Page 30 of Sorry, We're Closed

His gaze meets mine as he smiles at the mention of the band. It clearly means so much to him.

“So, people are talking, huh? It went amazing! With Tetherton being a pitstop towards the festival grounds which surround it, and the beach festival you guys hold, it's the perfect place for music! You just have to hope and pray that someone notices you on their journey in and out of the town. Marcus and I have actually made a bet that we won’t leave Tetherton until we get our shot.”

“Wow, I've lived here my entire life and I've never known that we're surrounded by festival grounds.”

“So, do you ever get out of that café then or…?” Avory quietly chuckles to himself, and I find myself joining in.

Never before would I find myself laughing about being trapped in my mother's café until she accepts me, if she'll ever accept me, but Avory is infectious.

“Of course I don't, because if I'm not there, who's going to provide you and Marcus with your delicious coffees?” I lightly shoulder his side with a smile as his arm lays behind me, his hand briefly resting on the small of my back before falling back to his side.

I don't want his hand to leave, I want it to wrap around my waist and pull me closer to him.

I find myself staring at the slightly damp hairs which stick themselves to Avory's face as we turn away from the shore and onto the estates. The streets are filled with the same ivory front doors and burnt red brickwork, a variety of hedges and potted plants lining the paths.

“I wanted to ask you something actually.” Avory's demeanour changes. His pace slows and his hand brushes against mine more and more.

My mind races at everything and anything that Avory could want to ask me.What could a friend ask another friend which can cause him to act like this?I nod and hope that whatever it is, I can answer.

A puzzled expression spreads across his face as he tries to piece his words together, his neck muscles tensing as he swallows. The longing to trace all his definitions with my fingertips, or my lips, is overpowering to say the least. I have never seen this side of Avory where his confidence and positivity aren’t foremost and centre, and my heart rate picks up as the words fall from his mouth,

“Do you ever feel like this is a weird friendship?What I mean is, I get that we have known each other for what feels like minutes, well, we hardly even know each other, but please don't tell me that I'm the only one that feels something here?”

My mouth begins to dry from my lips being parted for so long. Did Avory just say that he feels something here, too? My chest pounds as if my heart is trying to leap from its skeletal cage and into his grasp. I am so invested in this man already and it’s so early on, it frightens me but knowing that he feels the same is warming to my core. I should've known that trying to convince myself that friendship is a possibility was utterly stupid.

I need to tell him everything.

We stop as we reach the top of my street, a row of evergreen hedges standing tall behind Avory. I turn to face the man who has somehow turned one of the gloomiest days of the year into one of the brightest.

“Shit Sawyer, I'm sorry. I've literally just asked you outright if—”

Avory is interrupted as two beaming headlights throw themselves around the corner, a car speeding through the puddles which have grouped together by the curb closest to us. Avory whips the umbrella behind my back to face the car, preventing any more of my shirt from becoming soaked.

His arms relax on either side of my waist as my hands land on his chest in an attempt to stop myself falling flat on my face. The car's spitting exhaust turns distant as the rain begins to fill the space between us, except my heart is screaming to close this space.

Gwen and Xander's words flutter through my mind with very little resistance, every thought that yells at me to never even look at a man are now silent for the first time.

“Avory, may I?”

My hands travel from his firm chest to his neck. One hand rests there with my thumb tracing his jaw, while the other slides into Avory's now dripping hair. I sweep back his jet waves from his eyes, my hand trailing to the back of his neck and resting in his roots.

Avory drops the umbrella as his hands meet my waist, our eyes lock to each other. In this moment, I feel every part of my throat close up and time stands still. I am falling for these ocean eyes, which I silently beg to open up so I can drown in them. Drown myself in Avory's being in this moment, because this man.

This goddamn man.

He has a grip on me that I never want him to loosen. I want it to tighten until it’s crushing me, but I worry that he will have to let go for his own good one day.

No. Sawyer, this is the first time we're demanding that your head shuts up.

Avory's warm breath tickles my lips as my hand tangles itself in his waves and curls, and his hold on my waist grows in confidence. My gaze flickering between his eyes and his lips until my eyelids come across. Inches become centimetres which become moments between us as my lips gently press against his.

His lips are soft and full of heat just waiting to escape onto mine. Nothing matters. The rain pouring over us; the cold winds now lashing against us, the umbrella now blowing down the street, none of it matters because all that matters is us, right here, right now.

My heart and breath are whisked away from me, and straight into Avory's possession. I have to drag my lips away from his, but I could've stayed there forever, with him. Ridiculous smiles grow on our faces as we both laugh lightly at each other. My eyes lock onto our shoes as I can't hold back the scarlet heat which spreads across my entire face.

“You're so formal. Sawyer, may I?”

I can tell that confusion wipes the completely smitten look off of my face as Avory leans back in with no hesitation.

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