'I just needed a little fresh air. It was getting a little crowded in there.' He looked at me then.
'You don't like crowds?'
'Not really. I'll be okay; I just needed a little space and some air.' I turned to look back at the stars. 'It's amazing isn't it? All those stars and planets, just suspended out there.' He slipped his hand into mine.
'Feeling a little philosophical are we?' I could hear the smile in his voice and I was glad that his mood had improved from this morning.
'No, just thinking out loud.' I squeezed his hand. 'We should go back inside; people will wonder where we disappeared to, that, and it's freezing.' He leaned down and whispered.
'I know something that would warm you up.' I laughed and punched him in the arm.
'You are such a boy.' It was then that I heard the opening bars to 'Merry Christmas Everybody'. I pulled my phone out of the pocket in my dress and checked the screen. 'It's my sister, I should take this.'
Nate nodded and kissed me on the forehead. 'Don't stay out too long; I don't want you getting sick.'
I watched as he walked back into the house. I took a deep breath then hit the answer button. 'Hey Abby, Happy Christmas Eve.' I pulled the coat tighter about myself.
'Happy Christmas Eve. How is everything? Is that music I can hear?'
'Yes, we're having a party at the house.' I shifted from foot to foot trying to keep warm.
'Oh, a party sounds fun.' I heard her let out a heavy sigh. 'I used to have fun, now I spend the evenings making tutus and am currently trying to figure out how to wrap a scooter and a giant panda.'
I laughed. 'Well good luck with that. How are the kids? Excited?'
'They were running around all day hyped up on sugar thanks to their father. They are asleep now and so I'm indulging in a very large glass of wine.' I heard her take a sip and I smiled.
'That sounds good. I hope Scott is helping with the wrapping.'
'No, he is on wine duty, that and making sure I haven't forgotten any presents. You know, I found a bottle of scotch I was supposed to give to Dad last Christmas, in July.'
'You are turning into Mum; she is always leaving things in the back of the wardrobe and discovering them again months later.'
'Don't say that I'm only thirty four, I'm too young to become our mother.' I could hear the rustle of paper and was impressed with her multi-tasking. 'Anyway, I would rather be in your shoes. A party sounds fun. Will you let me know how it goes and if you happen to get caught under the mistletoe?' I chuckled at her request. I hoped I would be kissing someone later but I wasn't ready to divulge the details to anyone.
'I'm not promising you anything. I should probably go and let you get back to your wrapping. I will see you in the New Year.'
'Alright, have an amazing Christmas. Love you.'
'Love you too. Bye.' I ended the call and slipped my phone back into my pocket.
An hour later I was standing by the window in the living room and smiling at the sight before me. Ella was standing over the other side of the room chatting to Roddy and looking pretty happy herself. I knew her signs of flirting; she would tuck her blonde hair behind her ear then touch the guys arm gently. Ella was totally flirting with Roddy and he looked as though it was already Christmas morning and he got just what he asked Santa for.
'What are you so happy about?' I turned and looked into piercing blue eyes. Daniel had come and stood beside me and I had to admit he looked good in his crisp white shirt and dark grey trousers and a small smile on his face. I ignored his question and asked one of my own.
'How long have Ella and Roddy known each other?'
Daniel looked over at the couple. 'About four years. Why?'
I looked back at him and raised my eyebrows. 'Really?'
'What?' He looked from me to them then back to me.
'You don't see what I see?' I gestured across the room to where the couple stood close together quite obviously flirting. 'They clearly like each other.'
He looked back over to them. 'Ella and Roddy? I'm not sure.'
I shook my head and laughed. 'What's funny?' I turned to my left and had to shift my gaze upward to look at Nate, he really was very tall. I grinned up at him.
'I was laughing at the fact that Daniel hadn't noticed that Roddy and Ella like each other.' Nate looked across the room.
'They do?'
'Men!' I shook my head again and giggled, 'I'm going to get a drink.'
'I could get one for you,' Daniel suggested.
'It's all right.' I sent him a smile then turned to Nate who gave me a questioning look, my only response was a quick wink before crossing the room to the kitchen. After pouring myself another glass of champagne I hopped up onto the table.
'What are you doing in here all alone?' I looked up as Ella walked over to the bottle of champagne on the table and poured herself a glass full.
'Just thinking.' I watched as she came up and leaned against the table at my side. 'Ella, why didn't you tell me you liked Roddy?'
She took along drink. 'There is nothing to tell.'
'That's not true though is it?' I studied her for a moment. She was running her fingers up and down the stem of her glass in thought. Her thought process flicked across her face, from looking scared to worry then it seemed to soften and a small smile crossed her face. It had taken me a while to work it out but that small smile and the way her eyes softened I knew this was different.
'I like him.' Her voice came out only just above a whisper; that if she spoke any louder someone might over hear us. 'I've liked him for years. I just don't know how to tell him. This isn't like the other guys I have dated. Roddy's different. He's funny and smart and so sexy that I can't stop grinning when I look at him, or think of him.' She turned to look at me then. 'Tell me what to do.' I pulled her into a hug. I had no comforting words for her. I knew what she was going through was hard but my mind drifted to my own messed up thoughts and nothing I had ever experienced would help.
