Page 52 of The Likelihood Of You

“Hey, I didn’t hear you come in. I’m sorry. I’ll fix you one up now.” I rushed, turning my back to him and distracting myself with the art of cocktail making.

“So,” I nearly decorated Nate’s countertops with Aperol from the way Jacob’s voice made my bones shiver… again. “are they keeping you on at the lot? I know the shoot’s finished, but I wasn’t sure whetheryou’d be staying.” he asked, and even though my back was facing him, I could tell he was pacing.

I bevelled my head over my shoulder. “I think so. It’s been good for me, this job. May as well stay there and bump up my savings, you know.”

“Yeah, yeah. I get that.”

I dipped another sprig of rosemary into his glass before building up the courage to turn around and face him. And even though I would have had to eventually, I wished I hadn’t.

Concern was written across his face in the neatest way possible. His stoic worry was enough to make my heart skip a beat.

“It’s just gonna be weird… not having you around me. Not hearing your voice every day.” He said gently, looking down at me with those dark brown eyes I’d fallen in love with.

“I’m only a call away.”

“It’s not the same as having you in front of me, those eyes burning me just how I like,” He took a step closer, towering over me, every inch of him dominating this moment. I was back to being that fox, caught by the brightest headlights, but instead, what was in front of me scared me for all the right reasons.

“You’ll be okay,” I whispered, unsure whether I was talking to him or myself.

After a few moments of quietly soaking up each other’s presence, Jacob took three of the glasses in his hands; I grabbed the last one for myself, and followed him out of the kitchen and back to join the others, trying and failing to not memorise every corner of his deep blue jeans and white tee.

I took a deep swig of my drink, relishing in the bitter taste that most of the population describe as gasoline, and praying that the buzz kicked in soon and made me relax—reminding me that tonight was about one thing and one thing only.

“Okay, guys! To never having to see Wesley Paige again… untilthepremier… CHEERS!” Nate shouted as he led us into a cheer, and we clinked the first of many drinks that night.

Jacob Emerson was a master at making me want to throw caution to the wind and set fire to my plans, but the only thing I was confident I was going to throw tonight was my back now that we were twenty minutes into the most chaotic game of Twister I’d played in my life.

He was making it ten times harder not to free fall for him completely; being tipsy made him ridiculously adorable, and made him giggle like he found everything in the world so hilarious that he couldn’t help it. The fact I was now four cocktails deep wasn’t helping either. All that did was wipe the dust off those flirty beer goggles I’d not worn in years.

After our intense game of Twister, which Addy rightly won, we let Nate’s party playlist take the reins and be our soundtrack for the night while we headed for the food. We chatted, ate spicy hummus, laughed, drank more Aperol, laughed even harder when a breadsticksword fight broke out between Jacob and Nate, and let the night take its course.

I was silly to think this night would be anything but fun.

Those images of Jacob blanking me, like I’d done with him, tore themselves up the moment I felt him behind me. He wasn’t the type of person who’d do that, and I was ashamed I’d even thought for a second that he would. The weird atmosphere between us was none existent. Instead, there were giggles and smiles and looks that made my heart breathe a sigh of relief.

We were okay.

I looked up from my plate that was decked out with fancy cheese, and the odd olive that had landed there after the food fight that followed the sword fight, my ears pricking up at the music spewing out of Nate’s surround sound speakers, my eyes locking with Jacob’s, widening once I realised what song was playing.

“Is this…?” I asked, whilst resting my elbow on the table and pointing my index finger in the air.

Jacob looked at me, his smile stretching and that dimple I’d been reunited with tonight returning to its rightful place. “I told Nate to add it to the playlist for tonight.”

Before I could react, Addy chimed in. “Wait, what song is this?”

“Flo’s favourite.” He said, his eyes bouncing from Addy back to me, as the sweet tones and iconic violin notes of The Nolans ‘I’m in the Mood for Dancing’ filled the apartment.

“Well, don’t just sit there. Come dance!” Addy squealed as she pulled me from my stool and right back into the living room. The boys joined us shortly after.

As the boys slowly danced in a way that made me and Addy nearly cry from laughter, we opted for a different tactic with our dancing; we took turns twirling each other while we held hands and swayed from side to side with the beat. If we had big, pastel tulle dresses on, that had itchy glitter sewn into every seam, and slippery ballet flats, we’d look like we belonged in the digital camera pictures from my princess-themed fifth birthday party.

It got to around the sixth time when Addy twirled me that I remembered how tipsy I was and that if she committed to that seventh twirl, I was likely going to decorate her blue cotton with hummus and Aperol. But I didn’t need to stop her; at the end of the twirl, I felt her hand slip from mine, and my body land somewhere hard.

“Woah, easy, easy.” The hard thing said. “I’ve got ya.”

The scent I was engulfed in, leather and iris, the same one that had invaded my apartment since he entered it, made me realise the hard thing was actually Jacob, and I was now nestled into his chest. I slowly raised my head, my mind telling me not to lock eyes with him, but that was exactly what they did. What they always did.

At first, I didn’t know what to do, or how to feel about his hands resting at the bottom of my back, how his breath was like a breeze I didn’t know I needed. But after a few more moments of getting my bearings, my favourite song registering in my ears again, and Jacob’s grin beaming down on me, I said something to myself that made my heart patter with excitement.

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