“But we'd better stop; it's not appropriate.” I indicate the kids skating by.
“I guess.” He leans closer. “You can show me your bruise later if you like.”
Unsure how to answer, I give him a lopsided smile and pull Bryn away from the side of the rink, in case he decides to kiss me in a way that'll melt the ice beneath my feet.
****
Bryn chooses the trendy restaurant close to the ice-rink as the place to eat. We head for one of the round tables tucked toward the side of the room. I unwind my blue scarf from my neck and unbutton my coat as Bryn studies the menu. I rarely dine at places like this, establishments modelled to look down-to-earth but there's nothing modest about the central London prices.
“What should we have?” Bryn asks and taps the table.
“I'm not that hungry. Chips?”
“Chips!” He grins. “Ice skating and chips.”
“And hot chocolate.”
“With marshmallows?”
“I wouldn't accept anything less.”
Our order arrives while the crowded cafe fills further, the cold forcing more people off the ice and in search of comfort food. The number of bodies filling the room prevents too much scrutiny of us and a relaxed Bryn rests back in his chair eating slowly and watching the world around him.
“This is awesome!”
“The chips?”
“No, doing this, great idea, Avery.”
“It was your idea.”
“I know, don't I have great ideas?” The grin Bryn gives me liquifies my inside further. Does this man not realise what that smile does to girls?
I chew the inside of my mouth; now we're face to face somewhere quieter, undistracted by the skating, I begin obsessing about the kiss again, and what happens when the evening ends.
“Or not?”
“I guess not many girls would go ice skating with you.”
“I can find plenty of girls to do whatever I want, but I want to do those things with you.” Bryn raises the eyebrow that accompanies any comment along these lines and my stomach tightens.
“Is that why you asked me out again, to see if I changed my mind?”
He sips his hot chocolate. “No. I mean yeah. Oh, crap, stop confusing me.”
“Have
you
changed your mind, Bryn?”
“Nothing to change my mind about. I like you. I just warned you about me, that’s all.”
“And then kissed me.” I fix him with a steady gaze.
“You can tell a lot about how somebody feels if you kiss them.” Bryn returns my look and I refuse to back down even though my hormones go haywire at the promise held in his eyes.
“Was the kiss a test? 'How to tell if Avery likes me?'” I ask.
A smile slowly curves across his lips. “I'm already sure you like me, cariad.”
“Don't be so conceited!”
“Do you kiss every guy you meet like that? I’m shocked!”
“You kissed me!”
“And you kissed me back,” he says quietly. “Then you pinned me to the sofa. I was defenceless!”
I throw a chip at Bryn's head, hoping to diffuse the tension he's creating. “Stop it!”
Under the table, Bryn traps my leg between his, the strength of the muscled thigh holding me in place. “I want to keep seeing you while we're both in London, then we can see what happens at the end of the two weeks. What do you think?”
What do I think? Two weeks isn’t enough with a man who empties my head of everything but us when I’m with him, and who still runs red-hot through my blood when he’s not around. Each minute with Bryn is one closer to losing him again, each kiss sealing my fate. I’m in over my head, and I’m going to get hurt.
I spoon a melted marshmallow from my mug and slip it into my mouth. Bryn watches, eyes darkening before he reaches across and wipes chocolate from my lips. The sensation of his rough skin against my mouth vibrates the sexual tension into every nerve fibre and when he licks the chocolate from his finger, eyes focused on mine, the world drops away from everything but us.
There is no mistaking this man's intentions.
“I'm telling you right now, I will not have sex with you,” I blurt.
I sound like a broken record. Why do I have to keep telling him this? Because I’m telling myself at the same time?
He leans across the table. “Not even a little bit? I'll make sure you enjoy it.” His curls tickle my face and I shift back because his mouth is dangerously close to mine and I won't be able to keep my lips off him.
“Bryn! No! If that's why you want to see me, you're wasting your time.”
