Page 49 of You Were Invited
Her face fired like a furnace. "Nooo, you're making it worse."
He grinned. "I think it's cute."
Another flush of heat. Clearing her throat, she set her food down. "Excuse me. I’m going to use the bathroom."
Julian smiled around his fork.
She closed the bathroom door and heaved out a breath. When she looked in the mirror, her cheeks and the top of her chest were bright pink.How embarrassing.While she splashed water on her skin, she couldn’t help but notice the way her eyes sparkled. Perhaps lunch had been a bad idea. After a few slow breaths, Annie went back to join Julian.
She ate her TV dinner and was grateful that Julian was quietly enjoying her company while he searched online. His feet rested on the coffee table, and he'd put a random show on the television.
To her dismay, the longer she sat next to him on the opposite end of the couch, the more aware of his presence she became. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. All she wanted wasto lean forward and kiss him again... To feel his lips upon hers, to taste him…
He’s cute, but you barely just got out of a relationship. And you’re homeless. No flings.
“Nothing like that good, good carnal lovin’ to cure your heartache and blues...” Serene Hallowbrew murmured.
“Stoppit.”
Julian looked at her and raised a brow, his mouth open and waiting for a forkful of corn.
She stared back at him, confused a second before it dawned on her.
Crap! I said that out loud!
“Stop what?”
Annie sucked in her lips. “Nothing.”
“No, you said stop it. Stop what...? Am I chewing too loud?”
“N-no.”
“Your face is turning red again.”
Annie bit the inside of her cheek.What should I say? What do I say?
“Serves you right, Annie. I always say what you’re really thinking.”
“Umm...” She heaved a sigh. Should she just lie? “Okay... I’m not crazy, but I have… an imaginary friend. N-not one I pretend exists like a real person. Sometimes I just have conversations with her. I’m not crazy. It’s embarrassing.” Was she rambling? “I guess I was just daydreaming, and she had something to say. Only one other person knows about her.”Stop rambling!“It’s silly. It’s… just something I came up with as a kid.”
Julian smiled. “Must have been some conversation.”
“A bit.”
“She wasn’t telling you to murder me or anything... right?”
She laughed nervously, butforgot to say anything until the smile slid off Julian’s face. Her eyes went wide. “No! Oh, no, no, no. It wasn’t anything like that at all.”
“Okay... then what was it?”
“Tell him. Tell him. Tell him—”
The words echoed in her mind, over and over again. She had no choice. “I... was thinkin’ about... kissing you again. And she was very encouraging.”
“She?”
“S-Serene Hallowbrew... that’s her name.”
