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Chapter Twenty-Two
The rest of our stay is fantastic. We have a lazy morning breakfast in bed with the full works, followed by a swim (the pool was busy this time so we kept it PG!) After checking out we went for a lovely, but bracing, walk on the beach and then we found a gorgeous little country pub with a real roaring fire to have lunch in. I really didn’t want to go back; it’d been perfect.
Just as we pull up outside the school’s main entrance and I’m about to get out of the car, Ace hands me a small gift box.
“What’s this?”
“Open it. Look,” Ace insists.
“I thought we said no gifts for Valentine’s day?”
“No, you said no gifts for Valentine’s day,” Rebel interjects. “Besides, this isn’t a Valentine’s gift, this is a Happy Friday gift.” Shit-eating-grin-boy looks like a dog with two dicks, he’s that pleased with himself. I want to smack him, but he’s just given me a gift, so I probably shouldn’t.
“Happy Friday, Princess.” I laugh and give in.
“Okay, okay! I’ll open this in my room, I have to go grab a few things for the weekend...I’m assuming it’s okay for me to stay? I really need to study.”
“Of course. I’m an excellent fuck - I mean study - buddy.” Thorn smirks, and I lightly smack him in the arm.
“Ow,” he deadpans.
“Don’t make me hurt you.”
“Promises, promises...” He winks cheekily and sticks his tongue out.
“Right. I’ll go grab my books, chuck in some washing and see you guys in an hour, okay?”
“Sounds good! Bye, Princess.”
I climb out of the Jeep and head into the school, carrying my overnight bag and the small gift. When I reach the top floor, I’m met with absolute chaos.
“What’s going on?” I ask the nearest girl to me. Everyone’s out of their rooms, the corridor in chaos. Before she can speak, the putrid stench hits me.
“Oh god, it smells like dead things!” I heave.
“Exactly,” the girl tells me. “And it seems to be coming from Tilly’s room. You can imagine the fit she’s throwing! They’ve already ripped up all the carpets, changed all the plumbing and stripped the walls back for replastering. Honestly, it’s a joke, if it’d been any of our rooms we’d have been told to suck it up.”
The girl - I think her name’s Amanda - would almost look gleeful if the smell wasn’t affecting us all so severely. I can hear Tilly’s shrill screech over the sounds of workmen. Shit. I didn’t think my prank would affect everyone in the hallway. Not this badly.
“God, it’s awful. If I were Tilly, I’d make sure they changed over all my fixtures and fittings. Did they check under the floorboards for something? Sometimes mice get in, and if one got trapped by a heating pipe or something it would smell pretty bad.”
“Great idea! I’ll go and suggest it to her.” Amanda’s face brightens, and she scurries off to speak to Tilly. Hopefully she’ll take credit for the idea in the hopes of getting into Tilly’s good books - especially now she’s on the lookout for friends - and the builders might fix the problem without me having to come clean.
I hurry along the corridor to my room, holding my breath all the while. When I get in, I slam the door shut and breathe deeply. I’m lucky that my room’s far enough away from Tilly’s that the smell hasn’t travelled this far. Yet. I dump my stuff out on the bed and quickly replace the dirty clothes for fresh, repacking efficiently so I can head back out. I was going to do washing, but I just want out of here now. I’m sure the guys won’t mind if I turn up earlier than expected.
That reminds me to open their gift. I hunt under the pile of dirty clothes for the small blue box with a silver ribbon on the bed. The box’s small, maybe a couple of inches square, and made of thick card. When I undo the ribbon and slip the lid off, a folded piece of paper flutters out. I reach for it, unfold it, and immediately recognise Rebel’s messy scrawl.
“Princess, we deliberately put your gift in a shitty box so that you didn’t embarrass yourself by thinking that the box is the gift. Enjoy.”
He’s such a bastard, he’ll never let me live that down. I refold the note and pop it in the lid of the box, then look down at the gift nestled in the soft white velvet of the box lining. It’s a ring. Oh my god, they actually got me a ring!
It’s a beautiful sapphire heart on a platinum band. The heart’s large, but not gaudy, and its facets sparkle like crazy at the slightest movement. I slip the ring from its cushion and hold it carefully between my thumb and first finger. Out of the box it’s even more stunning. The band’s thin but substantial, polished to high shine, and the sapphire’s breathtaking. Obviously it’s way too much, and I won’t be keeping it, but I can’t resist slipping it on to the ring finger of my right hand. It’s a perfect fit, looking like it was made for me. I don’t want to take it off, but I do, securing it safely back in its box. I pocket the box, grab my things, take a deep breath and head back out along the corridor to head back to the guys’ house. I’m so glad I have three more nights with them; hopefully the problem in Tilly’s room will be fixed by then.
When I knock on the door, and Rebel answers his gaze flies right to my hands and when he notices they’re bare, he scowls.
“Don’t you like it?” his low growl is accusing.
“I love it Reb, but it’s too much. I can’t accept it.”