Bryn's expression smugly says 'I bet I'll change your mind'. With a few more kisses like the one earlier, I'm pretty sure he will.
“Okay, cariad.”
“Don't call me…” I huff. “Never mind. Can we talk about something else?”
Bryn looks around the restaurant as I force myself to keep eating, his natural ease around me not matched by the sick giddiness I slip into whenever I’m around him.
What is this we're doing? And more importantly, can I spend time with a man who I can't look at without remembering him semi-naked in a hotel room, and regret that I wasn't?
I don't know who's confusing me more, myself or Bryn. One thing is certain; I am not going home with this man tonight.
Chapter Eighteen
AVERY
Two days later, I arrive home from an evening class to disaster. Ben stands sheepishly in the tiny kitchen holding a mop in his hand. I peel my coat off. What's possessed him to start cleaning?
“Avery…” His pale face and wary look increase my suspicion.
“Ben?”
“There's been an accident.”
I freeze, further than I already did taking my coat off. “Accident? Ben?”
“The pipes burst in the attic and...”
And my room is under the attic.
Crap. I charge up the damp stairs and stand in my bedroom doorway. A waterfall flows down the woodchip wall, across the carpet, and out of the open door, past my feet.
“Ben! Why didn't you turn the bloody water off?” I scream.
“I don't know where it is!”
“For God's sake! You've flooded the whole house!” I run back downstairs to stop the supply to our new water feature. “Look!” I say when I return, pointing to the sagging ceiling plaster in the lounge.
Ben continues to stand uselessly with the mop, like a bizarre modern art installation: 'Hipster Dude with Bucket'. “What do we do?” he asks.
“Wasn't somebody supposed to come and fix the heater today? I made an appointment and you were supposed to be home.”
Ben mumbles something.
“What?”
“I said I forgot.”
“Jesus!” I fight the desire to take the mop off Ben and smack him around the head with it. “We had to get the heating fixed before the temperatures dropped this week! This is what happens when pipes freeze, you idiot!”
“But if they froze, why are they leaking?”
For fuc…
Refusing to give him a physics lesson, I stomp back into my room. My bed is soaked and covered in the ceiling. The bed I left my now-drowned laptop on. The drawers I keep most of my clothes in are buried beneath damp plaster.
I slump against the wall. Now what the hell do I do?
****
BRYN
The more I see Avery, the less I think about Hannah. The girl blows me away with her funny mix of sexy and cute, and the poor attempts not to look at me as if she wants to devour me. I love Avery’s company, her natural humour, and the way her mind-melting lips on mine clear Hannah from the corners of my mind she still lives in.
The ice skating was a demonstration I can’t keep my hands off Avery, and her fighting against the obvious attraction to me means I want Avery more. Somebody took pictures of the pair of us kissing, of course; and when those appeared, I expected an email from Hannah, but when I check the account is still inactive. For the first time, my heart doesn’t sink. Avery is helping me move on.
This time I’m not waiting days to see Avery again, I’m leaving in a little over a week and I need to know what this is between us. Admittedly, I have issues with her ‘no sex’. Sure, I understand Avery’s need for respect but how long will it take to change her mind? If sex doesn’t happen before I go on tour, I don’t know if how I feel is enough to keep Avery in my life while I’m away.
No rehearsals today and I’m bored, home alone, and afraid the old thoughts of Hannah will sneak back in. I call Avery, see if she’s free this evening.
“I’m busy,” she says immediately and I’m offended; I hardly got two words out.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
“No. Everything is not okay,” she snaps.
My immediate thought: what did I do? “Okay, bad time to call?”
“Yes.”
“What’s up?”
She takes a deep breath. “Because the heating wasn't working the house got too cold and now the bloody water pipes have frozen and burst!”
“Oh. Shit.”
“Yes, oh shit! My room is at the top of the house and it all poured through from the attic!” She shouts the words, alarming me. “The dickhead didn't notice until half the house was flooded and now we can't live there until it's fixed!”
