Chapter Eighteen

C hapter Eighteen

A rna

- and pressed send.

Within five minutes my inbox dinged, and I sucked in a breath when I saw it was a reply from Andy.

Cursing at my laptop as the internet took its time loading, I turned the brightness up on my screen and greedily read his words the second they appeared.

I re-read his email at least ten times before I leaned back into my pillows and closed my eyes, a smile spreading across my face. He still wanted to work with me, I would be seeing him soon AND he knew how to use punctuation. Was this what infatuation felt like?

Grabbing a handful of popcorn from the bowl resting next to my leg, I hit reply.

Blushing, I grabbed my frozen meal out of the microwave with one hand and raced back to my room. Hopping back into bed, I took a sip of my wine and grinned as I typed.

I pressed send and felt my eyes widen at my own audacity. Time seemed to pass so quickly when I was with Andy and before I realised, I was halfway through the bottle. The wine clearly travelled straight to my fingers because despite my earlier email holding a suggestiveness, there was no mistaking the flirtation in my last one.

I felt giddy as I replied before re-reading all our emails. I was still smiling as I stood and stretched, ready to go make a warm drink before getting into bed with a book. Lately I was finding even when reading, I was distracted with thoughts of dark lashes, deep-chocolate eyes and a gravelly voice which woke my darkest desires. For someone who initially elicited a confused repulsion in me, he now preoccupied most of my waking thoughts and discerning that was oddly enthralling.

The days passed in a blur between the piles of articles I was working on in addition to the ‘extra' tasks Darren kept sending my way because ‘ there is literally no one else, Arna .'

As far as bosses went, he had to be one of the worst. Narcissistic, misogynistic and narrow-minded. Success was only celebrated if it resulted in accolades for him. There was no love lost on my end though and he deserved none of my loyalty. I was doing double the work of the other editors combined and he would do best to remember that.

The only thing getting me through the week with a smile on my face were the emails from Andy. What started as an attempt to apologise and organise the continuation of the feature quickly became what Darren worried about.

Fraternisation.

But because we hated him this week, I didn't even remotely care and continued engaging via email, on company time, as I couldn't possibly ignore Urban Pulse's star client .

Reaching for my phone I hit call on Marlee's contact, needing to debrief with someone. She answered quickly, appearing a little flustered. Her brown hair was tousled, and her cheeks were tinged with pink as if she had been mid-exercise.

"Ummm, are you okay?" I asked, staring at her guilty eyes and flushed cheeks.

"Yep, sorry, I was just - ummm - busy." Her gaze flicked off screen and I heard the distant sound of a male voice. My day suddenly taking a turn for the better.

"Marls, is this a bad time?" I asked, humour lacing my words as I wondered if my call had interrupted something juicy.

"No! No. Hold on." The screen went black, and I heard a brief, albeit muffled conversation before Marlee again appeared on-screen.

"Sorry," she said. "I was just saying goodbye to Lucas." She smirked cheekily and I covered my mouth with my hand.

"Did you fuck him in your parents' house?" I whisper screamed, recognising the blue and yellow celestial curtains in the background which had lined her window since she was fourteen.

She winced, scrunching her nose. "Shut up, he might still be able to hear you. They're away and I'm house-sitting, so it's not like they're here to listen."

"Holy shit." Jumping up I flicked the lock on my bedroom door in case Paul heard my excitement and became curious.

Hopping back into bed, I grinned. "Tell - me - everything."

Marlee smiled, her cheeks flushing red. Shit, my girl was in deep.

"He stayed the night." She shrugged imperturbably, as if she was telling me about her morning run. "And one thing led to another. It was nice."

"It was nice?" I asked, mock horror lining my face. "You got laid for the first time in forever and it was nice? "

"I guess we just need to get to know each other." She said as she moved into what I recognised as her kitchen before the light from the fridge cascaded over her face.

"Oh my god, Marls, tell me he made you come." I asked unashamedly.

"Well – no," She answered sheepishly. "But he will. He is coming over again tonight so I'm sure it will happen then. He wants me to shave, so I guess he is planning on, you know, having a taste." She said, winking at me before laughing awkwardly. She was acting odd and her unease in sharing with me was disconcerting.

"He asked you to shave?" I watched her pour a glass of juice, my brows scrunching as I studied her features. "I have so many questions."

"Well, I wasn't expecting him to stay the night so it had been a few days since I shaved, so he wouldn't like –" She flicked her tongue between her two fingers, gesticulating her implication, before taking a sip of her drink.

"He wouldn't go down on you because you hadn't shaved in a few days. What the fuck? Are you sure about this guy, Marls? He sounds kind of dickish."

"I'm making it sound worse than it was. Anyway, hopefully tonight we find our groove and I end up screaming his name from the rooftops." She waved her hand dismissively, finished with this conversation. "Now, tell me how things are for you, Miss I date famous footballers."

Accepting her out, I filled her in on all things Mr. Hearts. "Welllllllllll, we've been emailing all week and I'm seeing him tomorrow to get some photos for the article. It's kind of why I called."

"Yes, I'm available. I will call in sick." She coughed dramatically emphasising her commitment. "Please tell me I can come?"

"That was not why I called, although, I guess you could come with me. I could say you were part of the photography team." I said, looking up to the roof before nodding. "Yeah, that would work."

Marlee froze and I tapped my screen rigorously thinking the internet was playing games again. "Marls, can you hear me?"

Her eyes widened and she squealed. "Are you serious? I can come with you and meet the captain of the HEARTS?"

She ran the hand not holding her phone through her hair before placing it on her chest. "My heart is beating so fast, Arns, don't lie to me!"

I laughed at her over the top reaction. Her sheer love for this football team never ceased to amaze me, but I loved it for her.

"Yes. Come with me. But you can't act like that." I said, pointing at her as she fanned herself. "You need to appear relaxed because it will be at the club so you will probably see quite a few of the players."

"Fuck. I will need to take a Valium or have a few shots before we go, or I might accidentally lick one of them." I barked a laugh, and she shook her head in disbelief. "You think I'm joking." She mumbled.

"I will pick you up at 9:00am. Now, go shave so your new man can feast. Also, when are you going to introduce him to your best friend in the whole world?"

"Soon, I promise. I told him all about you today, although he has known about you since the day we met. He wants to meet you too."

"Okay, let's organise something tomorrow. Do NOT wear any of your Hearts' clothing. Dress in business attire, have a vodka smoothie for breakfast and bring a bloody notepad or something so you can fan yourself because I know you will start hyperventilating the minute you see anyone you recognise." I said shaking with my barely contained mirth. I blew her a kiss before disconnecting the call and I was still grinning as I began to ponder an outfit for myself that was both polished yet screamed bench me, please, sir .