Page 40 of Where the Dark Knelt
Spending most of our time at Will’s place was great because he had no roommates to interrupt us.Will rangSaffyeach day when we were winding up, and she came around as I was leaving. In the morning, we’d swap places again.
Sometimes though, I was exhausted and napped in a chair while Will made us sandwiches or had a shower.I didn’t know how he kept going sometimes. “How do you find the stamina to keep up at this pace?” I groaned, stretching out one afternoon while he was spreading mayo on some bread, and I was half-lying on the kitchen counter.
Will smirked. “Workouts, they energize me.” My jaw dropped, when did he find time to do that?
“You’ve been going to the gym too?”
Grinning wickedly, Will suddenly looked smug. “Nah, I’m doing theSaffyworkout.” He grinned wider and wiggled his brows playfully at me.
Feeling mortifiedat how open he was about his sex life withSaffy, I giggled, and blushed. Will pulled my head under his arm and ruffled my hair. “You’re so adorable when you blush.” He chuckled.
Accepting his comments, I wouldn’t have been as comfortable with another guyapart from Jack or Alfie talking about their sex lives with me, but Will was different. I poked his belly. “You had better take care of her, Will,” I said, threatening him. He pretended to bite his fingernails and look scared of me.
When I got intobed that night my mind went over what had happened in those previous few weeks. I felt like I’d grown up a lot in the past month, in terms of my music and my relationships. For the first time since I arrived in Florida I felt as if I was coming to grips with myself.I had slept with Alfie three times, but I’d had kept my distance since the night I’d stayed over.
In fact, it appeared mutual. I hadn’t seen him,and he hadn’t called. I almost caved one night when a song came on that reminded me of him. It had been playing in the background the first night I’d gone to see him.
Since then, though, I’d enjoyed my new life, doing well, feeling great, and I’d begun to network with the other students too. I was sleeping better as well.
I wasoften woken by my cell buzzing, and today was no exception. I was clammy from the humidity in my room as I reached over and grabbed my cell. Will was meeting me oncampus and wanted to remind me to bring something we’d burned to CD.
Quickly showering, I dressed in some black, gray, and white plaid shorts, a black tank top and some flip-flops. I had really toned down my attire. Florida was the place where lazy people could still look cool.
Other people were commenting on how my appearance had changed since I’d arrived as well. Willinformed me that my tan enhanced my appearance, and he wasn’t the only male giving me attention. There were a couple of guys from my course that had asked me out, but because of our commitment to work I had declined.
They were nice guys, though, and I asked for a raincheck not wanting to offend either of them. But I wasn’t really interested in getting into something after Alfie.
Part of me was more cautious after what happened with him.He had obviously found our last encounter as awkward as I had. So it seemed natural that we were no longer in contact.
So Iwas surprised when I walked into the canteen with Will, only to see him there larger than life after all that time.
As soon as I set eyes on him again, I realized that I had feelings for him that I had been trying to suppress. Almost five weeks had passed since our last night together, but just catching sight of him gave me a buzz like nothing else ever had.
The change in atmosphere in the canteen was what alerted me something was going on, and I could see some girls focusing on something behind me. They were giggling and nudging each other. One of the girls was lusting after someone and blew a kiss. Before I even saw him, I felt his presence.I just knew in my heart, it was him… Alfie.
As I turned and saw him, heblew a kiss. Smiling playfully, but not at me, he was looking at the girl that had just madethe gesture toward him. She swiped the air, catching the imaginary kiss and closed her palm. She brought her closed fist to her mouth before touching it with her fingers and smiled. She then placed her hand over her heart.
The group of girls she was with giggled shyly beside her, and she rolled her eyes skywards. When I looked at Will, he was smiling, still watching the exchange. His eyes then seemed to move slowly downwards, and I realized whoever he was looking at was coming closer.
Will’s head began turning slightly and his body tensed as the person came alongside me. Recognizing his scent immediately before he brushed his hand lightly against my arm, Alfie stopped in front of me.
When his skin touched mine, the air was suddenly sucked out of my lungs and my heart fluttered wildly inside my ribcage. His touch floored me, his tiny contact with me caused such a violent reaction in my mind and body. Closing my eyes, I hated and loved the way his touch made me feel. His presence beside me made my body hum.
I had forgotten justhow stunning he was and the effect he had on me. When I heard him talk, I melted. “Hey,” he said. The contours of his muscles flexed as he leaned across the table to fist bump Will before he began chatting with him about some tour he’d been on.
The effect of his rich, deep voice made me weak in the knees, but I was screaming inside because I hadn’t seen him in all this time, and he was completely ignoring me again.
Rage built in me,anger that he couldn’t even offer a smile. I didn’t really hear their conversation because my heart was thumping so fast and hard. My mouth was dry, and the shock I felt was making me tremble inside.
When Alfieleft, Will noticed that he’d spoken with him as if I hadn’t been there at all. “The guy is an ass at times,”Will muttered angrily once we were alone. He went on looking infuriated. “And what the fuck is with that tattoo he has?”
I looked puzzled.“The one of the couple making love?” I asked.
His face contorted into a sneer. “Jeez, no, the script on his left wrist and that stuff on his right hand,” Will said.
“Oh, I’ll look next time,” I insisted, not wanting him to know that I’d already read it.
Alfie’s left wrist, like his right, had a motivating scroll that read,The question isn’t who’s going to let me. It’s who’s going to stop me?I sometimes wondered if that was in relation to his attitude to sex. Also, the other wrist read,Don’t limit your challenges, challenge your limits.