'I can't tell you what to do. You have to decide that on your own.'
She let out a heavy sigh. 'I know.' She let out a laugh as we pulled out of our hug.
'Wait, was he the friend you went to see the other day?'
Ella looked a little guilty and took a quick drink. 'Maybe.' I waited for her to elaborate. Ella slouched a little, 'I might have popped over to his mother's under the illusion that Mum needed help with something but really I just wanted to see him.'
I sent her a reassuring smile. 'And was he in?'
'Yes.' She beamed. 'He suggested we went over to Helmfirth for tea.' Her smile softened. 'It was really nice just talking. I thought...,'
'Thought what?' Her smile had waivered and I worried that something had happened.
'I thought he liked me the way I liked him, but now I'm not so sure.'
'What makes you think he doesn't like you?' Thinking of the way Roddy had been looking at her all evening and how they had acted together over the past couple of days, I was in no doubt that he felt the same way Ella did.
'We have known each other for years, surely if he liked me more than a friend he would have said something by now.'
I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. 'Ella, maybe he hasn't said anything because he is unsure of how you feel. You might have to make the first move.'
Her eyes widened and she bit down on her lip in worry. She shook herself out of her thoughts. 'Anyway, to change the subject from my love life to yours, I can't convince you to go on a date with Daniel? I saw you guys talking.'
I shook my head. 'He's not the guy for me.' At that moment Nate walked into the room and my heart immediately sped up. I noticed Ella look from me to her brother and back and I held my breath in the hope she either hadn't noticed my reaction or that she would choose to ignore it. It seemed crazy to me, what just the sight of him did to my body and I was dreading Boxing Day morning even more knowing it would be the end to whatever it was we were doing.
'What are you two up to in here?'
Ella picked up her glass and said quietly, 'I'm just going to go find... someone.'
I smiled and nodded, knowing that she was going to find Roddy and I hoped tell him that she liked him. Nate didn't move, he just stood and watched me. I lifted my glass to my lips and took a drink, feeling the bubbles slip down my throat and all the time I kept my eyes on him. I wondered what he was thinking, what I looked like to him? I wanted to know everything and that scared the life out of me.
Chapter Twenty Two
Nate
April was sitting on the kitchen table and images from the night before flashed through my head and made me ache for her. She looked stunning this evening and her soft pale skin looked almost porcelain against the dark blue of her dress. She was smiling at me and I thought I saw hesitancy there as if all of a sudden she had become shy around me.
'What was that about?' I nodded my head towards the door that Ella had just disappeared through.
April's smile widened and she crossed her legs which hitched her dress up revealing more of her lower thigh. The sight of it made me shift slightly and swallow hard, I felt like a horny teenager when I was around her. 'I think your sister may have found the one.'
'Really?' I knew something had been going on with her but I didn't realise it was quite so serious. I had met a couple of previous boyfriends but I knew they wouldn't stick and I was beginning to trust April's judgement so if she thought this was serious then I believed her. Ella was my only sister and I could be pretty protective, but if Roddy, and I'm pretty sure after what April said in the sitting room that she was referring to Roddy, was who Ella had chosen then I was happy for her. He was a good guy and I knew he would treat her right.
Her smile softened. 'Yes. He seems like a genuinely lovely person and she deserves to be happy.'
I moved towards her then, close enough that I could reach out and touch her but enough distance that if someone walked in it wouldn't look too intimate. I was at a point where I didn't care who found out about us, hell I wanted to tell everyone that April was mine but I could tell that she wasn't ready.
I had calmed down and had a chance to think about my mood this morning. I needed to take it slow with her, I knew that now. She hadn't been in a relationship in two years and we had only met four days ago, just because I was ready didn't mean that she was and I didn't want to mess it up. I looked at her and pushed my hands into my pockets. 'She does, and so do you.'
Her smile left her face then and she looked at me intensely. I watched as she lifted her glass again and took a long drink. I couldn't read her and it worried and intrigued me. She lowered her glass slowly then smiled. 'Are you having fun?'
She was changing the subject so I wasn't going to push it. 'I am. I had a nice catch up with James and Vic, and Sally was telling me about her trip to Kenya.' I watched April sit up straighter and shift like she was trying to get comfortable. I pulled my hands from my pockets and crossed my arms. She was really acting weird and I realised that I needed to know what had changed. 'What?' It came out a little sharp and her eyes shot up to meet my gaze.
'What? It's nothing,' she said as if it was definitely something.
'It is not nothing. Talk to me.' I waited and didn't drop my gaze and she held my eye contact.
She let out a sigh and I watched her shoulder sag. 'She likes you.'
'Who?' I knew who she meant but I wanted her to tell me.
'Sally. She was asking about you in the pub the other afternoon.'
I took a deep breath then walked to her side and sat down on the table next to her. I slipped my hand into hers and rubbed my thumb across her knuckles. 'Is that why you have been acting a bit off with me? Because you think Sally fancies me?'
She shook her head. 'I don't know, maybe. Do you...' She went quiet.
'Do I what?'
