As it turned out, after the first few minutes, Isaac wasn’t around to play protective brother. There was a pretend casino set up on one side of the room and he was quickly sucked into the blackjack table. Elliot showed no interest in joining him, instead finding us a bench in a shadowy corner.
The rest of the evening was utter bliss. I didn’t care that I ended up ignoring most of my friends, that instead of getting tipsy and dancing my heart out I spent the next two hours with one person. As we laughed and talked, our knees somehow ended up touching. My arm had come to rest against his and our heads were bent so close together I could feel the warmth of his breath. Every millimetre of contact was like connecting a circuit that sent electricity humming between us.
I’d next to no experience when it came to flirting, but when Elliot nudged me with his elbow, eyes glinting, I knew it wasn’t my imagination. Meandering through gentle teasing, earnest soul-baring, loaded comments that made my heart pound in my throat, it was as if we were the only two people in the room. I’d never felt so alive.
When he asked if I wanted to go for a walk, I couldn’t help glancing over at the roulette wheel, where Isaac was cheering along with a small crowd of onlookers, a girl he’d gone out with a few times hanging off his arm.
‘Forget him,’ Elliot muttered, taking my hand in a seemingly innocent gesture that took my breath away. ‘He doesn’t get to decide this any more.’
Decide what?I squeaked inside my head. Was this athis? What sort of athis?
We walked across the patio and slipped through a gate leading to the golf course. Elliot’s hand was clammy in mine, and it thrilled me beyond words to think that he might be nervous aboutthis. The sun was setting behind a hill in the distance, and the light glowed red, orange and magenta across the ridge of the forest, as though the treetops were on fire. I knew how they felt.
‘Are you cold?’ Elliot asked, once we’d settled on a patch of grass out of sight on the far side of a hillock. He ran his hand along my bare forearm, which only made the goosebumps even bigger.
I took a trembling breath, shaking my head. ‘I’m… maybe nervous?’
Nervous… elated… wondering when I’m going to wake up and find I’ve overslept for school again.
‘Nervous?’ Elliot pulled his hand back, brow creasing. ‘Jessie, you know you don’t have to worry about me trying anything.’
I shook my head, my voice a whisper. ‘I’m more worried you might not try.’
After the longest silence, he placed a tentative hand against my cheek, leant in and kissed me. I felt like I’d come home.
Well, if home was like the best, most exciting, delicious place ever. Like the world’s greatest theme park and music festival and restaurant all condensed into a couple of square centimetres of soft, fervent flesh.
Is it possible to faint from being kissed?
‘What are you thinking?’ Elliot whispered against my forehead when we’d finally managed to break apart and take a long, breathless moment for our brains to unscramble.
‘I’m thinking I should have asked Mum to do my make-up ages ago.’
The fading sunlight cast his face in shadow as he broke into a grin, hand confident this time as his thumb stroked my cheek. ‘I miss your freckles.’
‘Oh! Okay, so is it the dress?’
Elliot lowered his eyebrows, confused.
‘Well something made you decide you wanted to… dothis.’
‘You mean this?’ He leant in and kissed me again. Softly this time, so that my bones melted into liquid gold. ‘I’ve wanted to do that for ages.’
‘Then why haven’t you?’ I shook my head, disbelieving. ‘If that’s true, why didn’t you invite me to the prom, so I didn’t have to ride in a kiddie seat behind my brother?’
‘Because I promised him I wouldn’t.’
‘What?’ I sat back, feeling the familiar prickle of fraternal irritation. ‘My brother doesn’t own me. This isn’t medieval times. Why would you promise that?’
Elliot sighed, but he held tight to my reluctant hand. ‘It was ages ago. We were drinking on the hilltop. I asked a question about you. I’d probably asked way too many questions, and he got suspicious. It wasn’t a hard promise to make to a new friend, considering I didn’t know you, then.’
‘I can’t believe he made you do that. Has he asked all the boys in school to stay away?’ I gave a bitter laugh. ‘And here I was thinking it was because I was so unattractive.’
‘I don’t know about anyone else. But it’s definitely not that. Not that I want to think about anyone else finding you attractive. But, with Isaac… You can understand him thinking that if we get together, it could mess things up.’
I said nothing, still too busy seething at my brother.
‘How many real friends does Isaac have? Not people he hangs out with, but real friends. The kind who’ve got his back.’
