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20. C H E L S I E

TWENTY

C H E L S I E

“What about Wednesday?” Ruby asks as she leans against the doorframe, watching me scramble to apply a final layer of mascara.

“I can’t,” I respond. “Gary and I are going to see a film. An action movie or something like that.” I switch to work on the other eye, opening my mouth in an attempt to help sturdy the applicator.

Ruby furrows her brows and folds her arms across her chest. “I thought you hated action films?”

“I do,” I tell her with a shrug. “But I made him watch a rom-com earlier this week, so I guess this is what you call a ‘compromise’.”

Ruby playfully rolls her eyes. “Well, what about Thursday?” she proposes. “Does that work for you instead?”

I stand up from my vanity and reach for my necklace in my jewelry box. “I can’t again. Gary’s got a game that night, and I promised him that I’d go.” I struggle to fasten the clasp around my neck, working my way toward the floor-length mirror across the room to get a better view. “Why do they always make these things so bloody hard?”

“Give it to me.” Ruby approaches my side and takes the necklace from my hands. “You were never good with these things anyway.” She effortlessly secures it into place, fixing the zip of my dress while she’s at it.

“Thanks.” I stop, staring at her through the reflection of the mirror. “I appreciate it.”

“That’s what big sisters are for, right?” She places either hand on my shoulder, pulling me back against her chest for a hug. “I don’t mean to pester. I just want to make plans to hang out with you, that’s all.” She squeezes me in tight. “You know how much I love spending time with you.”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry.” I turn around apologetically. “Things have just been… busy .”

It’s the only word I can think of to describe this past week of rekindling with Gary. I don’t think a day has gone by where we haven’t seen one another and now, even the most mundane of tasks have become thrilling just because we're doing them together.

A walk around the park.

A trip to the store.

An action film…

The only thing that matters when we’re together is simply just that—that we’re together. Tonight is no exception. All we’re doing is going out for some cheap food and aimlessly driving around, but it’s dates like these that I’m sure will stick with me for a lifetime.

Not the fancy dinners.

Not the extravagant nights out on the town.

Just us, being… us .

“I understand. Trust me, I do.” Ruby places a clip into my hair. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you so… happy . I felt like for a while I’d lost you, but now, it’s like you’ve found your sparkle again.” Tears well up in Ruby’s eyes, and I have to stop her before she sets me off.

“ Ruby !” I draw out her name. “Stop, you’re going to make me cry.” I can feel the waterworks already creeping up no matter how hard I try to fight them. “And I can’t cry.” I place my fingers underneath my eyes. “I just put on all this mascara!”

Ruby fans her face with a laugh. “I know. I’m stopping. I’m stopping.” She leans her head back to steer away the tears. “I’m just… thankful, that’s all.” She brushes along the corners of her eyes until they’re dry. “You’ve been through so much, Chelsie, and you deserve nothing but the best.”

I pull her in for a warm hug, whispering words of affirmation into her hair. “That’s why I’ve got you. ”

We stay put for a while until the front door chime goes off, pulling us both back in unison.

“Sounds like he’s here.” Ruby smiles, gesturing her head in the direction of the doorway. “You better go,” she tells me.

I nod, adjusting my dress in the mirror one final time before I leave my bedroom. “Oh, and Ruby?” I stop before I head down the staircase, drawing in her attention.

She looks over.

“You didn’t ask me about Friday.”

With a playful smirk, Ruby catches on to what I’m evidently trying to allude to. “Are you free Friday?” she asks, placing her hands on her hips.

I clutch onto the handrail. “Consider it a sister date.”

“ Love you ,” she mouths before I rush down the staircase and swing open the front door.

“God damn.” They’re the first two words out of Gary's mouth before he pulls me in for a long awaited kiss.

“God damn?” I can hardly break away from his lips to laugh. “Why did you just say that?”

“I mean, isn’t it obvious?” He scans me up and down with those deep brown eyes. “How do you always look like this?”

“Shush,” I murmur with a shake of my hand. “You already saw me in this outfit earlier in the week. Don’t give me too much credit, now.”

Gary leans his forehead against mine. “Wear it every day for all I care, Chelsie. It’s so fucking hot?—”

“ Ahem !” Ruby makes her not-so-graceful way down the staircase, her loud voice being enough to break us apart. “This is a PG zone, children. Save the dirty talk for when I go to sleep, will ya?”

I roll my eyes as Gary pulls Ruby in for a small hug. “I think what you meant to say is that it's so nice to see you again, Gary. Are you sick of me yet, Ruby?” he jokes.

