Page 77 of Replay
Last I saw her, she spent the night in my flat and sucked me off before I demanded to return the favour…at rapid speed, I might add, all so she could get home before her brother woke up. Neither of us went without smiles that morning, so why has she been so hard to talk to this week? It’s odd because I would have assumed that the change in our official status with each other would have propelled us forward, not backward. We’ve never gone this many days without seeing each other. And I’m finding I don’t like it one bit.
My mobile buzzes, and her gorgeous face half-covered by a sheet in my bed lights up the screen. I swipe the call and growl into the line, “Where are you?”
She laughs awkwardly. “I’m at my brother’s house.”
“Why can’t you be in my bed?” I murmur quietly as dirty thoughts invade my mind. “I’ve had a pig of a week and have been smelling your pillow like a proper freak every day.”
There’s a slight pause. “Well, I’m afraid you’ll have to smell it for a bit longer.”
My brows furrow as anxiety nips at me.
“I’ve been meaning to tell you this.” She sighs heavily. “Mac thinks I’m drinking again.”
“What?” I ask, annoyed that her brother thinks she would throw away everything she’s worked so hard for these past several years. I run my fingers through my hair in frustration, hating that I can’t be there for her when she obviously needs me.
“Yeah, I talked him off the ledge, but because I’ve been gone so much lately with you and acting a bit dodgy about where I’ve been, he thinks I’m hanging out with the wrong crowd again. God, it’s like I’m twelve years old, and he’s my dad.”
“Well, then we just need to come clean and tell him what’s going on,” I state firmly. This is the easiest solution to the problem. To all the problems. I would be able to be there for her, and she’d be able to spend every night at my flat and in my arms. Then I could easily tell her brother where to stick it if he accuses her of this shit again.
“Not yet,” she rushes out quickly. “Things between us are going so well, don’t you think?”
“Up until the last week, yes. Which is even more reason we should tell him now,” I say, getting up to pace my office.
“You have that backwards, Sonny. Mac is so worried about me that he will think you’re causing me to make bad choices.”
That remark stops me in my tracks. “But I’m not,” I defend, loosening my tie and unbuttoning the top of my shirt.
“I know,” she replies swiftly. “But we don’t need to give him any more reason to dislike you.”
“So, what’s your plan here, Tilly?” I ask, raking my hand through my hair in frustration.
“Let’s just keep playing it cool and give each other some space for a bit, and I’m sure he’ll settle down.”
“Space?” I snap into the line, my hand tightening on my mobile. “Tilly, I don’t want space. I already haven’t seen you for a fucking week.” My heart begins to hammer in my chest at the mere mention of us spending more time apart. Doesn’t she want to see me as much as I’m dying to see her? Fuck, this is making me crazy.
“I’m only talking about a few more days! Mac has the attention span of a fruit fly. He’ll forget about his worries very soon, and then we’ll be game on again with no more secrets.” She ends too happily for my liking. How can she be happy about any of this?
I shake my head, my entire body vibrating with anger. I’ve been patient. I’ve let her take the lead, and it was working. But I’m done with that shit now.
“No,” I state through clenched teeth.
“What?”
“I’m saying no,” my firm tone rattles through the line. I want Tilly Logan in my life, full stop, and nothing will stop me from making that fact very well-known, even if it means a tense conversation with her brother.
“Why?”
“Because, Tilly, I have feelings for you. Real fucking feelings and I don’t want to go backwards. I’m not losing you again,” I all but snarl, hoping she hears how serious I really am.
“You’re not losing me! I have real fucking feelings too, Santino. More than I ever thought I’d have, but if we wait, it’ll be better for us in the long run.”
“No,” I growl, hitting the top of my desk with my fist. I’m done letting her call the shots. This ends now. I can’t hold back anymore. I refuse. “Sneaking around was fun at first, but the longer this has gone on, the more of an arse I feel like through all of this. We’re fucking adults, Tilly. We’re not feuding families in a Romeo and Juliet play. I’m telling Mac today, and you can’t stop me.” I grab my suit jacket and keys, making a beeline to the nearest exit.
“Santino—”
“I’m coming over. I’ll see you in a bit.”
The line goes dead, and I stand frozen in my bedroom with only the soft purr of Jasper on my bed to narrate the dread I feel in the pit of my stomach. When I hear a bird chirp outside, my shock wears off, and I whip myself into action.
