Chapter Eleven
Harry
After I drop Alice home, I park down the road to check my messages. Obviously, something of mind-blowing importance has happened, considering how many times the three of them tried to contact me.
I go back to the first one from Caleb.
U kissed Alice u knob
I have to read it twice before the words fall into place. I snort, not sure whether I want to laugh or curse. And then I frown. How the fuck does Caleb know I kissed her?
His third message leaps out at me.
Ur all over YouTube
“What the fuck.” I glower at his message. Some prick filmed our kiss and posted it online. How low can you go? I stab a button and listen to Mackenzie’s messages.
“Oh my God, Harry, have you seen it yet? So adorable! Call me back.”
Her next message isn’t nearly so chirpy.
“Where the fuck are you? Caleb can’t get any answer, and now you’re ignoring me. Why’re you ignoring me? What are you doing? No, wait, don’t answer that. I don’t want to know. Just call me.”
My teeth grind as I open Lucas’s text message.
You dog! Nice one, bro!
I don’t know why his comment annoys me so much. It’s typical Lucas, and generally I don’t take a lot of notice of anything he says. He has a one-track mind when it comes to girls, and his subtext here is obvious.
Since I’m in no mood to speak to either of my siblings, I call Caleb.
“Mac’s worried you had an accident,” he says as soon as he answers his phone.
“Yeah, she wouldn’t be if you hadn’t told her about the fucking YouTube kiss.” I’m under no delusion that he contacted her as soon as he couldn’t get a response from me. He’s always texting her shit. “What the fuck’s that all about?”
“You haven’t seen it?”
I exhale a long breath. If I hadn’t been offline, there’s no doubt I would’ve come across it, since it’s obviously linked to my inglorious win. If I hadn’t spent the day with Alice, then I would’ve been online.
I don’t remember the last time I spent seven consecutive hours without having one eye on the internet, unless I’m asleep.
No wonder Mackenzie thought I’d died when no one could get in contact with me.
“No, I haven’t.”
There’s an ominous silence.
“Is Alice with you?”
Jesus, anyone would think she’s his little sister and I’ve just crossed a line. It doesn’t help that I feel like I have crossed an invisible line with Alice, but that’s between me and her. Nothing to do with Caleb.
“No, she isn’t.” I’m not fucking telling him we spent the day together.
He grunts, apparently mollified by my reply. “I’ll send you the link. So it was just part of the act, then? You weren’t hitting on her?”
I’m practically speechless at his accusation. Since when do I hit on girls? I leave that to my more than capable twin.
“Just send me the link,” I growl before hanging up on him.
The link comes through straight away, and I click on it. It’s the official channel of Steele, professional and polished, and the title screams out at me.
Beauty and the Geek
“Gimme a fucking break.” I’m still majorly narked by the whole thing but mesmerized as I watch the short clip. Alice is stunning, and even though it’s excruciating watching myself kiss, it’s also kind of surreal.
Like something from the movies. No awkward bumping of noses or fumbling hands. It looks like a perfectly executed scene.
I watch it a few more times, even though the angle is all wrong to get a good look at her face. By the time I toss my phone onto the passenger seat and make my way to Blitz, there’s a stupid grin on my face, as all I can think about is tomorrow evening I’ll be able to kiss her all over again.
…
Alice
After Harry drives off, I take a deep breath before opening the front door, and the aroma of roast beef surrounds me. If Mum hadn’t called, would Harry have invited me back to his apartment?
There’s no way of telling. There definitely would’ve been time before my dreaded driving lesson. All I know is this is going so much better than any of the secret fantasies I’ve had over the last eight months. I know it’s nothing serious, but it’s almost like we’re dating, and I’m pretty sure I won’t need to resort to getting him drunk before I can have my wicked way with him.
There’s a silly smile on my face as I walk down the hall. Although I wasn’t surprised when Mum called to see if I’d be back for dinner—as we always have a Sunday roast at the weird time of four thirty and it’s not the sort of meal you want to have by yourself—it was kind of embarrassing. But Harry was just perfect about it, as though he understands it’s been only Mum and me for so long. Although we’ve had years to prepare for me going off to university, it’s a double whammy if she also has to get used to there being a significant other in my life.
Oh my God, Alice. Get a grip. This is just a casual thing with Harry, and his laid-back response was because he’s that kind of guy. It doesn’t mean he’s thinking long term or anything.
Obviously, neither am I. That would just be crazy. So why can’t I stop day dreaming about it?
Brian from her work strolls out of the kitchen holding a dish of roast potatoes and I stop dead.
“Hello, Alice.” He smiles genially.
“Uh, hi Brian.” I’ve known him for years, as he’s not just a work colleague but also a good friend of Mum’s, but he’s never been around here on a Sunday afternoon before because that’s when he sees his kids. “Everything okay?”
“Yes, everything’s great. What about you? Have a nice time today?”
“Yes, er…”
Mum follows Brian from the kitchen. Is she wearing blusher?
“Hello, darling. I hope I didn’t interrupt anything when I called?”
“What?” The word blurts out, dripping with guilt, but she doesn’t seem to notice.
“Well, I wasn’t sure if you were doing some big work thing with Harry and everyone. I mean, obviously you weren’t doing an all-day breakfast.” She smiles, like that’s funny, and I have the overwhelming urge to tell her it was just Harry and me. But she’d guess he means more to me than a brief fling, and then she’d get that worried look on her face, when she thinks the world’s about to crash around our ears.
Luckily, she doesn’t expect an answer. She adds, “You don’t mind if Brian stays for dinner, do you?”
Relieved that she clearly doesn’t wrongly suspect I’m about to throw my future away by falling for the first guy who’s taken an interest in me, I shrug. “No.”