“If you asked me that about five minutes ago, Gary, then the answer was yes.” Ruby’s always been notorious for having no filter.

Gary’s face turns red at her bluntness but quickly resolves as she continues. “I was mad at you for stealing my little sister away from me. But…” She nudges me softly with a wink. “She found a way to make up for it. Didn’t you, Chelsie?”

I smile, an action Gary can’t seem to help but join in on. “Yeah, that face of hers does make it pretty damn hard to stay mad at…” Gary’s gaze locks into mine, honing in on me like he never wants to let go—a part of me wishes he wouldn’t.

“Alright, alright.” Ruby pushes us both towards the door in disgust. “Enough of that soppy crap. Go. Leave. Have fun! You remember the rule, don’t you, Gary?”

“She doesn’t come home in tears, and I live to see another day,” he recites. “Yes, Ruby. I actually got it tattooed on my arse, so I don’t forget. Do you want to see it?” He mockingly pretends to drop his trousers.

Ruby mischievously warrants him the middle finger. “Piss off,” she jokes before closing the door. All the while, I’m left on the lawn in a fit of laughter.

“Do you wanna see?” Gary offers jokingly, guiding me towards his car and opening my door.

I can’t seem to stop laughing as he flashes me a cheeky grin. “I’d rather not.”

“Your loss.” He shrugs, closing my door in the process before making his way over to the driver's side and firmly planting a seat.

“So…” I eventually find it in me to slow my laughter, though the sentence ends there as Gary takes the liberty to buckle up my seat and plant a kiss onto my lips.

I hadn’t known I could feel butterflies this strongly.

“ So ,” he whispers against my bottom lip before pulling back.

I chew on the inside of my cheek, trying with all my might to refocus my attention back onto my original train of thought—shaking my head to help me do just that.

“That uh—restaurant you mentioned last week...” I manage to build up some traction, fanning myself. “It’s actually not too far away from here, so I was thinking, how about we go there first, and then, I’ll let you pick our driving destination after. Does that sound good?”

Gary smiles over at me from the driver's side.“Sounds perfect, love . But if you don’t mind, we just need to make a quick pit stop first.”

I cock a brow. “Oh? Where to?”

“My parents. It’s my little brother's birthday, and I promised him that I’d swing by to give him his present. Check it out. I’ve got it all wrapped up in the backseat.”

My eyes gravitate backward as I catch sight of a colorful gift bag filled with brightly coordinated tissue paper. “You wrapped this?” I ask in disbelief. “Seriously?”

“Delaney did.” He brings his fingers to his lips in secret. “But my brother doesn’t need to know that. Have a look at what I got him,” he urges me. “Go on.”

Agreeable to his persistence I reach towards the bag and carefully remove the pieces of paper one by one.

“Oh my goodness.” I pull out a Crawfield jersey and assess it between my grasp. “It’s so nice, Gary. Your little brother is going to absolutely love it.”

“Turn it around,” Gary instructs, a look of mischief in his eyes as we pull up to a red light. “Have a look at what I got printed on the back.”

I do as he asks, turning it around. Only when I do, I quickly realize that this gift isn’t for his little brother at all. It’s for me .

“Sorry to lie to you. But I wanted to see your authentic reaction. Do you like it?” Gary probes as I assess the way he’s had “Windsor” along with his signature number—13, plastered along the back of the shirt.

“I hope it's not an overkill,” he rambles before I can even chime in. “It’s partly why I opted for your last name instead of mine, though I couldn’t bear the thought of you wearing anyone else’s number. If you don’t like it, I can get you another one, or we can?—”

“Gary!” I cut him off mid-rant, silencing him immediately. “I love it.” I tuck the jersey into my chest. “Really, I do.” I lean over the center console and smother his cheek with kisses. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

When I eventually fall back into my seat, he frowns. “Why did you stop?”

“The light.” I gesture forward with the brush of my hand. “It turned green. I didn’t want to distract you while you’re driving.”

“ Baby .” He runs his hand along his bottom lip. “You act as if being in this car with you while you look like that isn’t already distracting enough…”

Butterflies unleash in my stomach once more without a care as I recklessly kiss him, holding out on my escalating desires as I whisper, “You’re adorable, Gary Wilkinson,” into his ear. “I hope you know that.”

His cheeks flame red as I settle within my seat. “ Adorable ?” he questions. “I’m sorry, but are you flirting with me right now, Chelsie Windsor?” He bites down on his swollen bottom lip, pulling the car immediately over to the side of the road before shifting the gear into park.

“So what if I am?” I toy nervously with my hands. “You have a problem with that?”

