Page 44 of Past

"So? Your ex is moving here," he says quietly, but we all hear and go quiet so we can listen. We are close like that, or nosy, but who cares?

"Yes, but you don't need to worry," she says quietly, and Blake pulls her into a kiss that's so passionate it could melt the room. I look to Elliot, who is smiling down at me.

"It's strange seeing you smile so much," I say,tracing his lips with my finger, while Jake lightly snores on my shoulder.

"I have a damn good reason now, angel," he says, making me blush. Elliot plays with my hair, making me sleepy, while Harley talks to Izzy.

"So what's your friend, Tilly, like?”he asks.

“She has just turned twenty, and she is a book editor. She and Devon, her older brother, work together. They own a publishing business. She joined him a year ago, after her university writing course was done. She loves her job and, well, she is a brilliant person. You'll like her, and oh! She has the brightest-red hair you’ll ever see, and it's real," she tells him, and us.

"Are her brothers all red-heads, then? Boys never look hot with red hair. Except for that guy inGame of Thrones. You know, the big wildling," I say, and Elliot squeezes my knee, making me look at him with a questioning stare.

He doesn't reply, just looks forward, which makes me think it might have been about calling another guy hot.

"No, they look like their dad; they all have dark-blond hair, like yours. I think I know what guy you mean, but there’s only one love for me in that show," she comments.

“Let me guess, Jon Snow?” I ask, and she nods as Blake tickles her.

“I feel like I know her already, from what you’ve told us,” I say, changing the subject when the guys look like they want to kill us. I guess listening to your girlfriends talk about other guys being hot is not fun.

"You'll love her. She says anything that comes to her head, like you do, but she is so bubbly. I can’t remember ever seeing her upset about anything. She could just make everything better."

"I don't say everything, you guys would be scared of me if I did," I say, and everyone laughs.

"Last week, you commented about my hair after I woke up and told me I looked like my hair had been fucked instead of me," Izzy says flatly.

"So? It did," I say, and the boys laugh.

“Blake’s mum was there. She came over to make us breakfast,” Izzy says with a playful glare. Elliot laughs next to me, and I grin.

"Angel, I like that you say what you think; not a lot of people do anymore," Elliot says, kissing my forehead.

“Maisy just texted me and said their flight has been delayed. They aren’t sure how long they will be,” Harley says, drinking from a bottle of water.

“That sucks. Let’s hope they don’t lose their suitcases, that always happens when something goes wrong,” Izzy replies.

"Oh, that reminds me, I need to borrow an outfit to go home in tomorrow, Izzy," I tell her.

"Sure, but why?" she asks.

"Elliot had trouble working out how to get my clothes off once I was handcuffed,” I tell her, and her eyes widen.

“You know, you’ll have to remember to get me naked first or I might run out of clothes," I tell Elliot.

Harley coughs as he chokes on his drink, and Izzy goes bright-red as she hides in Blake's chest, laughing.

Elliot belts out a loud laugh, and I cover Jake’s little ears.

I sit back and shrug, realising maybe I am a little too honest, and maybe my friends are right.

Chapter 19

Allie

“Last dance,” I say to the group of twenty women and the one guy in front of me.

This is my Saturday class, and it’s nice to be teaching them today. I move through the dance, watching everybody as much as I can. They copy nicely, and I start the song again, letting them do it on their own as I go around the room, correcting what is needed.

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