Not that I’m hungry, after the huge breakfast and large pub lunch I consumed today, but I decide to keep that to myself. Otherwise, Mum’ll ask questions, because that’s what we do, and there’s no way I want to pretend Harry and I spent half the day with colleagues from Blitz.
“Thanks, love,” Brian says. “I know Sundays are your special time with your mum.”
That’s nice of him, but I wouldn’t say Sundays are our special time. We’re together all the time. Not like him and his kids, which reminds me…
“How’re Lucy and Liam?”
“Oh, they’re great,” he says as we make our way into the dining room. “Growing up. Doing their own thing, now. Lucy’s on holiday with her boyfriend this week.”
She’s what? Lucy’s only eleven years old. It takes me a couple of seconds to figure out the one and only time I met her was about six years ago. For some weird reason, this makes me feel old.
“That’s why I thought it would be nice if Brian came here,” Mum says, placing the carved joint on the table next to the vegetables and gravy. “Especially as I wasn’t sure whether you’d be back in time or not.”
I sit and serve a tiny portion of everything onto my plate. Hopefully, as Brian’s here, Mum won’t notice.
“It’s a funny old thing,” Brian says, and I smile at him politely since he directs the comment at me. “Life.”
I wait for a moment but that appears to be it, so I make an agreeable noise in the back of my throat. I’m so stuffed if I eat even a single mouthful I’ll explode.
“It certainly is,” Mum says. “Brian, dig in.”
He piles his plate high with potatoes. “Your mum’s a fantastic cook, Alice.”
I glance up from my phone, which is hiding on my lap, where I’m surreptitiously texting Hannah. It’s never occurred to me before whether Mum’s a great cook or not. She cooks because she always has, and while I sometimes help out, my efforts are pitiful compared to hers. Although she’s always game to eat whatever I serve up, even the burnt bits.
It must be novel for Brian having someone else do the work for a change. Or maybe he lives on microwave food?
“Oh, Brian.” Mum gives a little laugh, apparently oblivious to the fact I’m not eating. Thank you, Brian. I go back to telling Hannah about my day.
“It’s true, Lyn. I’ve never tasted such delicious roast potatoes.”
My thumb freezes. Did he really say that? Visions of Mr. Collins from Pride and Prejudice flood my mind, and I have to bite down hard on my lip before I giggle. There’s no way I want to hurt Brian’s feelings because I know he’s being genuine.
Their conversation flows over my head, and I push my food around my plate every now and then so it looks like I’m eating something. I need to work out a strategy to get Harry to invite me back to his place tomorrow evening. Or should I stick to my plan and just sleep with him the night of my leaving party?
I ponder this for a moment. That was a good plan right up until he kissed me. Until then, I wasn’t sure if he wanted to do even that.
But wouldn’t it be so much better to have almost three weeks of earth-shattering sex with him before I leave for university? Because it’s going to be earth shattering. Maybe even brain exploding.
“Not long until you’re off to Durham then,” Brian says, helping himself to a second serving of beef. “It doesn’t seem that long ago you were only just starting high school.”
I hide a shudder. I hope university life is a lot better than high school. Not that I was bullied, exactly, but I sure wasn’t in the same elevated social stratosphere as most of the girls there.
“Time certainly flies,” Mum agrees.
“I bet you can’t wait,” he says to me. “Although your mum’s going to miss you.”
“It’s going to be real wrench. But I’m so proud of Alice and everything she’s achieved. It’s all been worth it.”
Blood heats my cheeks. Does she have to talk like that in front of Brian? “Um, I’m sitting right here.”
“You’re a real credit to your mum.” Brian beams at me before transferring said beam to my mum. “I admire you both so much.”
Mum flaps her hand at him, and I get the weirdest sensation that I’ve just tumbled down the infamous rabbit hole. Mum’s acting so…I can’t even think of the right word, because the only one that springs to mind is flirty, and women of forty don’t do that kind of thing. Especially Mum, whose opinion of men is so low as to be almost nonexistent. Brian doesn’t count, obviously, as he’s a friend and work colleague.
I must be projecting, with all my sizzling thoughts of Harry.
“You do what you have to.” Mum offers him the gravy boat, even though it was sitting right in front of him on the table. “And Alice is so single-minded. She’s never been obsessed with boys the way some girls are.”
Why is she telling Brian this? And to clarify, just because I haven’t dated every night since I was fifteen doesn’t mean I didn’t want to. It means I never had the chance.
As in, no one ever asked me. And while a kind person could excuse that deficit as a by-product of going to an all-girls school, I know better.
“Plenty of time for dating.” He throws me another smile, but this time all I want to do is sink through the floor. Does he feel sorry for my pathetic lack of social life? After all, Lucy’s two years younger than me, and she’s on holiday with her boyfriend.
“Exactly,” Mum says. “Once she has her degree under her belt and a good career ahead of her, life will still be out there waiting.”
This isn’t a revolutionary statement. Over the years, it’s something we’ve both agreed is a brilliant strategy. But for the first time, the image of that being my foreseeable future leaves a hollow sensation in my chest.
This has nothing to do with Harry.
“Well, I hear they throw good parties at university.”
“I remember the parties from university,” Brian says with a reminiscent smile before catching Mum’s eye. He clears his throat and goes back to finishing his dinner.
“But you don’t like parties.” Mum sounds so confused by the turn in the conversation that I almost feel sorry for her. Except I’m too mortified, since she’s basically just told Brian I’m a social misfit.
“Anyway, I need to get ready for my driving lesson.” I ignore Mum’s contrite expression and her outstretched hand, because although we might discuss and disagree with each other in private, I don’t know what she was thinking doing it in front of Brian. Just because she’s known him for years isn’t an excuse, and so I pick up my plate and leave the room with what remains of my tattered dignity.