Page 46 of Fervency Love

We sit in one of the bars. Ivy looks older than she is, so they don’t even ask her for ID. She orders beers. The benches are in full sunlight, so aside from having a nice cold one, we’re alsogetting vitamin D. Suddenly, I notice Ve. He’s walking towards the line of the trees with his buddies. I wonder what they’re up to. One of the boys turns our way. I hide behind Ivy and my glass.

“What’re you doing?” Ivy asks, looking around curiously.

“Nothing, just don’t move for a while. I don’t want him to see me.”

“Who?”

“Ve. He’s over there.” I point my chin in his direction.

“Why don’t you go over, then?”

“Why would I? He’s with his friends.”

“All the more reason to do that!” Ivy cries out.

Before I can stop her, she’s already calling out to the group and waving them over.

Ve stops and gives us a surprised look. He says something we can’t hear, and the entire group heads our way. Max plops down on the bench first, then the rest. Ve’s the last to come. He’s keeping his hands in his pockets.

“Hi there, girls,” Max says with a smile.

“Hi there yourself,” Ivy replies. I nod my head. “Where are you heading?”

That’s when Ve reaches us. He sits down next to me and pulls me in.

“Hey there, kitty cat. What are you doing here?” he says into my ear and places a gentle kiss on my neck.

“You weren’t home, so I went to Ivy’s, and we came here to have a beer.”

Nobody responds to her question, so Ivy asks again: “Where were you going?”

The boys send each other loaded looks.

“Just, you know, walking around. We were bored,” Ve says. He’s hiding something. I push the thought away. The day is too nice to ruin it like that. Maybe I’ll ask him later.

The guys talk to my friend, and I enjoy the bliss Ve’s presence is giving me. He puts his face in my hair and breathes in the scent.

“You smell nice,” he whispers.

“I missed you,” I say quietly.

“Me too. A lot.”

“What are you going to do now? Are you going with the boys?”

“We’re here now, aren’t we?” The others have ordered themselves beers, which I missed earlier.

An hour or so later, we decide we’re in the mood for a smoke, so we take a walk. Ve says he’s going to come over later, but that now he has to go. He gives me a hug, wraps an arm around my waist, and kisses me, quick and wet. He joins his friends, who are halfway to the forest already.

“You’re both seriously in love, aren’t you?” Ivy shoots me a piercing stare. It says:Tell me everything!

“You think so?”

“Abbs, he’s totally into you. And you’re the same if you ask me.”

“Maybe. But I think I’m scared of what I’m feeling. I know this may be big and I’m afraid it will destroy me.”

“Why do you think that?”

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