Lies. All lies. I couldn’t even be annoyed. Their terrible acting had me holding back a smile. “I guess you'd better get out of here, then.”
“You know what Mum’s like,” Ellie said. “She’ll be blowing up my phone if we don’t move now.”
I swallowed a laugh at the visual of Laura overreacting when I’d never heard her so much as raise her voice toward the girls—but they couldn’t set me up with Theo if I ushered him right out the door with them. “Well, it was nice hanging out with you all—”
“Oh, it’s just us leaving.” Ellie dropped her feet to the floor and shifted her attention to Theo. “Table’s free,” she said. “You’re up.”
Wait.No, no, no. “It’s okay,” I said in a rush. “We can do this again another time.”
“But he wants a turn,” Willow said. “Don’t you, Theo? You want to feel pretty, too.”
Theo pushed off the couch and came around the side to join us. “I think you mean prettier.” He shot a glance at the table, then at Willow. I mentally pleaded with him to read the room and make a quiet, no-fuss exit, but something in him must have wanted one-on-one time with me. “Yeah, I do,” he said, locking eyes with me. “You know what you’re doing. I think I can trust you with my face.”
A strange sensation came over me. My stomach sank and filled with butterflies all at once, as if apprehension and elation haddecided now was the perfect time to coexist. “Okay, fine,” I said. “I guess it’s only fair.”
Ellie smirked at the squeak in my voice. I gave her a mock scowl, vowing to have words with her later.
Resigned to my fate, I shooed them away. “Be gone with you and make some room.”
“Okay. See you later,” Ellie said in a singsong tone. Without wasting another second, she grabbed Willow’s hand and ran for the door, the two of them laughing as they made their escape.
I shook my head as the latch clicked shut behind them.
Theo smiled. “At least it’ll give them something to talk about.”
“True.” With a reluctant laugh, I patted the table. “Why don’t you climb up and get comfortable?”
As he closed the distance between us, his nearness let loose a rush of energy inside me. I didn’t know how to explain it in a way that made sense, but he took up more room than the average person, and whenever I was around him, I became alarmingly aware of my own body.
He settled into position, his shoulders filling the width of the table. A warm, woodsy fragrance rose to greet me, and when he lifted his hips to release his trapped t-shirt, I glimpsed a thin line of hair down the centre of his abdomen. My pulse skipped, and I had to wrench my eyes away.
Once he’d stilled, I slipped the towelling headband in place and told myself to get it together. “I don’t know how much you saw of what I did with the girls,” I said, keeping my voice even, “but just close your eyes and relax. Ask questions if you’re curious about anything.”
“Roger that.”His eyes drifted shut, and he rested his clasped hands on his chest.
As I stroked the cleanser across his forehead and cheeks, his Adam’s apple bobbed, and he released a heavy breath.
“How’d you get so good at this?” he murmured.
“Skincare’s a hobby of mine—and I like to take care of people.” Using gentle swipes with a face washer, I removed the cleanser, pressing firmer to catch the residue in his stubble.
Voices drifted from the television, just enough noise to stop the silence from feeling intimidating.
His lips parted, and he cracked his eyes open a fraction before closing them again.“Each time I learn something new about you, it reminds me how little I know. You’re still being awkward around me, too.”
“How am I being awkward?”
“You can barely look at me.” Humour laced his deep voice, and his mouth softened. “You didn’t want me to stick around when Ellie and Wills left, and touching me is freaking you the fuck out. I honestly don’t know if it’s entertaining or depressing.”
I smiled. “I’m getting better.”
“Only because we’re trapped together. Just like we were on the shopping trip.”
“It still counts.” I sorted through my meagre beauty supplies and grabbed a serum with a few drops left at the bottom. Applying it to his skin, I used soft pats with my palms, letting my hands linger here and there to provide pressure. His sharp inhale told me he liked it.
“Why is it so hard for you to be around me?” he asked after a long pause.“You’re fine with Owen and Varesh. Tim’s your best friend…”
Theo soaked up physical touch the way his skin absorbed serum, so I continued pressing my palms against his face even when it was no longer necessary.
