Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 102834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
“Okay?” he asked.
“Yes,” I answered. “Thank you.”
“All right, let’s go and find out where the birthday boy is hiding.”
I let him lead me farther into the house, eventually arriving at some kind of lounge where the guest of honour, Aidan Finnegan, was hanging out listening to music. Derek’s brother, Tristan, was there, too, alongside his other friends Rhys and Theo, plus several girls from their school whose names I didn’t know. Aidan, who had a reputation as a bit of a ladies’ man, sat surrounded by most of them as they hung onto his every word. Tristan and Theo were flirting with two other girls, while Rhys, who struck me as the shyest of the group, sat by himself in an armchair nursing a beer. The song “MakeDamnSure” by one of Tara’s favourite bands, Taking Back Sunday, was playing on the speakers.
“Derek! Where the hell have you been?” Aidan called out as we entered, clearly already tipsy. “And where’s my birthday kiss?” He came forward, but Derek held up a hand.
“No birthday kisses for you this year. Not after what you gave me the last time,” Derek joked.
“Ah, what’s a little herpes between pals?” Aidan exclaimed jovially before his attention fell on me with keen interest. “Who’s this?” His hooded gaze travelled over me, and Derek’s hand tightened on mine.
“This is my friend, Milly,” Derek replied.
“Milly!” his brother Tristan said loudly as soon as he spotted me. “I remember you! We went to the same primary school. You healed my boo-boo.” Okay, Tristan was even more tipsy than Aidan. I laughed quietly. I’d completely forgotten that I’d assisted in cleaning and bandaging Derek’s brother’s scraped knee until he’d reminded me that day at the supermarket. Honestly, I’d proudly pulled out my first-aid kit too many times to count in the school yard that year. So much so, I’d earned myself the nickname Nurse Milly. My teacher, Mrs Freyne, had given me a special gold star and everything. The strange thing was, whenever I’d focused on helping with an injury or tending to someone who was sick, all my social anxiety had fallen away. I’d been too driven by purpose to think about being nervous.
“Bloody hell, Tristan, how many beers have you had?” Derek questioned, frowning, his protective big brother instincts coming out.
“Ah, he’s only had two,” Aidan interjected. “Sure, you know he’s a terrible lightweight. Anyway, welcome to my party, Derek’s friend Milly. I hope you’ll have an enjoyable time.” Then he turned and rejoined the gaggle of girls he’d been impressing with some anecdote before we’d arrived.
“So, where was I? Oh yes, and then I said to her, I’ve never even seen a penny-farthing!” Aidan proclaimed, finishing his story, and the girls giggled wildly.
Warm breath hit my neck as Derek bent to murmur. “Sorry about Aidan and Tris. They can be a little overzealous when they drink.”
“That’s okay,” I replied, my voice suddenly breathless with how close he was.
“Come on, let me introduce you to Theo and Rhys.” A pause as he smiled. “My hopefully less drunk friends.”
I chuckled and allowed him to lead me farther into the room. Once I’d been properly introduced to everyone, I sat next to Derek on one of the couches, and we sipped our rum and Cokes while observing the drunken antics of his friend group. At one point, his sister, Nuala, arrived with a pretty brunette, who Derek quietly informed me was their cousin, Charli. She was visiting from America and staying at their house for the summer. Nuala and I shared a few classes at school, but we didn’t move in the same circles. Still, even though she was friends with the popular girls, she was one of the nicest people I’d ever met. Her eyes lit when she saw me with her brother, a smile gracing her lips as she cast me a little wave before Theo grabbed her hand and pulled her over for a chat.
The entire time I sat there, I was aware of Derek’s arm resting across the back of the couch. I felt the heat of his arm at my neck. When I finished the last sip of my drink, Derek quietly slid the empty glass from my hand and set it down on the nearby table. His eyes met mine, slowly travelling back and forth before dipping to my mouth.
“I feel I need to clear something up,” he said, frowning hard like he was having trouble grasping some philosophical concept or mathematical equation.
“Oh?”
“Contrary to what was said earlier, I did not, in fact, contract herpes from Aidan.” His deadpan delivery had me bursting into laughter, and a pleased smile graced his handsome face.
“That’s good to know.”
His smile deepened, and he nudged my shoulder with his. “Just in case you were thinking of kissing me later, you don’t have to worry about contracting any venereal diseases.”