enough to be a headteacher! They must have hired you straight out of university.”
I roll my eyes at his obvious flirting. Surely no one would fall for that?
“I’m Matilda’s brother. I’m calling on her behalf as she isn’t up to making phone calls right now. She’s in bed with a terrible fever as we speak.”
I hear Melanie softening on the other end of the line in a way I’ve never heard before. How does Connor manage to make everyone feel at ease? I stop struggling against him and he loosens his grip but keeps his arm around my waist.
“Yeah she’s in pretty bad shape, so she’ll be off for a few days at least. I’ll get her to give you a call when she’s feeling better.”
There’s a pause while Melanie speaks, but I can’t make out what she’s saying. I brace myself, assuming she’s berating Connor and demanding I be in work within the hour.
“Of course I’ll give her your love! That’s so sweet. Tilly really is lucky to have someone as compassionate as you as her boss. Thank you for being so understanding!” Before Melanie can speak again, Connor hangs up the phone and hands it back to me, a triumphant smile on his face.
“I can’t believe you just did that,” I say in disbelief, and with maybe a hint of gratitude.
“Looks like you’re free for drinks after all.”
Chapter 9
This fort is my home now
My head pounds with each tiny movement. My mouth is drier than the desert. I don’t dare open my eyes; if I’m this dizzy with them shut, I dread to think how much the room would spin if I opened them. Am I dying?
Then I remember finishing off Ivy’s bottle of blackberry gin last night with Connor. Not dying, then. Just very, very hungover. My stomach churns at the thought of how much I drank, mixing with the loaded fries Connor had made me eat before we got too wasted to cook. I move to roll over, away from the sunlight, and realise I’m not in my bed. I’m not actually in a bed at all. I’m lying on top of the duvet from Ivy’s room with a grey duvet spread over me. I slowly turn my head to look around and see that I’m in a very poorly constructed blanket fort. But that’s not the weirdest thing. Lying next to me under the duvet, his naked arm thrown across my waist, is Connor. His deep, even breathing tells me he’s still asleep, so I take a minute to take a shaky breath and try to remember what led to this.
We started on gin and lemonades, watched some TV, moved onto double gins with a splash of lemonade, talked, did some tequila shots… and then I told him how my parents would always build me a blanket fort when I was upset as a child. We’d climb inside, all three of us squished together, have ‘fort snacks’ and watch a film on my mum’s laptop. It never solved my problems, but it was a huge source of comfort for me. Connor and I must have made this one and fallen asleep. That doesn’t explain why he seems to be naked, though.
I gingerly lift my head and peek under the covers to reveal, to my relief, that I’m still fully clothed and that Connor is still wearing his joggers. They’ve shimmied lower on his hips, so I can see the elastic of his boxers above them, the white contrasting with his tanned skin. He’s lying on his front, his arm still resting over my waist, giving me a perfect view of his toned back. Who knew backs could be sexy?
Did I just think of Connor as sexy? I must still be drunk.
“Are you ogling me?”
Shit.I drop the duvet like it’s a venomous snake, which only makes Connor chuckle more.
“I was just checking…”
“If we were naked?” he finishes, smirking. I mumble something incoherent, my face flushing scarlet. “Between the alcohol and the layers of fluffy blankets in here, I got hot when we were talking so I took off my shirt.”
“Oh,” I say, my body relaxing a bit. Connor must have felt it under his arm.
“I tried to get you to take yours off too, actually, but you were having none of it,” he jokes.
“Don’t make me laugh, my head hurts too much.” I cover my face with my hands.
“Feeling a little delicate?” he asks, his tone more serious than before.
“Shocking. I’m too old to be drinking like that.”
Connor’s arm is instantly pulled away from my body, leaving me feeling suddenly cold.
“Stay here,” he commands as he disappears through the opening of the fort.
That won’t be a problem. I have no intention of moving any time soon. I curl up on my side and close my eyes, trying to remember any more details about last night. None come back to me, but I get a warm, contented feeling when I think about it, and for the first time in what feels like forever, I smile.
Ten minutes go by before Connor comes back. I’m still in the same position in the fort, trying to combat the waves of nausea with deep breathing.
“Come on, Sleeping Beauty.” I can hear the smile in his voice when he speaks, releasing butterflies in my stomach. But it could also be post-alcohol jelly-belly. “Let’s get you sorted out.”
