Page 63 of The Dance Deception
I peer at him through puffy eyes, not sure if I’ve heard him correctly.
‘The thing is, I know we’re just pretending to be in a relationship, but it doesn’t always feel like it. And when Emilia told me what she saw, it’s not so much that I was angry with you for putting our plan at risk, but more that I was worried about how it would change this.’ He pauses. ‘Change us.’
I suck in my breath. So he’s been feeling exactly the same way I have? It sounds that way, but I need to be sure. I shake my head, trying to clear the wine fog that’s settled over me. ‘Are you saying what I think you’re saying?’
He takes the water glass from me and sets it down on the counter, then he tilts my chin up and kisses me lightly on my lips.
‘This is what I’m saying,’ he confirms.
Then we kiss again, for much longer time this time. And when we finally break away, I can’t stop staring at him, not trusting myself to speak. He wipes the moisture from under my eyes and asks, ‘So, is this okay?’
And I’m not sure if the room is spinning from the kiss or from the wine as he sways in front of me. But the next thing I know, there’s daylight creeping under my bedroom curtains and I’m under the duvet, on my own, fully clothed, with no idea how I got there – unsure if I imagined the whole thing.
Chapter 33
Igrope for my phone, trying to keep my sore head as still as possible, and groan when the screen tells me it’s only six-thirty a.m. There’s no chance of getting back to sleep though – my mind’s already racing.
The last thing I remember clearly is confessing to Aleksis that I like him, but the next part of the evening is frustratingly hazy. I’m only sixty per cent certain he said he has feelings for me too – and even less sure we kissed. But I wouldn’t have dreamed it up, would I, just because I want it to be true?
With no recollection of what happened afterwards or how I got to bed, it’s entirely possible my mind is just playing tricks on me. But I don’t think I’m under the covers in all my clothes because Aleksis doesn’t like me. I think it’s because he isn’t Merle and therefore wouldn’t dream of taking advantage. But does that mean he wouldn’t kiss me, either? I groan into the pillow in frustration.
The mystery is solved when I eventually drag myselfout of bed to go and look for some painkillers. Aleksis emerges from his room and kisses me full on the lips as he passes me in the kitchen. His breath is minty and his skin is soft – he’s already brushed his teeth and had a shave. It makes me wish I’d put some make-up on and done something about my bed hair.
‘How’s the head?’ he asks with a grin.
‘Getting there,’ I reply, holding up my water glass. ‘I have to admit, the end of the night is a little vague.’
‘You drank almost a whole bottle of wine on an empty stomach, threw yourself at me then promptly passed out,’ he summarises, sounding amused.
‘I threw myself at you? That’s not how I remember it.’ Not that I remember it.
‘I’m kidding,’ he says, laughing as he slides an espresso in front of me. ‘It was perfectly mutual.’
‘So we did kiss?’
He nods.
‘And I passed out straight afterwards?’
‘Kind of during.’ He chuckles. ‘I’d like to say I made you weak at the knees but I’m not sure I had much to do with it.’
‘Oh God, I’m sorry. And I got to bed how?’
‘Kind of a mutual effort again. I took your shoes off. You tried to put your pyjamas on without taking your jeans off. In the end you decided to sleep in your clothes. You were out cold before I’d switched the light off.’
‘I really know how to impress a guy,’ I mutter, cringing at the thought of it.
‘But at least we both know where we stand now,’ he says,with a sparkle in his eyes. ‘No more pretending, if that’s still okay with you.’
‘That is very okay with me,’ I confirm.
Then he leans in and kisses me again and I stop thinking I’m going to wake up at any moment. This is really happening. Me and Aleksis, no longer faking things, kissing every time we pass each other as we get ready to head to our studio, lacing our fingers together as we sit side by side on the Tube, enjoying how it feels now it’s not just for show.
I’m still on cloud nine when we arrive in Brixton, half an hour behind schedule. I’d completely forgotten today was our day for filming our latest segment for the show.
‘I’m so sorry we’re late,’ Aleksis apologises to Sarah, Steve and Andy, who are already set up and ready to go. ‘We got held up,’ he adds, shooting me a grin that doesn’t go unnoticed by Sarah.
‘No harm done,’ she says, with a knowing smile.
