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I nodded slowly. It was clear that he’d worked out some of what was going on with me, but if I didn’t say anything else to incriminate myself, he could draw his own conclusions.
Liam shifted closer to me. “Got to be honest, I did wonder why you were there. You never showed an interest in going there before when Elliot or JJ went, and there have been shitloads of opportunities. So what…uh…did something specific prompt your interest?”
Fuck it. In for a penny, in for a pound, I guessed. “Yeah. I kissed someone, and it made me wonder if I’d been missing out all this time.”
He stared at me, his eyes widening even further. “I can’t say I was expecting that. Who was it?”
“No one important,” I said, which couldn’t be further from the truth. He threw me a sceptical look but refrained from commenting. Instead, he nudged me with his shoulder.
“I know a bit about that. Except, I guess, in my case, I really fucking wanted to kiss Noah…I just hadn’t realised it at the time.”
“That’s not how it was for me.” I gulped down more of my pint. “I was doing him a favour, trying to get some creep off his back. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing—never entered my head until that moment in time. It shocked me as well as him.”
Liam’s sharp intake of breath sent my stomach rolling. “Was it Elliot?” His voice was barely above a whisper, but it felt like he’d shouted it.
“H—how did you guess?”
He glanced over at Preston and Travis, making sure they weren’t paying attention before turning back to me. “I can count on one hand the number of men you’d kiss to get someone off their back. Actually, two fingers. Elliot and maybe JJ. JJ…I can’t imagine him needing you to come to his rescue. As for Elliot…he’s your best friend. You’re always looking out for him.”
“Well, yeah. When you put it like that. But it wasn’t like you’re thinking. I helped him out, and then it made me wonder if I’d been missing out.”
“Dicks are pretty good.” Liam smirked. “Noah’s, anyway.”
“Please stop talking. I don’t wanna know about Noah’s dick. For fuck’s sake, mate.” I pretended to gag, and he laughed. Fuck this wanker. Time to give him a taste of his own medicine. Cupping my package, I leered at him. “I know dicks are good because mine is amazing. Uh-ma-zing. Porn-star-worthy, some have said. Wanna see?”
Liam looked unimpressed. “I’ve already seen it in the changing rooms.”
“Already seen what?” Travis’ voice interrupted our conversation.
“Ander’s dick,” Liam was quick to say, and I elbowed him in the side, grinning.
“I don’t even want to know what you’re talking about,” he replied. Shaking his head, he picked up his pint. “Let’s do a cheers to Liam for putting a smile back on Ander’s face, even if he used questionable methods.”
Preston raised his glass. “I’ll drink to that. Cheers.”
We clinked glasses, and I smiled at my friends. They weren’t so bad, after all. And it looked like I’d managed to keep my secret hidden from Liam. Not that I had a secret. I just had a confusing mess of fucked-up thoughts in my head.
I’d be fine.
I just had to keep telling myself that.
10
Curtis pulled back from me after just a few seconds of his lips against mine and gave me a small smile. The club lights played across his face as he eyed me carefully. “Uh, sorry. Couldn’t help myself. Was that okay?”
I felt an answering smile tugging at my lips. He wasn’t my usual type at all—well, my usual type was Ander, but in my efforts to forget him, I usually gravitated towards Ander-ish guys. Curtis had what I would probably call bad-boy-ish looks with his tattoos and the piercing at the top part of his ear. But this was what I needed. A clean break from Ander. And that began with opening myself up to new opportunities with guys who didn’t share a passing resemblance to my best friend.
“You can do it again if you like.” I leaned in, and he met me halfway. When he deepened the kiss, thoughts of my last kiss played on my mind, but I determinedly pushed them away. This was my fresh start. My clean break. And it wasn’t fair to Curtis if I was thinking about someone else while I was kissing him.
When we broke apart, he placed his mouth to my ear. “Want to go somewhere a bit quieter?”
Did I? Could I? No. I wasn’t ready. And this wasn’t a drunken hook-up. This was someone that I’d met outside of a club, who was interested in me, and who I wanted to give a fair chance to. I slowly shook my head. “I…I don’t think I’m ready for that. Yet. Sorry.”
He stepped back, giving my arm a reassuring squeeze. “Hey. No problem. How about we start by exchanging numbers?”
In reply, I tugged my phone from my pocket.
That had been Thursday night. We’d texted back and forth a few times since then, and we’d arranged to meet for lunch on the following Wednesday in between lectures. So here we were in a little independent coffee shop, close to campus but out of the way enough that we wouldn’t be interrupted by other students we knew. It had been my suggestion, and deep down, I knew it was because I hadn’t wanted to chance running into Ander.
