The Distraction Trilogy: Distraction Part 36

"Dinner's ready!" Mum shouts and suddenly I'm not feeling so hungry anymore.

I am suddenly feeling very thirsty though.

Isaac I laugh at Stuart and drain my gla.s.s. That third beer is going to my head. It's been too long since I let myself drink.

"Oh great, looks like teen fun club has arrived." Katherine sighs and everybody looks at the door. Three people I don't recognise walk in, followed by three people I do.

"Do you want to go?" Chaney asks quietly.

I close my eyes for a second, praying I saw wrong, praying she's not actually here when I know she is. I'm just hoping she has a twin I don't know about.

"Hi Miss!" Hayley calls over, waving frantically.

Eloise smiles our way before turning her eyes onto me; her smile twists into a smirk. f.u.c.king h.e.l.l. Katherine waves politely.

"Nah," I say to Chaney. No point in leaving now.

I guess she owed me one. I just hope she doesn't make a habit of checking up on me. I don't blame her after today. I think she genuinely thought I was leaving her for somebody else. How wrong she was.

Jesus Christ she looks f.u.c.king beautiful tonight.

Chapter Twenty Two.

Eloise "Will you please tell me where we're going?" I ask as the car drives down a long, winding dirt road. We left town at least forty minutes ago and I don't have a clue where we are.

Isaac takes a swig from my bottle of apple juice, even though he has his own drink. I s.n.a.t.c.h it away. "Mine."

"I bought it." He smirks so I know he's joking, but I still throw a pound coin at him anyway. "It was one twenty."

"I charged you twenty for the bit you drank." I joke and he chuckles in response, his eyes on the road. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see." That's what you've been saying for the past hour, a.r.s.ehole!

"Is it safe from recognition?"

"We'll shave our heads just to be sure," he remarks, his tone sarcastic.

"And you wonder why you're still single? I bet you just used to sweep the ladies off their feet."

He flicks my nose. "I'm single? So... I can sleep with other people?"

"Umm..."

"I don't feel single. I'm sure there's a ball and chain in here somewhere." He looks directly at me, his smile smug. "Found her."

"If this is about Friday, you've done the same to me."

He slows the car and turns down another dirt road. "You were jealous. I made you jealous."

"I was not jealous."

"It's horrible, isn't it? Now you know how I feel when I have to watch you walking around the school with that a.r.s.ehole and the rest of your friends." His eyes darken as they always do when he talks about Garrett. "What did you see in him anyway?"

"I think I just found mine too." I gasp jokingly, looking directly at him.

"Huh?"

"My ball and chain. Stop talking about Garrett; it only sours your mood."

"Stop hanging around with him then."

Sigh... "Are we there yet?"

"You're worse than a child."

I quirk a brow at him. "And you don't know one end of a broom from the other."

"It's a double sided ornament." He pulls over and I immediately notice a small cafe in the distance. There's also a large sign advertising strawberry picking.

"It's winter."

"We're not going picking, you muppet." He climbs from the car and waits for me to do the same before taking my hand in his. We both stare at our interlocked fingers before looking around us. It's totally clear. There's n.o.body here, save for a few people sat outside of the random cafe. "It's strange..."

"Yeah," I agree, but can't stop myself from smiling. "It's nice."

"Come on." He leads me to the cafe and pushes open the door. n.o.body looks at us like what we're doing is wrong. n.o.body cares. They all smile and nod politely. "Hungry?"

"Starving and cold. You're not taking care of me properly." The cafe looks smaller on the inside than it does on the outside, but it has enough s.p.a.ce for the counter and a few tables. We take the one in the far corner, the one directly beside the heater. "Latte and one of those scone things with strawberry jam. Oh and, seeing as you're paying, get me chocolate too."

He rolls his eyes and bows slightly. "Yes ma'am. Is there a preference on which chocolate?"

"Surprise me. Let's see if you've paid attention these past few months."

He bows again, winks at me and strolls over to the till.

We're out in public for the first time ever. This is strange. Definitely nice, but definitely strange. I really like it. I wish we could do it more often.

I stare out of the window, loving how cute the pink and white curtains are. The window looks out across the field where thousands of strawberry bushes sit waiting to grow the pretty red fruit. I hope we get to come back here when they're in season. I'm not a fan of strawberries but I've never picked them before. It looks like it could be fun.

A paper cup filled with steaming latte is placed before me and then a bag is emptied and I'm speechless as two of every kind of chocolate that the cafe sells lands on the table.

Isaac sits, smiling as though very proud of himself. "I bet I got your favourite in there somewhere."

I burst out with laughter because he's right; he did. Twice.

"Twix? Really?" He looks disgusted when I peel open the wrapper and dip the chocolate into my drink before sucking on the melted layer. His throat bobs with a gulp and his eyes darken. "Okay, I can see the fun in that." He then picks up a Mars Bar. "Do that again but with this one this time."

I throw it at him, my eyes narrowing. I can't talk yet. The caramel from the bar of chocolate is stuck in my front teeth. Gross but so tasty.

"I want to kiss you." His foot nudges mine under the table.

"Here?" I cover my mouth with my hand, still trying to rid my teeth fully of the caramel.

Nodding, he slides his chair around to mine and strokes my cheek with the back of his hand. His eyes hold mine. "Do I ever tell you how beautiful you are?"

"Usually when I'm naked."

