Page 55 of His Angel

“That would be great.” She smiles sweetly, a long way from the snarky girl I met at the house the other week.

Yeah, something is definitely not right.

“Are you enjoying the party?” I ask, guiding her out and heading back towards the stairs.

“It’s not quite what I’m used to,” she admits, gesturing to the dress. “But it’s been different, fun.”

“Been?”

“Ah, yeah. I’ll have to go in half an hour or so… curfew,” she explains with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Right.”

“Anyway, thank you for… this. I’ll catch you in a bit.” She takes the last few stairs quickly, disappearing back into the dining room without looking back.

She never asked why I was there, I ponder, picking up the glasses and heading back into the kitchen, rinsing them in the sink.

“You’re welcome, by the way,” Taylor says, dropping his empty bottle in the bin beside me.

“Huh?”

“Get her in a good mood with the cutest mirroring moment ever, throw in a little bit of jealousy from a girl she kind of likes, and boom, you’re later back than we are.” He chuckles, pulling another beer out.

“That simple, huh?”

“Oh, absolutely. Although, it’s not just been me and Tamsin these last few weeks. Throwing Jasper in the mix has been a great help too.”

“Really?”

I have no idea how adding someone else in is going to make things better, or hotter. Sharing isn’t usually my thing, outside of my brother.

“Well, the first time was just accidental, but the second… well, yeah, okay, that wasn’t intentional either but fuck man, it’s pretty good.”

“Wait, that’s happened more than once?” I ask, placing another glass on the draining board.

He shuffles closer, dropping his voice so nobody else overhears. “Well, you remember that night we went and did the stupid picture thing? Posting them on all the dormitory doors or whatever?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, she messaged me this picture and Jasper saw it. The next thing I knew, the two of us were leaving halfway through and meeting her back at our place.”

“What, you never finished it?” I clarify. Not sure why that takes precedence over the threesome he’s about to discuss, but for some reason, it does.

“Nah, we figured you boys had it under control.”

“And that’s why Jasper met us at the side door and you were nowhere to be seen.”

“Sorry, bro. I had to make sure she got back to her place safely. She was thoroughly fucked and dishevelled, not fit for public consumption.”

“No, just for the two of you,” I clip out, attempting to tamp down the irritation.

That’s twice now he’s skipped out on something for a girl without saying anything, without so much as giving us a heads up.

“Yeah, well, it was supposed to be a one-off, but she kept asking about him whilst we were at that party. You know, keeping everyone distracted so you could claim Ivy.”

“I remember.” How could I ever forget?

“Well, after Ivy left, for the second time, I brought her back here and gave her it good, but Jasper was back earlier than expected, and you can probably figure out the rest.”

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