Page 53 of Away We Go

“I mean, wanna hang out with me?”

Her giggle is light and has her dimple flashing. “Sure. As long as all this hanging doesn’t involve me leaving this couch.” She stretches her long legs out between us and pokes my thigh with her toes. “My feet hate me again.”

I hold both of her feet in my hands. “How do you balance on these things?”

Her answering glare lacks heat. “I get by.”

Without thought, I rub the arch of her left foot and she lets out a low groan. “Ooooh. That’s good.”

I stop massaging and point to her phone resting on the couch cushion next to her. “Delete the video.”

She squints her eyes at me. “Evil.”

I hold her foot hostage, giving her a taste of what she could have if she’d just give in. Kind of like how I feel every time I’m with her.

“You know it’s on the internet, yeah? I can delete the video and then just re-download it again the next day.”

She’s got me and she knows it. I continue rubbing her feet and am rewarded when she purrs like a kitten. Her head drops against the back of the couch and she closes her eyes, a blissful smile playing on her lips.

“So,” I break the silence, wishing I didn’t have to ruin this moment. “I need to talk to you about something.”

Her eyelids flutter open and she locks her gaze with mine. “Is something wrong?”

I shift my hands from one foot to another. “No, not really. I spoke to Frieda this morning.”

“Frieda of the power suits and fabulous shoulder pads?”

“That’s the one.”

She sits up straight, pulling her feet from my hands and tucking them under her body. “And?”

Hmm. How to warn her without scaring her?

“You probably already know most of this by now, but there are a few stories going around about us. As a couple.”

Her cheeks flush a soft shade of pink and she nibbles on her lower lip. “I’ve seen some of it. It had died down until your IG post.”

“Yeah, that was my bad. I wasn’t thinking.”

She pats my arm. “You were thinking about all the people who we could help by drawing attention to the charity. It was a good thing. And I’m sure the gossip will die down again when they realise we’re just friends.”

Yes.Friends.

“Ah, that may be more difficult now.” I show her the photo taken of us dancing at the club last night. An image I’ve saved to my phone.

She takes it from me, zooming in on the photo before burying her head in her hands. “That’s my fault. I forced you to dance with me and now I’ve created a mess for you.”

I pull her hands away from her face and smooth her hair out of her eyes. Little does she know I’d been thrilled when she’d asked me to dance, my only hesitation had been about keeping my hands—and lips—to myself while we did it.

“This is all on me.” Cupping her cheeks with my hands, I force her to look at me. “I should’ve known better. I’m used to living this life, with no privacy and endless scrutiny. It’s not what I want for you.”

She licks her dry lips. “We’ll just have to be more careful from now on. No more dancing, no more posting photos.” She stops and places her hands on top of mine. “No more touching.”

I close my eyes and take in a deep, steadying breath. She may as well have said ‘No more breathing,’ that’s how much I crave having my hands on her.

“You’re right,” I lean back and away from her. She nods, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes looking anywhere but at me. “And I’m sorry for all of this.”

She swallows hard and shrugs. “It’s fine. I’ll be fine.”

---