'Do you like her?' She had dropped her head now and stared at our interlocked fingers. 'I know it sounds silly...'
'I do like her.' Her head shot up and I saw the shock in her eyes. 'I like her as a friend. April, I have known her for years. You know she went to school with Ella and we all used to hang out; Sally, and Ella, and James, and Victoria. If anything was going to happen it would have by now and to be honest with you - and I'm telling you now that I will always be honest with you - I have never thought of her as anything more than a friend.' I brought her hand up to my lips and kissed it.
She closed her eyes and when she opened them again I could see the relief in them. 'I'm sorry.' Her voice was quiet.
'It's alright.'
She shook her head. 'No it's not. I shouldn't have thought anything of it. I don't have the right. Can we just forget it... please?'
I wondered why she thought she didn't have the right to ask about it. She had every right to ask me and I wanted to know where all her doubt came from. But I didn't want to ruin tonight by asking her and I really wanted to get her in a better mood. 'It's forgotten.' I stood and turned to her still holding onto her hand. 'How about a dance?'
She smiled up at me then nodded and jumped off the table, her heels making a clicking sound on the tiles. I looked down at her shoes which made her at least four inches taller and much easier for me to kiss her. I shifted a little closer to her and looked down in to her hazel eyes. 'I really want to kiss you.' I watched her tongue dart out and moisten her lips, 'but I'm going to make you wait.'
Her smile widened. 'You weren't lying when you said being good was over rated, were you?'
I shook my head and looped her hand through my arm and lead her into the living room.
We danced like idiots. The coffee table had been moved out of the way to make room and the chairs and sofa had also been moved to the sides of the room. April had warned me that she wasn't a great dancer and she was only partly right. She could move to the music when she was dancing in a group but as a partner she was awful. I had lessons for a movie I did a couple of years ago so I knew how to lead but that didn't mean a thing to April and she found it hilarious when I tried to teach her and failed.
'I told you I was no good.' She said through her laughter. I was glad that she had shaken out of the weird mood she had been in and was now enjoying herself again. We were in the living room with the rest of the 'young crowd' dancing away to the cheesiest Christmas music we could find.
'You just need to practice.' She sent me a look which I interpreted as 'no chance' and it brought a smile to my face. She wiggled over to Ella and I took the opportunity to catch my breath. I moved over to the window and leaned back onto the windowsill next to Roddy.
'Nice moves.' He smiled and took a drink of his beer.
'Thanks man.' Since April had pointed out that he might be interested in Ella I had wanted to talk to him. I know it was probably a cliché for the big brother to warn the sister's potential boyfriend but she was the only sister I had and I had always protected her. 'I have been meaning to have a word.'
He turned to me then and shifted his weight like he was gearing up to defend himself. 'Oh, what about?'
I smiled, I quite liked that he was squirming. 'Well firstly I wanted to apologise for my mood earlier, it was good of you to drop that stuff off.'
'Don't worry about it.' He nodded and his shoulders relaxed a little.
'Secondly, I just want to make sure you treat her right.'
His head moved to look out across the room and I knew his eyes had settled on Ella. His stance changed and he had tensed up again. 'I.. err.'
'She is my little sister so if you fuck with her then I will kill you.' His head whipped back to stare at me. 'We are friends and I know you would never intentionally hurt her I'm just warning you.'
He stood up straighter then and gave me a serious look. 'I really care about her but nothing has happened. I'm not even sure if she like
s me that way.'
'I think she does, you just need to man up and ask her.'
'Thanks man.' He took a deep breath then let it out slowly.
'I'm serious, you hurt her and I will kill you.'
He looked at me and sent me a small smile. 'I could never hurt her.' I nodded then watched as he walked away from me and over to the girls who were all dancing together.
I watched Roddy lean down and whisper something in Ella's ear and then the huge smile that spread across her face. I couldn't remember the last time I saw her that happy and if anyone deserved to be happy it was Ella.
April turned her head towards me and smiled then wandered over to my side. 'Hey.' She smiled up at me then leaned herself against the windowsill. 'So are those kids finally going to get it together?’
'Only time will tell.' I returned her smile. She looked back up at me and our eyes locked. I wanted to kiss her, no, I needed to kiss her. 'Meet me in the office in two minutes.' I didn't wait for her response. I stood up straight then walked out of the room as if I was headed to the kitchen. I walked through the kitchen to the door leading to the hallway and then through the first door on the left.
I pushed it closed behind me and waited. Almost exactly two minutes later the door opened and April walked through it and closed it quietly behind her. I stepped up to her then reached behind and turned the key that sat in the lock. She looked up at me expectantly and I realised that my whole body was shaking. I took a step forward and she backed up against the door. Before I knew what I was doing my hands were either side of her face and my lips were on hers. I kissed her deeply and as she kissed me back she let out a little moan.
That noise turned me on like no other and I pressed her further against the door. Her hands were bunched in the front of my shirt like she was afraid to let go. All the noise that was coming from behind the door seemed to disappear and it was just the two of us and this kiss.
I don't know how long we stood that way. But finally we broke apart and caught our breath. 'Well, that was definitely worth waiting for.' April smiled up at me, still clutching onto my shirt.
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