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“We’ve been good friends at uni, and I’m so sorry for what I said when we did when we … I didn’t mean those words.”
“Didn’t. Mean. Those words?” Ainslee arched an eyebrow, her voice raising.
“Yes.” I cleared my throat. “Yes,” I repeated, stronger. “It was wrong of me in the heat of the moment. I’m sorry.”
Ainslee stood slowly. “You let me walk around your party, talking to your family and friends, letting everyone believe we were in love.” Her voice ended on a shrill note.
So much for quiet. Rosie was going to get a show after all.
“I don’t believe you.” Ainslee settled back on the bed, smoothing the duvet and adjusting a pillow.
“What? I—I am telling the truth.”
“No.” Ainslee tapped her index finger against her chin, her baby-pink, sparkly fingernail winking in the light of the fire. “You have cold feet. This thing between us? It’s new and you’re scared, babe.”
“I’m not—”
Ainslee sprung off the bed with surprising speed. Both her palms were against my chest. Once I’d thought her one of the hottest women on campus, but now, her hot breath felt repulsive on my skin. Her touch, this closeness: it all felt wrong.
“It’s okay, Tom,” she purred. “We can work through this.”
“There’s nothing to work through.” I gently pulled her hands away. “You need to leave tonight.” Then dropped them.
“You’re kicking me out?” she shrieked.
“No!”Sort of.“Every bed is taken, and you cannot stay in mine. We arenottogether. We were casual, and we were friendly and I’m sorry I misled you—”
“Misled me? Are you kidding me right now?”
I grabbed my phone and dialled a number. “I’ll sort out something right away at no cost to you.” The number picked up. “Hey, John. Yeah, it’s Tom Turner here. Do you have a room for tonight? We have a visitor here who needs accommodation. You do? Great. I’m covering the cost. One night, yep. Thanks.”
I hung up to find Ainslee glaring in disbelief.
“You can stay at the pub tonight.”
She gasped. “You’re actually throwing me out?”
“I’m not. What I’m doing is …”You kinda are throwing her out …“I’m politely asking you to leave. There’s no way we can sleep in the same bed. I’m sorry.”
“Huh. So it was okay to fuck me as a friend but not now after you’ve said the L word?”
I cringed. I was an arsehole. “I’m so sorry.”
Ainslee growled and began gathering her things from around the room—tee shirt from the floor, underwear on my study desk, toiletries, water bottle. She had so much stuff scattered in my space.
I opened the door. “I’ll see you to your car.”
“Typical,” she muttered, packing more clothes into her baby-pink suitcase. “You didn’t even notice I don’t have my car with me.”
“What? But—”
“A friend dropped me off,” she growled, throwing a deodorant can into her bag. “Guess I’ll have to ask your mother for a lift to the pub because her son threw me out.”
A throat cleared behind me. “Ah, trouble in paradise?” Pete peered nervously between us.
“Ainslee’s going—”
“I’ve been kicked out.” She pushed past me. “I have to stay at the pub because we aren’t even just friends anymore.”
