Page 104 of Only Ever You

“Where are you?” Faye asked, and it was the bounciest Bash had seen her all day.

The signal was scratchy from where Morris and his wife, Ruth, were supposedly still on their Norwegian cruise. He recanted the last few days of their holiday whilst Faye’s leg bounced impatiently.

Bash didn’t know why she was so anxious. It wasn’t as if they were in a rush.

“Listen, Dad,” she cut in and he could imagine the way Morris’ mouth would snap closed, “we’re stuck in back to back traffic just outside of Oxford. It’s getting dark and the road is already getting icy. Can we stay at the house?”

Ahhh. So that’s where Faye was going with this. Bash didn’t realise she wasthatdesperate to get out of this car that he too was stuck in.

“At ours?” Morris sounded surprised but recovered expertly. “Yes, of course, if you’ve got your key with you, or else you’ll have to go to Mrs Papplewick for hers.”

“Yes, I have it. Thank you so much, Dad.”

“No problem. Also, who is ‘we’? Who are you with?” Morris preened.

Faye cast an uncertain glance his way and Bash raised his brow up expectantly. “ … Bash.”

“Hi, Mr. Whittaker,” he said loud enough for the phone to pick up his voice.I kissed your daughter last night and considered ripping her clothes off on my parents’ sofa. How are you?

“Oh, hello Bash,” Morris chirped. “Good to hear your voice.”

“Yours too. I hope the cruise is going well.”

“Everywhere is beautiful, Bash. You could find some real inspiration here.”

Travelling through Scandinavia had been on his bucket list ever since Freddyfirst went back with his parents to visit Denmark – their birthplace – and returned with stunning photos. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

They listened to Morris reel off where he and Ruth had been so far, since they didn’t have anything else to do. Bash was able to move the car forwards twenty feet. Then another twenty. Whatever had happened up ahead must’ve begun clearing. That, or there were going to be a lot of crushed biscuits on the road.

“Dad’s house isn’t far,” Faye said when she eventually put her phone away. “If we can get to the next junction then it’ll only be half an hour.”

“If,” Bash tutted.

“What’s the matter with you?”

“Me?”He gripped the steering wheel, feeling Faye’s eyes like laser beams against his cheek.

“You’ve been ignoring me all day.”

Bash could bite back, but that wasn’t fair. “I’m sorry if I have. I don’t know when I’m going to see any of my family next so I wanted to make use of the last of our time with them.”

“Oh … right.” The pause set Bash on edge. Had she been expecting a different answer?

He hadn’t been ignoring her, but Faye hadn’t exactly been all friendly as usual with him, either. He didn’t think the very ends of her fingertips had even touched him today.

He took his eyes off of the crawling traffic to glimpse her picking at her fingernails.

“Tell me what you’re thinking?” he said. And if his senses were correct, she was thinking about this distance between them that couldn’t decide if it wanted to shrink down or open up like an even wider cavern than it already was.

Her answer was hesitant. “That you’re regretting last night.”

God, Bash hated how small she sounded, and it was all his fucking fault. He knew better than to mess with Faye’s emotions like that, all because of some silly tradition, but he hadn’t ever expected she’d sayyesto kissing him in the first place.

This was all uncharted territory and Bash had no compass, let alone a map.

He gulped, already hating himself for this. “It was just a kiss.”

“Was it?” A flash of brown moved in the corner of his sight as Faye’s low eyes shifted his way.

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