Read Online Seven Days: The Complete Story by Lindy Dale - Free Book Online

of
makes me want to as well. He’s definitely flirting. I’m not that
out of it I can’t see the signs.
    As the night
progresses and the three of us get drunker, Joel stands and
announces. “I’m going to stretch my legs. Anyone want anything
while I’m up?”
    I look fuzzily
into the remains of our last margarita. “I think I’m okay. Maybe
water?”
    “And chips,”
Nicholas adds. “I could eat the leg off a rag doll.”
    “You just ate
a huge plate of burritos and half my enchiladas.” I snort. “How the
hell can you… what do you…”
    God, I’m
drunker than I realised. That thought has totally slipped from my
head, mid-sentence.
    Nicholas
shrugs and smiles but doesn’t answer. We watch as Joel walks
sloppily to the bar. He’s doing a funny jogging sort of walk that’s
happy and jaunty and a little bit pissed. Everyone is staring but
not in the he’s-so-sad-and-pathetic way. They’re as mesmerised as
me. He’s utterly adorable.
    “He could
charm the knickers off a nun,” Nicholas says, his eyes on Joel,
who’s making funny quips to other customers on his way to the
loo.
    “I’ve
noticed.”
    “You like
Joel, huh?” Nicholas says as the toilet door closes and Joel
disappears. His hands have appeared from under the table and are
fiddling with his coaster.
    Shit. This is
awkward.
    “Um yeah, he’s
cool. But I like you too, Nicholas. I really do.”
    “The way you
like him?”
    I know this is
the alcohol talking but I can’t believe he’s being so frank. Men
are not frank. They don’t blurt out their feelings after a couple
of outings. Well, not the guys I know. You’d be lucky to know what
most of them think after a decade.
    “Yes.
Definitely, the way I like Joel. I don’t know what it is but I feel
like I’ve got a connection to you both.” My voice is uncertain. I
can’t believe I’m opening up to him. Again. I want to ask him if he
believes in love at first sight but I know he’ll think I’m crazy or
try to explain this as some sort of chemical-hormonal reaction.
Which it’s not. It’s nothing like that. “I can’t explain it.”
    “And you don’t
know who to choose?”
    “I didn’t know
there was a choice involved. Is there a choice?” Are we that deep
into this already that I have to choose?
    Nicholas leans
across the table. His face looks more sombre than it did a second
ago. I don’t know how that happened but my eyes are having trouble
focussing so I guess it could be me. I sit still as he takes my
face in his hands. The softness of his palms on my skin triggers
something deep inside me. It’s warm and sensual and it’s spreading
through my body like hot sauce over ice cream. It feels soooo good. I lean my cheek into his palm. I close my eyes
and breathe him deeply into my lungs. He smells of beer and lemon
and even though I hate beer it’s wildly erotic.
    Suddenly, I am
no longer drunk and neither is Nicholas. When I open my eyes he is
gazing at me like I am the most perfect thing he has ever seen. The
room around us disappears and I swallow in anticipation of what I
hope is about to happen. He leans forward. His lips are almost on
mine. The heat from his mouth is on mine. He’s studying my
eyes.
    Kiss me, I
think. Geez, just freakin’ kiss me. I’m dying here.
    “If you’re in
the mood for choosing, I think you should choose me,” he
whispers.
    “Why?” I
whisper back. As if I need a reason. The reason has his hands on my
face. My heart is pounding, set to explode with some unexplained
feeling I’ve never felt. I don’t understand it. I can’t understand
it.
    “Because.”
    And then his
lips are touching mine. His tongue is in my mouth, coaxing me into
submission, giving me every reason I need. The kiss is long and
slow. It’s tantalisingly perfect. It’s promising something I don’t
think I knew existed before now. When we finally pull apart, I am
breathless. Literally breathless. And very confused.
    “I’m
back . Miss me?