Page 33 of Lovestruck at Sundown
“William said he would cut out your tongue if you ate the strawberries,” I warned.
“That would be convenient,” Liam said. “Let him eat them.”
Nina laughed, and Liam stuffed his face with a huge chunk of cinnamon roll.
“It’s not a big deal.” Tobias rolled his eyes, placed the container on the coffee table, and sat on the floor. “I’ll replace them tomorrow.”
“You’ve been warned.” I shrugged and lifted my hands in front of me.
William was going to be pissed and then some. Knowing him, he probably ordered those from a special place and had them meticulously selected. But Tobias wasn’t a child. If he wanted to eat them, there was nothing I could do to stop him.
“Indulge!” Liam shouted with a wicked laugh and snapped a photo of him with his phone. “Sending this to William.”
“Can’t be bothered.” Tobias sipped on his beer and passed the container to Liam, who grabbed a couple of strawberries for himself. They were a lost cause.
Nina laughed and sipped on her beer. She kept staring at Liam but looked away when she caught me looking at her. “Did you hear back from the magazine?” she asked.
“I did!” I said, grinning excitedly. “Yesterday morning. I was meaning to tell you.” Not everything was bad news for me. Haute Magazine offered me a part-time job in the afternoons, five days a week, so I could still go to Parsons in the morning. I immediately called them the next day after I arrived from South Africa because even if I didn’t know my father was planning to cut me off at the time, I wanted to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. Earning my own money was a priority. The pay was shit. It was an entry-level job, but I had to start somewhere. “I start on the 18th.”
“Oh, my God!” Nina hugged me. “Congratulations, Billie! This is huge!”
“Oh, fuck you!” Tobias shouted at the screen. One of the soccer players was lying on the ground, massaging his shin. “Sorry,” he said, chewing on a fat strawberry. “Mmm, I knew you would get the job.” He leaned in and high-fived me. “Grattis!”Congratulations. I knew that one.
“Congrats, Red!” Liam said. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? You owe me a large coffee and a cinnamon roll once you get your first paycheck.” Liam chuckled and turned to Nina. “You know her credit cards bounced earlier? Papa Murphy—” He clicked his tongue twice and scissored his fingers as if cutting something. My credit cards.
“Are you serious?” Nina looked genuinely worried. “What are you going to do?”
“I have some cash saved,” I told her. “I’ve been taking a bit of money out of the ATM here and there just in case. I’ll be fine until my first paycheck comes. And he’s still paying for school, so it’s not that bad.”I think.
“Any news on the apartment?” she asked. “Is he selling it?”
“I still don’t know.” I didn’t want to talk about it until I broke the news to William. I was still very much in denial, and I didn’t want my friends to worry or feel obligated to offer me a place to stay while I figured things out. The situation was embarrassing. And a small part of me still hoped this was another of my father’s tactics to get me to do his bidding. But this time, I knew he’d actually gone through with the sale.
A few hours later of us sitting in the living room and doing nothing but snacking, talking, and laughing, there was a knock on my door, so I got up and rushed to get it because I already knew it was William. He’d texted me earlier to say he was on his way.
“Hey, baby.” He tossed his keys on the foyer table and leaned in for a kiss, pulling me closer to him. His tongue parted my lips, and a soft moan vibrated in my throat. “I missed you.” He grabbed my ass and squeezed it. “Are they leaving soon?” He jerked his head toward the living room, taking a few steps toward my room with his hands still attached to my body.
“I think Tobias just ordered Chinese for everyone,” I said with a laugh, but it came out sad. Suddenly, I remembered my father’s text and how technically, this apartment was no longer mine.
“I’ll ask them to leave,” he said, pressing a soft kiss on my neck. “They can eat upstairs at his apartment.”
“Nina is with them, too,” I whispered. He had me pinned against my bedroom door, his thumbs caressing my cheeks. “I can’t ask her to leave. I’m sure they’ll leave after they eat.”
“But I need you.” He rubbed his erection against my stomach, and I could feel the warmth spreading between my legs. William and I were very much still in the honeymoon phase, and even if I was tired, worried, sad, or anything else, he could get me in the mood in two seconds. I hoped that feeling would last forever. “And I still need to convince you to put my photo up on that wall.”
My hands wandered inside his thin sweater and caressed his abs. “If it were just Liam and Tobias in there, I wouldn’t hesitate, but I can’t ask Nina to leave.”
William grabbed my face and kissed me like he was about to leave me for an entire year as he continued to press the hard line of his body against mine. His fingers brushed through my hair and then broke off the kiss. He groaned with evident frustration but smiled regardless and grabbed my hand to walk me back to the living room.
“To be continued.” He smacked my behind softly before saying hi to everyone.
“What. The. Fuck?” William picked up the container that had only a few strawberries left and slapped the back of Tobias’s head. He said something to him in Swedish, and they started arguing.
“Billie did warn him not to eat them,” Liam said, only fueling the fire. “Didn’t you get my text with the incriminating photo?”
“Haven’t checked.” William was fuming.
“Liam ate a few strawberries, too,” Nina added with a grin, biting her lower lip afterward.
