Page 34 of Knotting Hill
Storm
Positively annoyed with Russell,but a little bit excited about Franco, I enter the building for work to see Sadie already there this time. She is smug and irritating with her fake smile.
“Ugh,” I mutter under my breath, but then smile when I see Cheryl. “Hey, can I ask you something?”
I place my bag down and sit, rolling my chair over to hers so Sadie can’t hear our conversation.
“Course. What’s up?” She settles down for some goss, which I may end up giving her if I’m not careful.
“Your prime knows the St. Lucs, right?”
She nods. “Tim went to school with JP and Russ. Why?” Her gaze goes sly.
“Are they as dickish as they seem?”
She snorts. “Oh, my. Yes, they love a good bonk. But they’re good guys deep down. Tim wouldn’t still be friends with them if they were complete arseholes. You interested? I could set you up!”
“No!” I say horrified, not having expected such enthusiasm. “It’s just that Josh…” I glance around to make sure no one is listening. “…kissed me the other night. Out of the blue! But I’ve also had a bit of an encounter with JP. He was quite mean.”
Cheryl frowns. “Mean, how?”
“I tripped and spilt coffee on him, by accident obviously, and he yelled at me and told me I had to pay for his dry cleaning! Can you believe it?”
She blinks. “That’s it?”
I nod emphatically.
“Oh. That sounds more like he was trying to rile you up rather than him being mad at you. Did he ask for your name and number?”
“I gave him my name and this place to send his dry-cleaning bill to,” I admit reluctantly.
“Ahahahaha!” she screams with laughter, clapping her hands together while Sadie glares at us. “Oh, Storm. You fell right into that trap! He’s into you.”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “He wasn’t very nice. And just now, I made a date with Franco from the coffee shop, andRusselltried to warn me off. I mean, what the fuck, right?” I huff.
Cheryl shakes her head. “You realise that all of this makes you sound incredibly dumb. One of them yells at you so you give him your name and place of work. Another onekissesyou, and another warns you off from a hot Italian with a bod that rocks. How was the kiss?”
I groan softly. “So good, but their reputation definitely precedes them. They aren’t into being serious, and I don’t want to be another notch for them.”
She gives me a sympathetic look. “Yeah, I hear you. Do you want me to find out their intentions? I could ask Tim; he’d be super casual about it…”
“No, please don’t do that,” I say desperately. “I’ll deal with it on my own.”
“If you change your mind, I’m happy to help.”
“Thanks,” I murmur and then roll back to my desk before Sadie starts hissing at us.
“By the way, good on you for getting a date with Franco. He’shot!” She licks her finger and places it on her arm, making a sizzling sound. “But watch your back with him. He’s also a massive player. Probably worse than JP.”
“Oh, I know. It’s just for funsies. I don’t expect anything from him.”
“Tell me all about the sex tomorrow.”
“There will be no sex,” I point out.
She looks perplexed. “Then why are you going out with him?”
Good point. Maybe there will be some sex. It’s been a while. I’ve only seen action with my vibrator for a few months.
