Page 34 of Midnight Kisses

After a few cryptic messages, my mum agreed to go to my house and put together an overnight bag for me, which she dropped off without saying anything too smug about my current situation—her shit-eating expression did that for her. I changed as quickly as I could, disliking being away from Perry for the fewminutes it took to do that, and to scarf down some of her leftover soup.

We spent the whole night together.

Perry slept in fits and starts. I went back and started watching Derry Girls from the very beginning. I didn’t sleep, which wasn’t unusual, but tonight it was because I was too obsessed with monitoring her for any signs that she was getting worse, or there was something I could do for her. At about one in the morning, when she grumbled something and started rubbing her feet together like a fucking cricket, I realised she was annoyed by her socks and peeled them off for her. Just past three, when she fumbled in the air over her nightstand for an empty glass, I went and refilled it.

At some point I caught a few minutes of sleep myself, perhaps even an hour. That was fine for me—I’d often done more with less. But I was wide-awake at four when Perry woke and reached for me, pressing her body to mine.

“Thanks for staying,” she whispered into the darkness.

“My pleasure.”

“You’re very thoughtful for a fuckboy.”

I told her the truth. “I like thinking about you.”

And truth was a lovely thing, because she nuzzled in closer.

In the morning, her cold seemed marginally better, although she still wasn’t quite fighting fit. So it made sense for me to stay the next night, too.

Then when I caught her bug and got taken out by the worst cold I’d had in years, she came to my place and stayed there with me.

It just made sense.Wemade sense.

CHAPTER 12

MILES

It waslate February when we went back to the Sky Tower on a proper date.

Ever since the common cold had brought us together, Perry had spent most nights at my place, or I’d stayed at hers. I’d mentioned at dinner over my kitchen bench that it was unclear to me if this constituted ‘dating.’ Perry was of the opinion it didn’t count, as we’d skipped over that and spent more time together than apart. I didn’t see the point of anything that meant less time with her, but Perry got a dreamy sort of look in her eye when she gave me examples of date activities. So, tonight, in an effort to retrofit, I picked her up from her house clutching flowers and made her wait for me to open doors for her, all the while draping her in compliments.

I even refrained from leering at the way her leg split the thigh-high slit of her dress when she stepped out of my car. And if that wasn’t romantic, what was?

“Why are we here?” She frowned up at the Sky Tower.

“I’m being romantic,” I announced, romantically. “This is where we met the night I walked into the wrong bathroom and you rode my face and changed my life.”

“Miles!” she scolded, but her eyes sparkled. “Don’t make it sound like it happened the moment you said hello.”

“At least two moments after I said hello.” I held the elevator door and together we shot up into the sky. “And I was working hard, blondie. I was throwing out all of my best lines, flexing, trying not to pant like a dog…”

“…Chemically burning your dick…”

“Nearlychemically burning my dick,” I corrected. “You know damn well my dick is in perfect working order.”

“Yes, yes,” she kissed my cheek, and I wrapped an arm around her. “It’s a marvel.”

“Feel free to keep doubting me, blondie. I’ll take you back to the bathroom and prove it.”

She laughed, but the pleasure of her response was ripped from me as the doors opened to the party. I didn’t actually know the cause this one was fundraising for, I’d just told Sadie to get me tickets for the next thing here and make a big donation. I wanted to bring Perry back here and dance all night with her in my arms, and maybe see if I could entice her into the bathroom for a quickie. It was our two-month anniversary of the former and our three-month anniversary of the latter, and I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than a repeat.

Unfortunately, the minute I took my gorgeous girl into the room, she got swept into conversation. People liked Perry and wanted to talk to her. Speaking to Lara Savea, she had an excited flush in her cheeks.

I hovered at her elbow and nodded whenever she said something impressive. So I was a bobblehead on a dash.

I was absorbed listening to my lovely girl… My date? My girlfriend? My whatever she wanted. The key bit wasmy—so I didn’t notice the short woman with pale hair and a pissy expression pushing through the crowd towards us until she was right in front of us.

“Peregrine Anders?” the woman demanded, her tone immediately pissing me off.

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