He grins again, looking smug. "Yeah." And then his mouth is on mine. He tastes of sweetness and coffee and him. I hum, tasting the chocolate on his lips with the tip of my tongue before sucking his lower lip into my mouth. He does the same to me, his hand on the side of my thigh, pulling me as close as is decent in public.

"Do you think this will always be this exciting?" I ask without thinking when he pulls away. He's still close enough to place his arm around my shoulders.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean like..." Ugh, how do I explain what I mean? "One day it won't be considered wrong, like in four years when I come home from University. If we're both single, I want to kiss you in the middle of town where everyone can see."

His nose nuzzles against my neck. It sends sparks straight through my body that settle in my groin. "I'll be extremely surprised if you are single in five years."

"I don't know how I'll move onto somebody else after this. I know our relations.h.i.+p is stressful, but it's also not." I close my eyes when he rests his forehead against my temple. "We just connect so easily, in every single way. We just get each other. You get me. What if I don't ever find that again?"

"Then I'll kiss you in the middle of town in front of everybody." He kisses my jaw and turns back to the table. "You probably won't even find me attractive by then. I'll be old and hideous and you'll still be young and stunning, with your gorgeous red hair and amazing eyes. I won't stand a chance. You'll look at me as nothing more than the guy you slept with once upon a time."

My hand connects with his chest. "You're an idiot."

"I'm honest."

"You're not as arrogant as I thought. Secretly I think you're very insecure."

"Only when it comes to you it seems. You make me feel young and remind me daily that I'm not anymore."

Eye roll. "Please. You're like twenty nine and you don't even look older than twenty five, apart from when you forget to shave and then you look like a very s.e.xy twenty six. Look at your dad - he's ageing handsomely. You'll be like him. Like George Clooney or Richard Gere. You'll age like a boss."

His laughter is loud and booming. "Like a boss?"

"You'll own it."

It gets louder and even more booming. "You're such a teenager sometimes."

"What's your excuse?"

Isaac When I drop her off near her street after dark, a cold feeling settles over me. We won't be able to do that again for a while. I had such a great day.

Elle is so open. She talks freely about how she feels about everything. She's not scared to share. I wish I could tell her how much she means to me but I wouldn't know how to begin.

I drive around town for a while with no destination in mind.

Her words from this morning ring through my mind.

In five years she wants us to kiss in the centre of town.

I wonder if she'll feel the same five years from now. I doubt it, but here's hoping. I wouldn't mind it, not at all.

We just broke up for Christmas and I won't deny I'm relieved to have the next two weeks off. My dad thinks I followed in his and my mum's footsteps by becoming a teacher. In reality I just liked the fact it has more holidays than any other job. I do love being a teacher though, even if the pay leaves much to be desired.

I have yet to get Elle a Christmas present, even though she already left hers for me under the small tree she set up for me in my living room. Apparently I'm Scrooge, but I didn't see the point in decorating when I'm spending the holiday at my parents' anyway.

I consider getting her another charm for her bracelet, but it doesn't feel like it's enough. I can't just get her one tiny gift. I have to get her something else too.

It's when I pa.s.s a quirky little store on the high street that I see exactly what I'm going to get her.

Once that's done, I order her the perfect charm online and pray that it gets here on time.

"This has to be the lamest excuse for wrapping I've ever seen," Elle comments, looking giddy as she shakes her gifts beneath my tree.

"I couldn't be bothered." I admit and s.n.a.t.c.h the gifts away. "Keep shaking them so violently and they'll turn to dust." When she's calmed, I hand them back. "Will you just open them already?"

She does so, tearing into the larger one first. She stares at the black object with focused eyes before placing it on her head. It's a French Beret and it suits her quite well. After wiggling it around into the correct position, without even looking at me, she picks up her next gift and tears through the paper.

I snort, lying stretched out on a blanket on my living room floor, my head propped up on my hand. I watch her eyes light up when she reveals the small dark blue gift box and I watch them tear up when she pulls out the tiny white gold charm, shaped into a ball and chain.

Her eyes mist as she connects it to the bracelet that never leaves her left wrist.

It's her words that push the air from my lungs and shock me into total silence, words that she's never said and words I wish I'd never heard.

"I love you." She doesn't look at me as she says them. She stares at the bracelet. "I know I shouldn't, but I do."

"Teenagers fall in love easily and, when they do, they fall in love hard." I respond stupidly but she doesn't seem fazed. "It'll stop."

"And if it doesn't?" Now she looks at me, the beret still on her head, her pretty eyes sparkling with the love she claims to feel. "What if it doesn't? How will I leave you now?"

I sigh and sit up, opening my arms for her. I don't know what to say. I know this has gone too far. I know this is so much more dangerous than it was before, but I can't bring myself to stop it any more than I could stop myself from starting it. "Can I open mine now?"

She holds me tight for a second longer and pa.s.ses me my gift. It's a large, neatly wrapped box. I have no idea what it could be, so I tear through the paper, finally revealing a... printer?

Giggling, she flips the lid open revealing another box. "Is this going to go on for a while?"

"Stop being Scrooge." She helps me lift the second box out and bounces on the spot while I open it. This box is plain. It reveals no secrets of what's within.

I lift that lid and pull out a ton of newspaper before finding a third and final gift. It feels like a DVD, but I don't think it is. It doesn't rattle like a DVD.