Page 56 of Anxious Hearts
Kelly chuckled. ‘A dumb, embarrassing one.’
‘To look after each other.’
‘Sort of. But not in those words exactly.’
Eli raised an eyebrow.
Kelly took his hand but looked away, feeling herself blush at the thought of saying this out loud to someone other than Finn or Toula. She lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘You don’t fuck with Kelly and Finn.’
Eli narrowed his eyes. ‘I don’t get it. Why aren’t you two together?’
Kelly let go of his hand and tried to stand up. It was more challenging than she had expected. The ground and wall spun. She reached out a hand to steady herself. Eli sprang up beside her, grabbed her elbow to stop her toppling over and leaned her gently against the wall.
Kelly gave him a crooked smile. ‘My hero.’
He stood before her with his own mock smile and challenging stare. ‘You didn’t answer my question.’
Kelly felt a flood of hot desire suddenly burst within her. ‘I’m not with Finn because I’m here with you,’ she said. Then she grabbed the waistband of his shorts and pulled him towards her. When their bodies collided, she stood on her toes and wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders. She drew him closer and caught the hot urgency of his breath on her cheek as she tilted her head. Their lips came together.
She kissed him deeply, recklessly, messily – until he broke away, panting for air.
‘A man’s gotta breathe, you know,’ he said, his cheeks flushed and his eyes wide.
‘Breathing’s overrated.’ She grabbed him again and pulled him back into her kiss.
He didn’t come up for air this time.
Chapter Twenty-four
Kelly woke with her eyes closed and yet the light still seemed to burn them in their sockets. She screwed them shut tighter but that didn’t work so she pulled her sheet over her head. She let out a long groan. Drinking so much yesterday had been unwise, to say the least. She’d already lost a day of studying and there was no way she was going to be functional today. Her precise scheduling was falling apart at the same rate as the rest of her life.
Only Eli had provided some hope. Eli. She tried to remember how it ended after they’d kissed against the fence. It had seemed to go for a long time, and she knew he walked her back inside, past their dozing parents, past the den where Fergus was raining bullets on the terrorists. Eli led her to her childhood bedroom, laid her down on the mattress. Kissed her … But then what? She couldn’t remember, although she saw flashes of his naked back in her mind. Then she was on top of him. He was on top of her. It was all a blur. Like it could have happened or it could have been a dream.
Wait, they were both naked, yet when she reached down and felt her hips, she was wearing the same shorts as yesterday. Did she get dressed again? Her T-shirt was damp with sweat but still on her body. Even her bra. It was a dream, then.
Kelly emerged from the covers and checked her phone on the bedside table for any clues. Two messages received half an hour ago. Both from Eli.
Thanks for a great night. And OMG, the sex was amazing!
Her stomach dropped and she broke out in a cold sweat.
Wait, sorry, typo, I meant the conversation. Amazing conversation!
Now she was desperately confused. Was he messing with her? And if he was, which part was the messing?
She typed hurriedly.What happened last night?
He responded immediately as though he’d been waiting for her to make contact.I walked you back to your room and you basically passed out on your bed.
So we didn’t …
We did not.
Kelly exhaled with relief and relaxed her shoulders. Her head was starting to ache and her throat was a desert. Not that having sex with Eli would have been such a crime, she just didn’t want to have sex with him so drunk that she wasn’t sure if it was a dream or reality. But that meant she definitely dreamed about it. No doubt Freud would have something to say about that.
Her phone vibrated.
Wanna hang out today?
