Chapter 15

Erica

Something about the Rupert in front of me is off. I think it's the nerves. I'm not sure what's on his mind, but it's clearly serious enough to be making him anxious. I want to soothe him, but with so many years of not talking, I don't actually know the best way to do that.

We head to the end of the bar, and I hop up on one of the seats, while he leans on the counter next to me. One of the bartenders appears within moments.

"Hi," Rupert says. "Can I have a coke and..."

"A virgin daiquiri, please," I add.

"Definitely no alcohol in that," Rupert stresses.

"Got it," the bartender says, going off to make our drinks.

"Sorry, I just didn't want a repeat of the incident at the tasting."

"That's okay," I respond. "I haven't had any problems like that tonight, luckily. Everything has been booze-free and Erica approved."

He chuckles, but there's still an edge to it.

The bartender reappears and sets our drinks down in front of us without much fanfare, while Rupert gets out his card to pay.

"I can get these," I protest.

"You can get the next ones," he responds, tapping his card against the machine and waiting for it to beep.

I pull my daiquiri towards me and take a sip, relieved that it doesn't taste as if it's got alcohol in it. It wouldn't be a massive deal if it was wrong, but it's better that it isn't.

"So, what's up?" I ask Rupert once the bartender has left us alone.

He takes a deep breath and runs a hand through his hair. "Okay, so I'm not really sure where to start with this."

"The beginning is normally good."

"What did your succubus friend tell you?" he blurts out.

I frown. "Mandy?"

"I don't know her name," he admits sheepishly. "Sami just told me what she was."

"Yeah, that's Mandy. We just talked about how the exam went." I don't like lying to him, but I don't want to repeat any of what Mandy and Darius said in case it makes him feel as if he has to act on it when he doesn't want to. That's not fair to either of us.

"Oh."

"You seem disappointed?"

"I am, I guess." He takes a shaky breath. "Sami pointed out that my feelings towards you might not be entirely friendly in nature."

I can't help the disappointment that wells up within me. "I thought we'd put the past behind us."

"What? Yes, we have. Of course we have."

"Then why can't we be friends?"

He groans. "I'm doing this all wrong."

"I can't comment on that seeing as I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to do," I point out.

"I want to go on a date," he blurts out.

My eyes widen as his words sink in. "A date?"

"Yes. A date. I know this is completely the wrong time to ask you, we're leaving for the summer soon, and there's not much time, but I'd really like it if we could go out for dinner. Or lunch. Or maybe something that isn't food-related. I don't really mind what it is, I'd just like to do it with you." He fiddles with his glass, but doesn't take a drink.

My heart skips a beat. "Are you serious?"

"Yes." He nods along with the word. "I know we've been fixing our friendship, but along the way, I realised that I don't think it's just friendship that I want."

"Okay," I say.

"Okay?"

"A date sounds great," I respond, realising that he needs to hear me say the words. "Because I get it, I've been feeling the same.

He lets out a sigh of relief. "All right, so a date," he says. "Where do you want to go?"

"Hmm, well for now, I'd like to stay here." I get down from my stool and step closer to him. "Because if we're going to go on a date, there's something we should do first."

He raises an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Kiss me," I whisper, my heart racing at the possibility of what's to come. I don't think I've ever wanted someone to kiss me as badly as I want Rupert to in this moment. All I can think about is the way it's going to feel to have his arms around me.

My lips part, and his gaze drops down to them immediately, letting me know that I'm going to get my wish.

He lets go of his glass and steps closer, reaching out to pull me to him with a secure hand at my waist. The air around us changes and becomes filled with the stillness that only comes before a first kiss.

I don't know precisely what will happen after this, but I know that it's going to change everything. Somehow, we've gone from being best friends when we were kids, to not friends at all, to something more than that, and I'm looking forward to exploring what that could be, no matter how unlikely it all seems.

Rupert cups my cheek in his hand and leans in. My eyes flutter closed and the moment his lips brush against mine, everything slots into place. This is exactly what we should be doing. It feels right.

I return the kiss, wrapping my arms around his neck while he pulls me closer with a hand on my back. His skin touches mine, sending tingles through my whole body. I haven't thought about kissing Rupert up until the past couple of weeks, but now that I have, I don't think I'm ever going to be able to forget it.

The kiss ends, but we don't step away from one another. I look up and meet his gaze, feeling as if I could get lost in the intensity of his eyes.

"And to think you almost missed out on that because of some silly vow that you were never going to kiss me," I murmur.

Rupert chuckles. "I was thirteen, the vow made sense at the time, I wasn't into girls and I especially didn't want anything to do with you."

"Should I be worried that you're going to revisit that last part?" I don't want it to be true, but we're so new to mending the gap between us that I don't want to risk it.

His lips quirk up into a smile. "Depends on how many of my bouncy balls you're going to lose."

"I promise to never touch your balls."

He snorts, making me realise what I've just said.

I close my eyes and try not to die of embarrassment. "That's not what I meant."

"Oh, I know. You still said it though."

I roll my eyes. "All right, I promise to never touch any of your bouncy balls ever again."

"I'm not sure that sounds any better."

"Then be a gentleman and say that bye-gones are bye-gones."

"All right, I guess you're forgiven for losing my bouncy ball," he says, barely containing his amusement.

"Finally. That took you long enough."

He chuckles and leans in to brush his lips against mine again. I sink into the kiss, wondering how I'm going to be able to head back to my friends and act like this is just a normal day at the ball when I could be here doing this instead.

A loud swell of music fills the air as the band takes to the stage, followed by a cheer from the assembled students. I'm not sure who the band is, I saw the name on Robin's plans, but didn't recognise them, though it seems that some of the others do.

"Come dance with me," I say, reaching out to take his hand.

I half expect him to say no, but then he nods and lets me lead him over to my table so we can put our drinks down, and then onto the dance floor. He puts his hands on my waist and sway back and forth to the slow song, while I consider just how lucky I feel that this has turned out the way it has.

If it weren't for the lost bouncy ball, maybe this wouldn't be happening. We might have stayed friends and then drifted apart for some other reason, never finding our way back into one another's lives.

Whatever the reason, I'm glad that this is the way things have gone, and I'm looking forward to what the future holds.