Gary pulls me in close. “No problem here.” His hands get tangled up in my hair as I sink into his embrace. “Do you have a problem, Chelsie?”

Fuck. It’s so hard to answer. So hard to focus when the only thing I can focus on is the way his lips work their way down my neck and kiss onto me tenderly.

I shake my head, leaning in closer. “ No .”

I can feel his lips rise into a smirk as he switches to the other side, and a faint moan escapes my lips. “Didn’t think so.”

Under his trance, somehow, a logical thought manages to break through. “Where uh—are we?”

“My parents,” he murmurs, lips trailing towards mine. “I wasn’t lying about that part. My brother's gift is in the boot.”

“Don’t you want to go inside and give it to him?”

“I will in a minute.” His lips vibrate against mine. “But at the moment, I’m a little busy with my girl .”

“Your girl?” I remark, curiously pinning my bottom lip between my teeth as I do.

“Mhm.” With the softness of his thumb, he pulls down on my bottom lip to release it. “You’re my girl, Chelsie. Right?”

I part my mouth to speak, but before I can, I’m left distracted by two frames that stand in front of Gary’s window, waving excitedly at me.

“Uh… Gary?” I tilt my chin upwards in their direction, prompting him to turn around.

“ Christ .” He jumps back in fear, prompting me to burst into laughter. “You scared me half to death!” Gary opens up his car door, an action that leads me to do the same as I step out and watch him embrace what appears to be his parents in a hug.

“That’s what your mum and I said when the nurse first handed you to us,” his Dad jokingly remarks.

I can see where Gary gets his sense of humor from.

“Yeah, yeah, but then she turned around and said, wow, you actually look just like your dad.”

“Ah, that’s our Gary.” His dad pats him on the back with a smirk. “How are you, lad? Are you alright?”

“I’m good. Things are good,” Gary tells them confidently. “We’re top of the league and we’ve only got a few games left. This might just be the season we move up.”

“I’m sure it will be,” his mum chimes in with a joyous smile. “Thank you for coming, love. You know Georgie is always so excited to see you.”

“Of course,” he tells her. “You know I wouldn’t have missed this. He’s nearly a teenager. I can’t believe it. Where has the time gone?”

His parents shake their heads in mutual disbelief until their attention is re-diverted to the girl lingering in the shadows, AKA, me.

“Mum… Dad.” Gary beats me to an awkward introduction as he walks over to my side and wraps an arm around my waist. “This is Chelsie Windsor. Chelsie, this is my mum, Denise, and my dad, Greg.”

“Hi.” I wave over at them, a sense of reluctance in my voice given that I hadn’t anticipated meeting both of them today. “It’s nice to meet you!”

“It’s lovely to meet you too, Chelsie.” They work their way over to my side and embrace me in a comforting embrace. Must be a Wilkinson thing. “How about you both come inside for a bit? We’re about to start cooking up Georgie’s birthday supper, what do you say? Hm? You two hungry?”

“Actually, Mum.” Gary opens up the boot of the car and reaches for Georgie’s gift. “Chelsie and I—uh… had plans tonight. I was only just stopping by briefly to see Georgie and give him his gift.”

“Are you sure?” Greg jumps in. “We’re making loads of food, and besides, we’d love to get to know you, Chelsie.”

Their keen and welcoming eyes are enough to draw me in as I look over to Gary. “I mean, we can totally do what we had planned another time,” I tell him. “I don’t mind staying, if that’s okay with you, of course?”

“Wilks!” A young boy comes rushing out of the house, his arms wide, beating Gary to a response.

“Georgie!” Gary embraces him in his arms, a place Georgie seamlessly disappears into as Gary squeezes him in tight. “Happy birthday, mate.” He ruffles his dusty brown hair. “Lookie here, I got you something!”

“Really?” Georgie's eyes are the bluest I’ve ever seen as he takes the gift bag from Gary's hand. “Thank you so much. Are you staying for supper?” Georgie reaches for his hand, a look of innocence and excitement in his eyes.

Gary winces, a response Georgie seemingly catches onto it. “Please, Wilks. Stay for supper with us, please, please, please!”

Gary looks back over at me for a final time. I nod, assuring him that I’m okay to stay—happy to stay.

“Only if you don’t eat all the food like last time,” Gary nudges, prompting Georgie to cheer in delight as he tugs him into the house.

“C’mon. I want to show you all my balloons.”

“Well, Chelsie.” Denise places a hand on my arm, guiding me to follow them into the house, “Are you ready to meet our wild family?”

“If they’re anything like your son,” I flash her a look. “Then yes … bring it on.”

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