Page 21 of Don't Fall in Love (and how to break the rules)

“Chris, look at me,” said Nisha. “Don’t you think there’s a reason I come and sleep in a musty old tent with you every night?”

Chrissie’s eyes, now open, widened. “Because?” she whispered.

Nisha paused for a moment before moving closer to Chrissie, and gently parted her lips before laying them softly on her friend’s.

Chrissie felt how soft Nisha was, how well their mouths fitted together, how normal this felt, while her heart beat a rhythm it had never created before. A low, powerful spark made its way from her mouth down to her stomach, and she leaned into the kiss.

Nisha pulled away slowly, looking at Chrissie, and then easing back so they were lying side by side again. Chrissie pulled Nisha’s fingers into her own, and they lay like that, staring at the canvas and its fairy-light adornments in silence. The rain was slowing, revealing the sound of the girls’ breaths.

After five or six minutes had passed, Chrissie finally spoke.

“I thought it was just me.”

Chapter Sixteen

Chrissie could feel Nisha’s eyes staring into her face, searching for a clue as to who this man standing before them was.

He shrugged, and gave a charming smile. His curly hair was long and unkempt, and he was wearing open-toed sandals. His toes, impossibly tanned. “You know why I’m here, Christina,” he said.

Chrissie felt a shiver down her back. It wasn’t the rain that had somehow made it through her raincoat chilling her. It was the person before her. She had hoped never to see him again.

She took a deep breath and set her face. “I want you to go, Lucian,” she said in a quiet but firm voice.

“I just want to talk,” replied Lucian, the man who had led Chrissie and the others into such confusion and misery just a few short years before.

“I don’t want to talk with you,” said Chrissie. “Now please step aside and leave me alone.” She could feel her voice wobbling. She could feel her hand tremble as she raised her key.

“You know we never finished our work,” said Lucian, his charming smile now replaced with a hardness. “I can’t protect you from yourself if you don’t come back.”

There was an invisible pull to him that Chrissie hated, but had to acknowledge was there. He had dominated her life, controlled her every thought and deed for almost three years.

“You heard her,” said Nisha. Chrissie looked across in surprise. She’d forgotten Nisha was there. “She asked you to leave.”

The man ignored Nisha, concentrating his laser gaze on Chrissie. “I can see that you have come a long way from the path. And many in my position would let you go. But I can see so much potential in you,” he added. “And I’m not ready to give up.”

Nisha squared up to the man, in spite of him being almost a foot taller than her. She spoke very quietly, but very clearly and with menace. “You leave now, like she told you, or I will call the police right now.” She lifted her right hand, showing her phone. Chrissie could feel the adrenalin pumping through her body, her limbs getting ready to run.

But Nisha wasn’t moving. She glared at Lucian in a manner that scared Chrissie. She was afraid of what he would do.

He looked down at Nisha. “I see,” he said. He looked over Nisha’s head at Chrissie. “You know how to find me.” Nisha didn’t move, forcing him to walk around her. But then, to Chrissie’s relief, he walked away and down the street, leaving them behind.

Nisha took the keys from Chrissie and opened the door. They went up the stairs to Chrissie’s flat. Energy and anger and relief and something else pulsed through Chrissie, and as the front door of her flat closed behind her she grasped Nisha’s shoulders, pushed her against the wall, and kissed her. It was artless and rough, but she felt thirsty for Nisha’s mouth. And Nisha,seemingly stunned at first, kissed her right back, pulling Chrissie in closer.

There was a familiarity to the feel of Nisha’s lips on hers, her hands on her waist. But there was something new, as well. It had been a long time since they had kissed, and there was something more urgent in this moment, as their soaking faces pressed together.

Their sodden clothes clung together and reality began to seep in. “Oh God,” said Chrissie, breaking away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even ask permission.”

Nisha chuckled. “No, bab, you didn’t. But you may recall that I kissed you back.” Her dimple was on full show and her damp cheeks were pink. She looked at Chrissie with a desire Chrissie didn’t know what to do with.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. It was all too much and then you were there, and you made him leave. I was overwhelmed.” Chrissie stood back, looking down at the damp patch on the carpet onto which they had both dripped.

“Stop apologising, please,” said Nisha. “Really, it’s fine.” A beat. “Are you ok?”

“I’m all over the place,” said Chrissie, shivering, although whether it was through lust, cold or fear, she couldn’t tell.

“Can I suggest that before we do anything else, you have a hot shower?” said Nisha, motioning to them both. “I think you need warming up.” Her eyes sparkled, and she looked as though she was about to say something else, but then decided against it.

“Yes, you’re probably right. I think you need one, too,” Chrissie replied.

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