Page 59 of When The Night Falls

‘Same.’

‘Have you had dinner, Cara?’ Jason asked and removed his shirt.

I shook my head.

‘Should we order something, then? I’m in the mood for sushi.’

‘When are you not?’ William and I replied in perfect unison. Since I felt him gazing at me, I resisted the urge to look in his direction.

‘Right.’ Jason curved a brow and flung his shirt over his shoulder, his eyes flickering between us. ‘Why don’t you place the order while I shower? Half-time’s nearly done.’

‘I’m busy slaving around,’ William said. ‘Cara, would you be so kind?’

I frowned. ‘I would, but given the size of you two, I’ve no idea how big of an order I should place.’

‘Order for a family of six,’ William said.

‘Yeah, six is good,’ Jason agreed.

Six? Jesus Christ.

‘Right, okay.’ I picked up my phone from the floor.

Not only had Jason finished showering, but the match had also started again by the time William handed over the screwdriver.

‘Please don’t fuck up my work,’ he said amusedly.

‘While I appreciate your assistance, kindly piss off,’ I replied with equal humour.

‘If it suddenly collapses in a few weeks, you’ll be the culprit, not I.’

‘It won’t.’

From the gleam in his eyes, I could tell he was about to ridicule me, but Jason’s sudden cry came to my rescue. ‘Fuck! Are you kidding me?’

The look on William’s face made me giggle. His eyes were wide with horror.

‘Fly, you fool,’ I joked, and it earned a smirk as he caught the reference.

Following his hasty exit, I got back to work with a smile.

10 | the way of the world

Chelsea lost, and I didn’t need to see the result to know that, because William and Jason’s constant whining made it obvious. The only thing that finally shut them up was the dinner that arrived, which William insisted on paying for.

‘You’re students,’ he said dismissively when Jason and I tried to object. ‘If you’d like to contribute, you can set the table.’ He closed the front door once the delivery guy had handed over our dinner.

Jason shook his head. ‘It’s useless to try and argue with him,’ he said to me. ‘We won’t win.’

‘You definitely won’t.’ William turned and faced us with a smirk. ‘I argue for a living.’

I chuckled at his witticism. ‘First you help me out with my wardrobe, and now you’re buying me dinner?’

His lips twitched, and there was a glimmer of humour in his eyes. ‘Is the strong, independent woman triggered?’

I laughed. ‘Full-on quaking.’

‘Well, you might as well get used to it. I’m all for gender equality, but I won’t let it get in the way of basic chivalry.’

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