Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 103281 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 413(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103281 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 413(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
“You look tired,” Hugo said. “Your eye’s doing that thing.”
“What thing?” I started blinking, self-conscious.
“Your left eye twitches when you’re tired. Always has.”
How had I never noticed that? Or anyone else… He wasn’t wrong, though. I was knackered. I scanned the large room for a clock but couldn’t see one. “It must be nearing three AM. I’m not used to the rock ‘n’ roll life, like you.”
Smiling, he lifted my legs off his knees, placed my feet on the floor. “Let’s get you upstairs. There’re seven bedrooms for you to choose from. Take your pick.”
I felt a strange pang in my belly. “I just assumed I’d be staying in your bed,” I said, hoping I didn’t sound silly or desperate. “You know, like we used to.” Would it be weird now, as adults? I wondered. It didn’t feel it, not to me. Being with Hugo, being close to him, it simply felt…right.
“I didn’t wanna assume.” His smile grew a little wider. “As long as you don’t still steal all the covers.”
“Yeah, uh…I can’t promise that.”
“No?” A wicked glint appeared in his eyes as he stared me out, and I remembered exactly what that meant. I needed to run. Fast. “Winner gets to tuck ‘emselves in first!” he called…but I was already halfway up the stairs.
Unfortunately, Hugo ended up with a good chunk of the duvet tucked firmly under his arse after winning the race up the stairs. He’d caught up to me quickly at the top, grabbed me by the waist and lifted me behind him before legging it into the bedroom and divebombing onto the mattress. He had an unfair advantage, knowing the layout of the property. Still, fair is fair. So, after showering and changing into one of his T-shirts, which fit awfully snugly against my rolls, I admitted defeat.
“This bed is big enough for four people. I really don’t think you need to lie on the quilt,” I said, giggling.
“You’ve clearly never slept with a duvet thief. I’m not risking it.”
We lay face-to-face and I snuggled in closer. “Fame has turned you into a total diva.”
I’d expected him to laugh, throw an insult back, but he just looked right into my eyes. Really looked, brow furrowed, like he was searching for the answer to the universe. “Finish the tour with me,” he said.
“What?”
“Come with me while I finish the dates. After, I’ll take you back to Cali, show you around.”
Whoa… “Hugo I…” I what? I didn’t know what I wanted to say. I knew my cheeks felt like they were on fire. I knew my pulse was thudding like a drum kit in my ears and my stomach was doing cartwheels, but… “I have a life here. I’m about to expand my business.” Which can wait. “I have another week’s notice to work.” Which I could jack in, lose the pay and the reference. “It would be irresponsible.” And exciting.
“Helen,” he began, my name a gentle whisper, almost a plea. “I’d never want to be the reason you didn’t achieve everything you desire. I’m not asking you to give up on your dream, just…postpone it. Couple of weeks, that’s all. I got my dream. Gained all a man could ever wish for but…but I lost everything in the process. I lost you. I’m asking for a chance to share it with you, if only for a little while.” His arm crossed over my body, hand caressing my back. The contact stirred a sensation inside me that I hadn’t felt for a long time, but I couldn’t quite place it. I knew that I never wanted it to stop, though. “Say you will, Heli. Say you’ll come with me.”
In that moment, all that seemed to matter was taking away the lines of guilt and hopelessness that tugged at the edges of his blue eyes. God, how I loved those eyes. There was nothing special about the colour. I couldn’t write poems about them being as blue as the ocean or as bright as clear skies. They were just regular blue with green-brown flecks spraying from the pupil like tiny fireworks…but they were Hugo’s, and they were beautiful.
“Yes,” I mouthed, my heart beating so fast I feared it might leap into my throat. “Yes, I’ll come with you.”
“Yeah?” Hugo shot up onto his knees, opened his arms wide, and then threw himself on top of me, hugging me hard. “It’s gonna be a blast, Heli! I love you so fucking much.”
“I love you, too,” I choked out, lungs squashed. And I really did. I’d always loved him, more than he would ever realise. But that was okay. He was here. We were together. I didn’t need anything else.
My hands gripped his back, explored the muscles that had grown in his absence. He felt so different now. Fuller. Stronger. Sexier.
Shit. I couldn’t have thoughts like that. Not about my best friend. “Need…to breathe,” I said, feigning a gasp. In reality, I simply needed him off my body, space between our flesh. I was tired, that was all. Emotional. I loved Hugo. I wasn’t in love with him.