I raise an eyebrow at Avery's language, glad I'm not the dickhead on the receiving end of her displeasure. “What are you going to do?”
“Enjoy the new swimming pool in my room,” she says, sarcastically. “I don't bloody know!”
“I have a house with a pool in the States. They make a great feature.”
A silence frostier and harder than the ice rink we visited a couple of nights ago follows. “You are an insensitive arsehole sometimes!”
“Whoa. Okay.”
“I just told you my room with all my possessions is flooded and you think it's funny?”
“You made the joke!”
“Forget it. I need to go and sort out somewhere to stay for a couple of days. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“I have a spare room, cariad.”
“Hang on.” Muffled shouting continues at somebody else in the room before Avery returns to our call. “I don't think that's a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“I just don't.”
“Hell, I only mean a day or two! Where are you going to sleep tonight?”
“No idea. I'll find a friend's place to crash at. I was about to call a couple of them.”
“It's 7 p.m. now. Stay here tonight and find somewhere you're comfortable with staying long-term tomorrow.”
“I'm not sure.”
“Now you're being obstinate! I have more than one bed. I'm not asking you to share mine.”
Probably best to dismiss images of Avery naked in my bed.
There’s a long pause. “Maybe one night. If that's okay with you?”
“Of course, cariad, I'd be happier to know you're not homeless.”
****
AVERY
“Your house was a mess,” Bryn says as he effortlessly swings my half-full rucksack into the hallway.
“I can't believe my clothes are ruined. I have one set to wear. I need to buy some more.” The shock of my evening is tapering into a surreal fog around my world. Bryn could be taking me to the moon and I don't think I'd notice where I was. Lists of things I need to do cycle my head, distracting me from any real conversation.
“Mia might have left some clothes,” Bryn suggests.
“Really, Bryn? She's a completely different shape to me.”
“Mmm. True. You have a bit more here.” He gestures at his chest and I narrow my eyes. “Sorry. I said the wrong thing again, didn't I?”
“I meant she's a lot taller,” I say icily. “And I don’t share her taste in clothes.”
“Oh. Right. Um. Yes, she is.” At least he has the decency to look embarrassed. He indicates my bag. “Did you manage to rescue much?”
I slump onto his sofa. “Not a lot. My laptop drowned though. Not good, I need that for uni.” I plonk on the sofa, grateful for a warm and luxurious house taking the edge off the dizzy sickness I feel over my soggy life I left behind.
“You can borrow mine?” he suggests.
“Right. Not sensible to offer people access to your personal life like that.”
“I have nothing to hide.” Bryn perches on the coffee table. “You might not want to check my browsing history though. I might delete that before I lend it to you.”
For a moment, I don't understand what he means and then it clicks.
Porn.
“Ugh. Men.”
“Hey, it's normal!”
“As long as it is.”
“What?”
Crap, why am I talking about porn with Bryn? “Normal. I mean… doesn't matter.”
“Oh, right. I'm not into kinky shit like you.”
“What?” I choke out.
“Something about looking for a Christian Grey when we met?” His eyes sparkle and I can't tell if he's trying to distract me from the stress or if I'm overestimating his ability to be sensitive.
“Bryn, not funny.”
“You started it.”
Again, innuendo, images of Bryn and what he does like and the aching heat starts again. To make matters worse, he shifts onto the sofa next to me. The scent of the man addles my brain completely, sending a subliminal message that sex with him should be indulged in and more than once.
I sigh. Too loudly.
“What's wrong?”
Do not stare at his mouth.
I switch to Bryn's eyes, the ones I should not look into either. Definitely not while I'm alone in his house with a number of options where we could give in, get naked and distract me from the crap I have to deal with tomorrow.
“Nothing. I mean my house. I bet I'll be the one who has to organise all the repairs, liaise with the landlord…”
“Why should you? Let your housemates do it.”
