“I’m trying my hardest to just stay away from him, but…” I sighed, irritated.
“I don’t really know what else to say, Max. Just keep yourself out of trouble, okay?” Louise tugged me into a hug.
“What’s wrong with you two?” Trisha cut in suddenly.
I parted from Louise and opened the fridge, shooting the nurse a big grin before she started wondering what we were talking about. “Just deciding on what to drink, Trish. This is Louise. She’s a friend from school. She just got back from Africa.”
As expected, Trisha immediately started a loud, animated conversation with Louise, allowing me to excuse myself. I slipped past Rowan, not meeting his gaze.
I hurried through the flat towards the bathroom. I didn’t need to go, but I really needed the space to think for a moment. Before I could get there though, a heavy hand fell on my shoulder. Oliver.
“Hey dude, there you are.” He grinned at me, clearly several drinks in already.
“Oh, hey. Having fun?” I asked.
“Absolutely. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me how hot Becca is, man. I asked you and you said—” he slurred.
“Yeah, yeah – why don’t you get her a drink? Introduce yourself officially?” I smirked.
“That’s not a bad idea.” Oliver stared off across the room towards the girl. She gave me a half-wave and I returned it. “Oh, whilst I got you – who’s the old guy with Becca?”
‘Old guy’ cut me like a knife. I held back a wince. “That’s my boss, Rowan.”
“Oh, okay. That makes sense. I thought he looked a bit posh to be one of your mates.” Oliver shrugged.
“Go find Becca, I’ll be out in a minute.” I nodded towards the bathroom.
Relieved when Oliver finally released me, I hurried inside the room and locked the door. I stood still for a moment, in the quiet, cool room and steadied myself against the wall. I thought about the conversation with Louise. I had been expecting a much more negative response from her, if I was totally honest. I knew what I was doing was bad, but I thought I had been making excuses for myself, to make it seem less like cheating. It was still immoral to be sneaking around with a married man, but Rowan was an adult, and he was making the decision for himself.
I washed my hands and returned to the party. Rowan was still in the kitchen, talking with Trisha and Louise. I smirked, noticing all three of them had a shot glass in their hand. They threw them back simultaneously and I hadn’t realised just how sexy I would find Rowan shooting a drink to be. I averted my gaze and went in search of Becca.
A few hours drifted by and before I knew it, the new year was almost upon us. I found myself chatting with Louise, catching up on old times.
“What’s the betting he shags her?” Louise giggled in my ear, gesturing to Becca and Oliver. They sat on the sofa, entwined and kissing passionately. I grimaced and pushed Louise playfully.
“Well, you know Oliver.” I shrugged and glanced at my phone. Five minutes to midnight. I had successfully avoided Rowan for most of the night, engaging him in polite conversation for short periods of time before finding an excuse to escape him. With several drinks in me, all I could think of was him pushing me up against his car. That couldn’t happen again, not until we’d had time to have a good chat about what exactly was going on between us.
“I need to pee,” I muttered to Louise, handing her my empty glass.
“Alright, but don’t be too long. It’s almost midnight.”
I stumbled my way through the flat to the bathroom, barely having shut the door before there was a gentle knock. I sighed and opened it.
“Louise, I said I—”
Not Louise. Rowan. He pushed his way past me forcefully and shut the door, sliding the lock across. My stomach turned over.
“Are you avoiding me?” he asked. I was taken aback for a moment by his directness and wondered how much he’d had to drink.
“Not intentionally,” I lied. My heart thumped in my chest as I saw a familiar expression cross Rowan’s face. We stared at one another for a long, tense moment. “Ah, fuck it.” I growled and closed the gap between us.
Memories of the night in the car park hit me as our lips touched, suddenly more vivid than they had ever been. Rowan kissed me firmly and I walked him backwards until I had him pinned against the bathroom door. We kissed frantically, just like before, mostly tongue and teeth. Rowan reached around me and grabbed my ass roughly. I leaned back, just enough to be able to slide my hands beneath his t-shirt, running my palms up and down over the abs I’d been admiring since I’d met him. He felt a hundred times better than he looked, and that was saying something.
I could hear everyone outside now, shouting and cheering the midnight countdown. I ripped my mouth away from him, dipping to nip and suck at his throat. When the voices cheered, welcoming in New Year, I felt a smile tugging at my lips.
“Happy New Year,” I grunted against him. Rowan just groaned in response, grabbing my face and capturing my mouth with his once more.
“We can’t stay in here,” I mumbled between the kisses that were growing steadily harder and heavier.
