Page 51 of Face Off
By mid-afternoon, Hannah video calls.
“So,” she says, voice sharp with curiosity. “You’ve been dodging me since Tuesday. Spill.”
“There’s nothing to spill.”
“Liar. You’ve got that smug just-had-sex glow.”
My jaw drops. “I do not.”
“You absolutely do.” She laughs, leaning closer on the screen. “Don’t even try to deny it. That grin’s giving you away.”
I roll my eyes, but my cheeks are already hot. “You’re insufferable.”
“Uh-huh. So… how was it? With Ollie?” Her tone is teasing, but her eyes are sharp, searching.
My stomach flips. We’ve already crossed that line, and Hannah knows it. What she doesn’t know, what I can’t quite bring myself to say, is how it’s different with him. How it’s not just the sex that has me floating.
I bite my lip. “It was… good.”
“Good?” she repeats, eyebrows shooting up. “That’s all I get? Good?”
I groan, covering my face with one hand. “Amazing, okay? The man knows what he’s doing.”
Hannah squeals, clapping her hands together like we’re sixteen again. “Yes! Finally, someone who doesn’t deserve the Chloe eye-roll of doom.”
Her joy is infectious, but there’s a tightness in my chest. I drop my hand, shrugging. “It’s not just that, though. He’s different.”
“Different how?”
I hesitate, words tangling on my tongue. Serious. Steady. The kind of man who makes me wonder what comes next, and that terrifies me. I can’t say that, not yet. So, I settle on, “He actually cares.”
Hannah’s smile softens. “That’s all I needed to hear.”
That night, I’m restless. The flat feels too quiet, too big. My laptop sits open on the coffee table, work documents glowing back at me, but I can’t focus. My thoughts keep circling back to him.
Finally, I cave and type out a message.
Me: Tomorrow. Dinner. My treat.
The reply comes almost instantly.
Ollie: You mean date number two?
I roll my eyes, grinning despite myself.
Me: Don’t get cocky.
He shoots back.
Ollie: Too late, I already am.
And just like that, the weight in my chest lightens. Maybe it’s reckless. Maybe it’s doomed. But right now, it feels unstoppable.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
OLLIE
The sound of Lila’s giggles echoes down the hall before I even knock. I don’t even get a chance to rap my knuckles on Jacko’s front door before it flies open and a small blur of pink unicorn pyjamas and wild curls comes barrelling into me.
