Page 85 of Weekends with You

My teeth found that familiar spot on the inside of my lip,stopping me from losing it altogether. “You can’t say things like that to me in front of everyone,” I said, feeling suddenly shy.

“Who’s going to stop me?” he said. “Besides, you look cute when you blush.”

I bit my tongue before I ruined the moment by saying something I would regret. If I was going to let go of the past and really be here with him, I had to accept the compliment without opening old wounds. I had asked for honesty, and I would have to trust he was giving it to me.

After another half hour of pleasantries and friendly jeering, we were well and truly knackered. “This has been a pleasure,” Rory said, standing up. “I’m looking forward to the rest of the weekend. You’ll need a good night’s rest to put up with us for two more days, so off you pop.” He herded us like sheep out of the dining room, despite our offers to help tidy up.

We called a series of “good nights” over the banister as we dragged ourselves into our rooms, tipsy from the whiskey and full to the brim with biscuits and corned beef.

Liv and Raj were fortunately too tired for more than a few minutes of chatting before bed. We covered how gorgeous the place was, how quirky and generous Finn’s parents were, and how different it felt to be together away from our usual place of togetherness. After agreeing on the value of a sound night’s sleep before our first official day in Cork, we slipped into our respective headphones or eye masks and knocked out the lights.

As always when I was spending the night in a new place, restlessness kept me awake. I tossed and turned until the creaking of the mattress became too much, then admitted defeat and rolled onto my back. I wasn’t sure how long I was lying there, staring at the ceiling, but eventually the vibration of my phone ripped me from the purgatory between awake and asleep.Damn it.

I felt for my phone on the night table. The light of the screenwas blinding when I brought it to my face, and I had to squint to be able to read anything.

Henry Baker

Message

I rubbed my eyes like I was a cartoon and checked it again, mind reeling at the possibilities of what the text might say.

You up?

If I wasn’t before, I definitely was now. I sat bolt upright, if only to stop my stomach from flipping, and took a deep breath to compose myself. Was this what I thought it was? I had expected him to say something more casual, like,Is there any heat in this place, orCan you also hear Jan snoring from across the hall?

Henry Baker, is this a booty call?

My eyes were now fully adjusted to the light, and I stared impatiently at my phone like a teenager while I waited for his response.

Do you want it to be?

Did I? Surely not here in this bed-and-breakfast, right? We had agreed to try not to make things weird for our roommates, and I did promise Finn no one would be having a shag tonight, so the answer had to be no. Besides, we hadn’t crossed that line just yet, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to cross it on a midnight booty call.

I’m just winding you up.He texted again before I could answer.Every creak in this place is keeping me awake—fancy venturing to the kitchen for a cup of tea?

I exhaled at the prospect of tea. That was much safer ground, and I could’ve really used a cup.

Meet you in the kitchen in five.

I stifled a chuckle and felt around in the dark for a hoodie and slippers. I was sure I looked shite at that hour, so I skipped a glance in the mirror and tiptoed downstairs.

When I crept around the corner and into the kitchen, Henry was already working on the kettle. His presence dominated the stillness of the room. He stood unmoving, hands braced on either side of the stove, the muscles in his back just barely visible under his shirt. His head was bent low, and I studied the notches of his spine at the base of his neck.

A creak from the floorboards gave me away before I could speak, and he spun to face me.

“Ah yes,” he said. “Another creature of the night.”

“Only because a certain creature woke me up and convinced me to get out of bed,” I said.

“Oh, please. You were awake already, and you hardly took any convincing.” He dropped tea bags into two mugs and took the kettle off the stove. As he slowly poured the water into the mugs, I could see the flex in his forearm through his shirtsleeve, and I made no effort to look away this time.

“You don’t think Rory and Aoife will hear us, do you?” I whispered. Somehow the silence of night made even tea feel scandalous.

“Well,” he said, moving to the side of the island where I stood, “we aren’t doing anything we shouldn’t be, are we?”

“Nope, just tea.” I smiled, taking a sip for effect and ignoring the increasing beat of my heart. He placed his full mug on the island, then took mine out of my hands and did the same.

“It doesn’t have to be ‘just tea,’” he said, his voice barely audible. I opened my mouth to protest at the same moment his hands found my hips and lightly pushed me against the counter.

---