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“You are definitely the dramatic one in this relationship,” my liar of a boyfriend said, so I shut him up with a kiss. Because now I could.
34
As we drove through the outskirts of Bournemouth, back in our hometown for the Christmas break, Elliot made a little noise in the back of his throat.
“What’s up?” I glanced over at him before returning my eyes to the road. He was staring out of the passenger window.
“The golf club. Do you remember our leavers’ prom? Seeing the golf club reminded me.”
“Yeah. That was a good night…” I trailed off, thinking hard. I’d had a good time, but had Elliot? Guilt suddenly hit me like a brick to the head. Fuck. I’d been so occupied having fun I’d lost track of Elliot after a while. I hesitated before asking the question. “Was it a good night for you?”
Elliot sighed. “It was and it wasn’t. Parts of it were good, but it was just…”
Letting go of the gearstick, I curled my fingers around his thigh. “Tell me, baby.”
He shivered beneath my grip like he did every time I used that word, which was why I mostly kept it for special occasions. When I glanced over at him again, he was chewing on his lip, clearly debating with himself.
Eventually, he spoke, low and quiet. “When you turned up at my house and I saw you, you made me feel—you looked so good. So untouchable. Something I knew I wasn’t allowed to want. And you were with Zoe, and everyone thought you looked so good together. I…it was okay for me most of the time. Pushing away what I felt for you, pretending to myself that I only loved you as a friend. But sometimes it would just really hit me hard.”
“Fuck, E. I—”
He cut me off with a shake of his head. “You shouldn’t feel bad about it. You didn’t know. You couldn’t have known. I was so careful. Anyway, that night, I thought—I thought I was doing okay, until—” His voice cracked, and I needed to pull over because I had to hold him in my arms. There was a petrol station just ahead of us, so I pulled into it, turned off the engine, and then leaned over to him, cupping his face in my hand.
“Until what?” I asked softly.
There was a faraway look in his eyes. “Until I was standing at the side of the dance floor and the DJ started playing that cover of “Dancing on My Own” by Calum Scott. The lyrics killed me. It felt like there were suddenly couples everywhere I looked, and I was there on my own, but the hardest thing was when I saw you dancing with Zoe. You s-smiled down at her, and then you kissed her, and I hated it.” His lip trembled, and a tear fell from his lashes. “I hated it so fucking much. And then—and then they were taking the photo booth down, and I never got to take a photo with you.”
There was a huge lump in my throat. Fucking hell, how had I been so wrapped up in my own world that I hadn’t even noticed how much he’d been hurting? I knew he’d just said that I shouldn’t feel bad, but I did.Sobad. I loved him so much, and the thought of him being so upset that night…it killed me.
I had to make it right somehow.
“Come here, baby.” Pulling him into me as best I could with us both being restrained by our seat belts and trapped in a small car, I kissed away the tear from his cheek. “I know I can’t change the past, but I’m going to do everything I can to make sure your future is as happy as possible.”
He gave me a wobbly smile. “I don’t know why I’m getting so upset. I thought I was over it, and we’re together now. It was just…I don’t know, passing the golf club triggered the memory or something.”
“You never have to worry about seeing me with anyone else again. You’re it for me, Elliot.”
A proper smile curved over his lips at my words, and my heart swelled with everything I felt for him. I loved him so fucking much.
He exhaled deeply and then cleared his throat. “Same. Speaking of our relationship…are you ready to break the news to our families?”
I grinned back at him. “Fuck yeah. Let’s do this.”
* * *
Both of our families were gathered together at Elliot’s parents’ house, as they often did around this time of year. When we arrived, we were immediately pulled into the mayhem, being hugged and kissed and exclaimed over by a million different relatives. You’d think we’d been away for years with the welcome they gave us.
By unspoken agreement, Elliot and I drifted towards the huge fireplace in the centre of the lounge, which was traditional “announcement” territory in the Clarke house. We looked at each other, and he smiled, sliding his arm around my waist. I did the same to him, pressing soft kisses to the side of his head while I counted under my breath to see how long it would take everyone to notice.
It took 3.5 seconds. Jean, Elliot’s mum, screeched at the top of her lungs, pointing a shaking finger at us, clasping her other hand to her heart and her eyes filling with tears as she beamed at us. Seriously. Elliot thought I was the dramatic one, but dramatics ran in his family.
By now, everyone was staring at us, and Elliot’s cheeks had gone red, and bloody hell, mine felt hot too. It was weird having our combined families all staring at us like this. Elliot’s aunt Sadie elbowed Jean, and she broke out of her frozen state to turn to her, both of them whispering excitedly.
“Well, boys, I had a feeling this would happen.” Sadie swept over to us, pulling first Elliot and then me into a bone-crushing hug. “I can’t say I’m surprised.”
That broke the dam, and then there was an unstoppable wave of people congratulating us and asking way too many prying questions about our relationship. Elliot’s parents came over to us, Jean wiping tears from her eyes.
“I hoped. Ever since Dee’s party, I hoped. You make my son so happy,” she said, hugging me. “I’m so glad it’s you.”