“It's kind of my job.”
Bryn laughs. “You too?”
“What do you mean?”
“There's always one person in the group who has to be the sensible one, sort everybody's shit out.”
“Is that you?”
“Yeah. Not doing it anymore though. Had enough. You should stop too.”
“Maybe after this. If I leave organising to the other three, we'll still have a swimming pool for the summer.” I look at Bryn pointedly.
“Okay, sorry I said that!” he stands. “Did you eat earlier? Want me to fix you something?”
I catch a glimpse of the man he's talking about, caring for people, being there when people need him. “That's kind of you but I'm fine.”
“I'll show you where you can sleep.” He offers a hand to pull me off the sofa. Careful not to stumble into him, I decide to keep hold, so I accept the gesture.
“Bryn. Don't get any ideas just because I'm staying here.”
He takes my face in both hands. “Avery, I promise not to tear your clothes off and drag you to bed.”
I blink back in surprise at his gesture. “Okay.”
“But if you feel like tearing my clothes off and dragging me to bed, I'm good with that.”
Oh, God.
I twist my head away and step back. “Sure, Bryn.”
“One day, you'll change your mind. I'm irresistible.”
I shove him in the chest. “Such modesty.”
“Come on, tired Avery.” Bryn grabs my bag again and leads me to the other end of the apartment, along a hallway with polished wooden floors. “You can have this one.”
He pushes open the door to a room the size of the entire second floor of the house I live in, although this one is tidy, with the ceiling in the correct place and no water feature. A neatly made bed rests in the centre, covered in expensive looking white bedding and teal cushions. “Thanks.”
“You're welcome. Guest room. Was Mia's; I hope you don't catch air-headedness from sleeping in the room she once did.” He drops my bag near the bed.
I smile gratefully and sit on the edge, sinking into the mattress.
Bryn crosses his arms. “Do you need anything else?”
“I'm tired. I just want to sleep. But thanks.”
Bryn steps back. “Okay, let me know if you do. Food, drinks, naked rock star in your bed.”
“Nice try.” I throw one of the cushions at his head.
He catches and throws it back. “You know I'm teasing, right?”
“I'm too tired for teasing, Bryn.”
Bryn disappears from the room, quietly closing the door behind. I sink backwards onto the plump mattress and half-laugh at the situation. My second not-so-wild night in a rock star’s bed. Technically. I rub my face, staring at the ceiling. One set of clothes. I can’t sleep in them; leaving Bryn's place in a creased mess tomorrow would not give the right impression.
Stepping out of my jeans, I hang them over a high-backed wooden chair at the opposite end of the room then pull my green shirt off and dump that too. All I want right now is to crawl under the covers and sleep.
As I pull back the white sheet to climb into bed, the door clicks open.
“I brought you a t-shirt to sleep in, I thought…” Bryn halts, trailing off as he sees me in my semi-naked glory. “Shit. Sorry.”
Heat crosses my face and I yank the sheet upward in front of me, mortified into silence.
“I should've knocked. I didn't think,” he says with a slight hoarseness to his voice.
Thankfully, the light in the room is dim – and I'm wearing matching bra and panties. Why did I just think that? How does my choice of lingerie make the situation any better?
Still verbally impotent, I watch as he crosses the room and puts a large black t-shirt on the bed. In the end, I manage to say in a small voice, “That was thoughtful.”
He wrinkles his nose. “Awkward. Sorry, again.”
“That's okay, at least I wasn't naked.” I pull the sheet tighter.
Bryn's eyes widen and he rubs his lips with the tips of his fingers as he studies me. Something heavier than ever before hangs and my heart thumps harder with each second Bryn doesn't speak. If he grabbed hold of me and threw me on the bed, chances are I'd happily be naked for Bryn in seconds.
“True,” he says softly. “Well, I'll leave you to sleep.”