Page 82 of Straight to Me

“No. I’m not jealous. I just think you need to set her straight, that’s all.” He smiles.

“I will babe. Can I not do it right now though?”

“You do it when you think it’s best, just let her down gently.”

“I will.” He doesn’t move, he just stands staring.

“What?”

“You’re beautiful when you’re jealous, Mads,” he chirps, leaning down and kissing me softly. I eventually relax. When he pulls away, he places another log carefully on the fire before sitting back in his chair.

“Can I ask you a question?” I ask. He adjusts the cap still on his head.

“Sure.”

We both stare at the flames, watching them crackle and glow. “I’m distracting you from club business, aren’t I?” Without looking at me, he brushes his stubble with his palm, running his hand over his mouth.

“Mads—”

I cut him off. “What I mean is, you said Rocco is pissed off with you. I don’t want to be the reason you get into trouble. Does he know you’re taking me to Australia?”

“Yeah, he knows,” he frowns, “but he wasn’t that keen.” Oh, good to know.

“What will you do?” I look at him.

Slowly he turns his head to look at me. “Nobody or anything would stop me from seeing you when I wanted.”

“But what if you get, hurt? Even Red said, you never miss a Saturday, whatever that means. People know you’re distracted. Travis said so.”

“Will you just trust me?”

The kettle starts to boil, screaming and spitting at me. I push up out of my chair, collecting the two mugs and tea bags.

“Will you promise me one thing?” He seems unsure at what I’m going to ask, but he stands and moves so he’s hugging me from behind. “Promise me that from tomorrow, you won’t get distracted. Don’t be stupid.”

He kisses my neck.

“I don’t know if I can stay away from you, Mads.” Lightly kissing my neck, his hold on me tightens.

“Maybe tomorrow, you can give it a go?” I shake him off, reaching for the milk.

He stands back confused. “How do you mean?”

“I was thinking that I might spend the day with Jess tomorrow, before I babysit on Monday.”

“Beforewebabysit on Monday.”

“I need to pack before I move out on Monday. Tomorrow is the perfect opportunity for me to get that done. Plus, you could go talk to Red.”

“Mads…” I bend to pour hot water into the mugs and sigh. Placing the kettle back down, my eyes find his.

“We can’t spend all our time together. What will you do when I go to work? And, come to think of it, you haven’t worked one day since I’ve been here.”

“Travis sorted it, it’s fine.” The look I give him makes him know that wasn’t the right answer. “Mads, stop. Why are you overthinking this?”

“I don’t call it overthinking, I call it being sensible, and I worry about you being ridiculous for my sake. I won’t let you do that.” I pass him his mug, holding mine stood by the fire.

“You won’t let me?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

---