Page 35 of The Boy I Once Loved

There’s a quick knock on the door and Dylan pops his head round. “You done?”

We both nod and he comes into the room and he scoops me up. He nuzzles my neck. “Hm! You smell good. Come on, let’s go make out in my room.” He smiles. Okay, he is taking the joke about his mums’ earlier misinterpretation about our relationship a bit too far now.

He carries me across to his room and as soon as we are out of earshot; I nip his arm.

“Ouch.”

“Stop it off with all the talk of making out in front of your mum.”

He frowns. "It's just a joke, Ella, relax."

“So just tone it down a bit. It’s embarrassing.”

He laughs as he places me down on the end of his bed. “I have our evening’s entertainment sorted.” He holds up a battered box of the board game ‘Guess Who’.

“Oh, you are so going to lose. I am the champion of Guess who.”

He cocks a brow, challenging me. “Want to make a bet?”

“Sure, seeing as you will be the one losing.”

He smirks as he sets the game up. "Okay, the winner gets to ask one truth and one dare from the other."

“Deal.” I offer him my hand and he shakes it firmly. “Prepare to go down, James.”

An hour later Dylan sits crossed-legged on the bed opposite me looking mighty smug. "Oh dear, looks like you lost Ella Umbrella."

"You have been practising. You used to be terrible at this game." I eye him with suspicion.

He winks. “What can I say, I’m now a Guess Who master. Plus, Charlie loves to play, so I have had plenty of practice.” He rubs his hands together gleefully. “Now, to decide on your forfeit.”

I wag my finger at him. “Ah ah, it was one truth and one dare.”

He taps his chin, smiling. “Okay, one truth. Let me think.” I sit waiting while he decides what he wants. The humour disappears from his face and suddenly he is all serious. “Okay, truth. Did you ever think of me in the three years you were away?”

I gulp. That isn’t a question I am expecting. Did I think of him? All the damn time. He has always been there in the background. I thought about him when I’d lost my virginity to a guy called Kai at some drug-fuelled party I had gone to. I nod. “Yes, I thought about you. I wondered what you were doing and if you had replaced me.”

He moves closer. “I’d never replace you El. You’ll always be my best friend.”

I gulp and I offer him a tight smile. If only that is true because once he admits to that girl how he feels, he will forget all about his childhood friend. I will be a distant memory.

I‘m shaken gently awake from my night terror and I feel panicked at first until I see Dylan hovering over me.

“It’s okay. I’m here.” He pulls me to his chest and he holds me, stroking my hair. “Was it the same dream?”

I nod, trying to steady my breathing. “It’s always the same. Night after night.”

“You want me to hold you?”

I nod again, not wanting to voice how much I need him right now. Without another word, he pulls me closer and he spoons me from behind, wrapping his arms around my waist. “Sleep El. I’ve got you.”

I awake in the morning to the familiar smell of my best friend, who is sleeping soundly underneath me. Somehow during the night, I have ended up more or less lay on top of him. One of my legs lying over his hip while the other is between his two legs. I sleep so much better when he is here, and it unnerves me how much I need him, especially given I have spent the last three years building up my barriers and telling myself that I don’t need anyone.

I lean up slightly and study him. His dark eyelashes fanning his cheeks. He looks so gorgeous even when he is sleeping. I don’t know what I’m thinking, but I reach out with my finger and I run it along his bottom lip. He groans in his sleep. I move my finger up and I trace it softly over his top lip. He groans again and he rolls us so that I end up underneath him. I freeze still when I feel his erection press against my stomach. His hand moves down my side, tracing the curve of my hip.

“You awake?” he asks me, his voice all husky and deep.

“Yeah,” I reply, trying to steady my breathing, worried he will hear how fast my heart is pounding in my chest. I run my finger along his collarbone, and I feel him shiver beneath me. Did my touch affect him?

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