AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Max?”
“Yes it’s Max. Who else would it be, you idiot?” Max is teasing, he’s being playful, but it does nothing to settle the nausea threatening to overwhelm me.
“Max, why did you leave the party?” My hand covers my mouth, as if it might somehow hide my conversation should Ben emerge now. As if it can somehow soften the reason I know Max had to leave.
“Because your brother was trying to find you, and then he was trying to find Ben.And considering Alex and I had just seen you two getting a little too hot and heavy in the gardens -”
I feel the sting of my blush as it spreads from my chest to my cheeks.
“Did anyone else see?” I interrupt, only for my voice to disappear. Ben is watching me intently, a forced smile painted over his lips as he stands in grey sweats and nothing else. His dark hair is still wet and tiny droplets of water fall against his broad shoulders.
“Just that Xavier guy. It was his idea for me to do the whole saving your ass thing.”
Jamie?Ben mouths the question silently.
I shake my head as I chew my nails. “It’s Max.”
His smile is no longer forced and uncomfortable. It’s breathtaking, and I want to frame it.
“I’ll leave you to it then.” He strides over quickly and crouches down. “Hey, Kingford.” Before I can say a word, he kisses me and I feel something terrifying twist in my stomach.
Oh God, what am I letting myself in for?
“Mik?” Max’s voice cuts through my thoughts and snaps my attention back to the line. “Mikaela? Are you still with him? Did he see the lace?” His pitch climbs with every question and his excitement spills from him, washing through the phone and drowning me.
“Yes,” I state simply. I’m still whispering despite the fact Ben walked off and into the kitchen, closing the door behind him. “And I think I’m in trouble.”
Ben
In the kitchen, I pick at the left over pie from the tin. Something is wrong and I can’t put my finger on it. Ten minutes pass as I pace the length of the room, wary of being overbearing if I step out to her again, but desperately wanting to know if the sudden shift in the atmosphere is all in my head.
When she steps in behind me she’s twirling her phone in her hands, avoiding my eyes, and my stomach tightens and not in that exciting way I’m growing used to with Mik.
“Whatever you’re about to say, can I just say something first?” I step forwards quickly and she sighs.
“Ben.”
Shit. Shitshitshit.
“Please, Mik.” I stand in front of her, the kitchen island between us, with my hands in my pockets and my heart racing.
She nods.
My words rush from my lips and I can’t stop them. “I don’t know what’s going on in that head of yours now because, well I never really know what you’re thinking, and I am terrified you’re going to tell me that now you’ve had a chance to think it over you regret last night and this morning, and you’re going to walk out of here and tell me you don’t want this. That you don’t want me. But I want this, Mik. I wantyouto want this. And I think you do.” I should be embarrassed by the way my voice breaks a little there, but I’m not. I just want her to hear this. “But if you don’t and you want to leave then that’s okay, I’ll drive you home and we can go back to whatever we were before. But I want you to know that I want you, Mikaela. I really fucking want you.”
Mikaela chews her lower lip when I stop talking. I don’t say anything else.
“Max and Alex saw us in the garden. They - erm - they had to leave the party because Jamie -”
“They told Jamie?”
“No.”
I sag with relief. “Then what happened?”
“Jamie was looking for me, and then you, and then Xavier told Max to leave so that I could say I left with him. He was offering us a cover story.”
I furrow my brow. “Oh.”
