Page 65 of The Wedding Pact
Chapter 45
Flynn
Flynn was still stewing over the fact there was a real problem with getting any privacy, living here, when August reappeared in the flat at the end of the day, clutching a bag with doughnuts from the coffee shop. ‘Peace offering?’ she said, holding them out to Flynn.
He stood up from where he was sitting at the table and folded his arms. ‘Nice afternoon?’
August eyed him. ‘Yep. I had to get to the library, do some snogging up on –SWOTTING up on– Austen. So you have a … ’
‘A Poppy.’
‘Right. A Poppy.’
‘It’s very new, that’s why I hadn’t … ’ he trailed off, unsure how much explanation she wanted, or how much explaining he wanted to do. ‘Where were you at lunchtime? I checked your room when Poppy and I arrived.’
August’s eyes slid towards the cupboard in the wall.
‘You were in there?’
‘Yep. But I didn’t hear anything, I promise. Well, not much, not until the … end. I’d been recording and I had my headphones on and my volume loud, checking all the words were clear. The first I was aware of anyone else even being in here was just after she said … ’
Flynn asked, ‘What?’
‘She made a sort of yummy sound and said something was nice. And then I nearly came out, but I got worried you’d think I’d been listening to the whole thing, and that the two of you would be naked, and then—’
‘Whoa,’ Flynn laughed. ‘She was here for literally five, maybe ten minutes. We didn’t do anything. Apart from kiss.’ He looked bashful at that.
‘No, please, you should do whoever, I mean whatever, you want in here,’ August said, flustered.
Flynn replied, just as flustered, ‘No, I know, I just mean, you didn’t hear anything … scarring.’ They were both quiet for a moment until Flynn said, ‘Lucky we weren’t staying around for long. She just wanted to see where I lived.’
‘She came all the way up that hill just to see where you lived?’
He shrugged, ‘She was interested.’
‘Interested in you asking her in for more than a tour, I expect,’ August said, and then clamped a hand over her mouth. ‘Sorry, probably overstepped enough boundaries for today by hiding in the wall and listening to you snogging, like a pervert. So how did you meet her? Is she from your work?’
‘I met her a little while ago at the pub. It’s … I don’t know. I don’t know what it is.’
August nodded and Flynn stared at the ground for the moment, his arms still folded, feeling guarded and a little embarrassed. He hadn’t planned for this to happen today. He hadn’t really planned for any of this, as far as Poppy was concerned. She was just suddenly in his life.
As was August.
He sighed. ‘We need to think about how we’re going to date people while we live together.’
‘I really am sorry; I didn’t realise you were dating.’
‘No, no,’ he backtracked. ‘You have nothing to apologise for, and I’m not dating really, this thing with Poppy is very new and I’m not really sure what’s happening with it, I just mean in general, bringing dates home, whether that’s you or me, next week or next year, we just need to figure out a solution to the whole “the neighbours think we’re married” thing. Another solution.’
‘If it helps, I’m not seeing anyone, and don’t really have any interest in seeing anyone, so you can just tell whoever that anyone you bring home is a lifelong friend.’
‘That doesn’t seem sustainable,’ Flynn said. ‘Perhaps we just tell our dates the truth?’
‘How do you think Poppy would feel about it?’
He considered this. ‘I don’t know her very well, but I think she might run for the hills instead of get caught up in our baggage.’
August nodded. ‘Pretty sure if I was dating someone who was like,Guess what, I have a mega-hot housemate who everyonethinks I’m married to and we have to hold hands and kiss sometimes, is that cool?I would probably run a mile.’
