Page 30 of Catch Me

His eyes catch mine and then they drop, his shoulders sagging a little too. “I don’t trust anyone mini Taylor.”

My voice is an even more muted whisper now. “I’m notanyone…please Nick.”

He lifts his head, watching me intently, like he’s reading my mind and silently agreeing with me. I’m not just anyone and he knows that, he has to learn to trust and that might take time, time I’m happy to give him.

Nick inhales sharply and nods once. “Ok, but you better not scare me or some shit.”

I let out a chuckle under my breath and turn the knob carefully, quietly, checking down the dark hallway once more as we slip into Nick’s bedroom.

Before we left for the weekend I dropped off a shit load of balloons and other supplies at Molly’s bedroom door and begged her to set up a birthday surprise for Nick. She rolled her eyes and slapped me with some sass about her having a life blah, blah, blah. But of course she’s the best friend in the entire world, so she did it and damn, did she do a good job.

The room is covered ceiling to floor with foil balloons, a mixture of blue, silver and black that bob against the cream coloured ceiling. The floor is scattered with confetti of all colours, the pile of gifts I bought for Nick last week lying in a neat pile on his bed. His eyes are still closed and his hand is becoming sweatier in mine as the seconds tick by.

“Ok, open,” I say and his eyes flutter open tentatively at first. But when he scans the room they widen and his hand grips might tighter as he turns to me with a slack jaw.

“You did this?” His voice is husky, low and hoarse with an emotion I can’t decipher right now. I hope this is good shock.

I nod. “Well technically Molly set it up, but I bought everything and gave her very clear instructions on how to make it perfe—”

His lips crash down onto mine before I can even finish my sentence. He takes my breath away quite literally, like I can barely suck in a gulp of oxygen as our lips tangle together. He lifts me by the back of my thighs to circle his waist, my own fingers in his hair. His tongue flickers softly against mine, histeeth gently nibbling my bottom lip and sending me into orbit. When I'm in his arms like this, his mouth moving with mine, it’s like I forget the world around me exists, nothing but me and Nick exists.

When he finally places my feet back on the ground I notice his eyes are a little glassy. He sniffs hard and I pull his chin around with my finger on his jaw.

“Why are you upset?” I squeak, my stomach swimming with anxiety. Did I do something wrong? I mean, that kiss would suggest not but his face is soft with sadness now.

Nick swipes a tattooed hand across his eyes. “I’m not Lo, I'm just so fucking grateful for you. You know, nobody has ever celebrated my birthday, not properly anyway. My mum would get me a gift each year but it was usually something I needed like a new school coat or a pair of shoes.” His eyes pierce into me, the tightening in my chest aching at the pain I see. “I’ve never even had a birthday cake.”

It’s my turn to drop my jaw to the ground now. “You’veneverhad a birthday cake? Why?”

“No one ever cared enough to get me one,” he shrugs and then his face turns into a smile when he spots the two tier chocolate cake that sits on his desk. “Until now, until you.”

His gratitude sends shivers up my spine, along with a warm fuzzy feeling that buries itself deep in the crevice of my heart. He’s leaning on me right now, letting me into the deepest part of him, the vulnerable part that nobody else gets to see. I feel the same about him though, I know I can turn my brain off when I'm with him. When I'm with Nick I can hold his hand and walk with my eyes closed because I know he’s got it, he’s got me.

CHAPTER 17

NICK

“I love you, call me later yeah?” I whisper into her hair as I hug her to me tightly, inhaling every drop of her fruity smell. That smell has quickly become the thing I rely on, the thing that tells me I'm home.

She nods, her face buried in my neck and her breath tickling me when she says, “I love you too.”

She collects her bag from the ground and pulls my bedroom door open just a crack, peaking out to see if the coast is clear. But before she can take off down the corridor I grab her elbow, stopping her.

“Wait,” I scoop her into me by the waist and press a tight kiss to her lips. Another bedroom door creaks open down the hallway and I break the kiss fast. “Shit, someone’s coming.” I smack apalm against her ass and close my bedroom door, leaving her in the corridor.

“Motherfucker,” I hear her mutter and a grin splits my face in half.

Then, I hear the heavy footsteps and Lois rambling, “Oh, hey Ky, yeah good thanks, I mean, how are you?”

I slap a hand to my forehead as I listen to her. She’s not very good at this acting normal thing, she's drawing more suspicion than a nun in a brothel.

Kyle’s footsteps stop outside my door. “You ok Lois? You seem a bit, you know…weird.”

“Nope, all good,” she says, totally unconvincingly. “Anyway I better go, nice seeing you Ky.” her footsteps hit the stairs and the sound gradually gets quieter before I hear the front door slam shut.

The second that happens is the same second my bedroom door almost flies off it’s hinges. Kyle stands in the open doorway with a narrow eyed, fed up expression on his face.

“You fucking idiot,” he sighs, “why? Why her? Of all the girls on the entire campus, why her?” He points a warning finger at me, eyes sharp. “Sean’s going to kill you and I'm not going to stand in his way.” His eyes land on my exposed package and he holds out a palm to shield it from his vision. “Put your junk away.”

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