Page 11 of The Wing
“In Wanaka.”
“Wanaka? What are you doing there?” Charlie asks, surprise tinging her voice now that she knows where I am. “Is it gorgeous?”
“From the drive through to the house it is.” Neither of us have been to the famous destination, so if I venture out I’ll have to send her photos.
“House? Did you rent a place?”
I stay quiet while I figure out how to respond, but I take too long.
“Are you staying with someone?” she whispers with a scandalised edge. “Who?”
I suck in a long breath and mutter, “Maybe.”
“Hemi. Who is it? You said you weren’t seeing anyone.”
“I’m not. Charlie, I promise I’m not. The physio you met at the last game?—”
“Daisy, right?”
“Yeah. Well, she has a friend here from uni and thought it would be good for me to get out of Auckland and stop thinking about everything. So I did. I’m staying with him until I fly out.”
“Is he cute?”
“Charlie!” My eyes widen and dart to the closed door in case Liam can somehow hear what she said.
“What? If he’s cute, it might be a better holiday than anticipated. Have some fun!”
“No, I’m?—”
“No, he’s not cute or no you aren’t going to do anything?”
“Just no. I’m not going to do anything?—”
“So he is cute.”
“Only the hottest person alive,” I mutter to myself, not intending Charlie to hear, but she does.
She hums. “So why aren’t you going to do anything?”
“Because!”
“Because why?”
I shove a hand through my hair. “Because he was nice enough to let me stay here even though I think he’s busy right now, and I don’t want to make his life more difficult by being here. He and Daisy are trying to help me, and I don’t want to ruin anything.” Even if I do want to bite his bottom lip. “I want to take the leave to figure stuff out and then be back playing. And not on the bench. I don’t want to mess it up.”
“I know, and you won’t. You’re taking care of yourself, and that’s what matters,” she says softly, “but that doesn’t mean you can’t ask someone out if you want to. You can always ask after you’ve left if you’re still interested.”
“I guess,” I mumble.
“You can,” she says firmly. “You’re staying with him until you fly out, so if you have a crush at the end of your stay, you should ask him out. Daisy’s friends with him so you know he isn’t crazy or just wanting to sleep with a rugby player.”
“I don’t even know if he likes guys.” Although he did seem flustered around me, but then again, if he isn’t used to people in his space that could explain it.
“I’m sure you’ll find out by the end of the week.” Charlie yawns and asks, “Do you have any plans?”
I lie on the bed and shift my legs on the soft blanket. “Not really. This was a spontaneous decision.”
“So you’re planning on staying inside all day instead of exploring? Hemi, you can’t do that.”
