Alex laughed and brushed his lips up her cheek on the path to her ear. ‘So is this happening in the bathroom again, or are you going to let me take you home so we can fuck in a bed I actually fit in?’
Sarah bit her lip. ‘What if they go back to your place tonight?’
With a hefty sigh, Alex pulled out his phone and showed her the screen as he tapped out a message to Erik.
Alex: Can you go to Abby’s flat tonight? Taking someone home.
Erik’s response came through while they waited for their Uber, and Alex showed her the screen with a triumphant, ‘Done.’
Erik: Okay. Don’t do anything stupid.
‘That’s a weird thing for him to say,’ Sarah started. ‘You don’t think—’
‘Ithinkyou’re paranoid.’ Alex rolled his eyes. ‘You’d swear you were sixteen and trying to hide someone from your parents.’
‘You didn’t see me at sixteen. There was no one to hide from my parents.’
‘I struggle to believe that.’
His voice was soft as he opened the door for her.
Although the slight chill of the night air had sobered him up enough to return the crisp edges to his words, that comment, disarmingly sincere, had to be a by-product of imbibing.
She didn’t know what to do with it otherwise.
‘Why are you so concerned with them finding out?’ Alex kept his face turned firmly towards the window. ‘We’re two consenting adults. And if they have a problem with it—which they really have no right to—I have no doubt I’m the one they’ll take it out on.’
How could she begin to explain to Alex, who was so close to his brother, how lonely it had been to grow up an only child?How for eighteen years, she’d wished fora sister to confide in, then been blessed with a girl who had slotted so perfectly into her life, it was as if she’d always been there. If platonic soulmates were a thing, she’d found hers.
Thankfully, he had given her an out.
‘Why would they be upset with you specifically?’ she asked.
He was silent for a moment, still staring pointedly away from her. ‘You heard Abby before their party. My, uh, for want of a better word,datinghistory is…long.’
‘We’re not dating. We’re not even friends. We’re two people who’ve fucked a few times.’
‘Are we two people who are going to keep fucking?’ He dropped his voice, leaning towards her ear, lips almost brushing her neck.‘Or are you going to pretend it’s the last time every time this happens?’
‘This needs to be the last time,’ Sarah whispered, trying desperately to hold on to her self-restraint.
‘Be serious, Princess.’
She couldn’t understand why her body was so attuned to his. Why his voice burrowed under her skin, igniting every nerve ending. Why, when he did press his lips to her, ever so briefly, it felt like a brand that would never heal.
This was undoubtedly going to blow up spectacularly in her face. But she needed more before that happened. Wanted to indulge in the first thing that had made her feel this good in a long time. So even as her brain screamed that it was a terrible idea, she relented. ‘Until the wedding. Then we go our separate ways, except for when we’re absolutely forced together.’
Something twisted in his face as he pulled back from her, gone so quickly she thought she must have imagined it. ‘Yeah. Great. We’ll do that.’
Somehow, it felt like she’d given the wrong answer.
Chapter 15
SARAH
affection | BETWEEN FRIENDS
‘Are you evergoing to tell me who your favourite artist is?’ Alex’s voice broke through her blissed-out haze.
