Our Chance (10 page)

“Wow, you two as a team would certainly take the advertising world by storm.”

We were a team now. I just had to work out if I wanted that to become legal and official. Starting up myself was exciting but I’d been here part-time before I left Uni since I was eighteen. This company could be moulded into something that fit both me and Rich. And if Nell eventually came on board there was nothing we couldn’t achieve. She’d be able to take the company to new places.

“I’m not sure if the advertising world is ready for that yet,” I said.

Rich rolled his eyes. “You’ll say yes eventually, you know it makes perfect sense. Please excuse me, I don’t want to be late. I hope to see you again soon, Nell, it was lovely to meet you.”

She nodded. “Likewise.”

He wasn’t gone two seconds before she asked, “You’re going to be a partner?”

I shut down my computer. “Possibly.”

“Why would you not want that?”

“I’ve just started out full-time and I need to make sure I’m comfortable with the added responsibility and stress. Now, are you ready to go?”

“Yep. I’m starving, they’d better not be late.”

I grabbed my phone and wallet from the desk and slid them into my pockets. “Let’s do one then.” Walking around the desk I put my arm around her waist and led her out of the building.

She leant against me as we walked towards my car, her breast brushing my chest. My breath caught in my throat as she looked up all doe eyed and pouty lips. She knew what she was doing to me. I felt my trousers tighten in the crotch area and hoped to fucking God the hard on she’d given me just by existing would be gone soon.

Chloe and Logan beat us to the restaurant. They were at a table with our drinks already. “Hey,” Nell said, sitting down opposite Chloe. They launched into gossip at a million miles an hour so I focused on Logan.

“How’s it going, man?” He asked.

“Not bad. You?”

“Good.”

Me and Logan had effectively done the whole day’s catch up thing in under ten words while the girls were still discussing getting dressed this morning.

“Ordered you a beer but are you driving?” He asked.

“I am. One’s alright though, thanks.” A cold beer, good food and good company was exactly what I needed. “How’re the wedding plans going?”

He shrugged. “I’m not the one to ask. I’ll turn up and smile.”

“You can be involved,” Chloe said, leaning on Logan’s shoulder.

He scoffed. “That’s not what you told me last night.”

“Only because you said you want a screen in the reception room if football’s on.”

“Logan!” Nell said, shaking her head just before I had the chance to argue that that was a perfectly valid request. Apparently it wasn’t. Weddings went on for ages and a match was only ninety minutes long. It wasn’t like he wanted to spend the entire time in front of a TV.

He raised his hands up. “It’s not happening, I get that now.”

It was nice to see their excitement. Though I did think they were both so young still. But I suppose that didn’t matter because they were the perfect match and balanced each other out. And it was plain to see that they were in love.

“Are you having a morning, afternoon or evening ceremony?”

“I thought about morning but then I figured…”

Me and Logan looked at each other and he shrugged as they carried on discussing wedding plans.

Smirking he said, “Again, I’ll just turn up.”

It looked like he was going to have to because by the time the girls had finished, they pretty much had everything planned out.

“You suggested Scotland, right? That’s almost a say,” I offered.

He nodded. “Yeah. She ran with it and found a castle but I suppose it came from me.”

“You’re not sold on the castle?”

“Couldn’t fucking care less, man. We’ll see next week I guess.”

“Oh that’s right,” I said, nudging Nell’s arm. “Dirty weekend next week.”

“You’re getting
no
sleep that weekend,” she replied.

Leaning my arm over her chair, I said, “Didn’t plan to.”

I drove back to Nell’s after dinner and it was finally the part that I was
really
looking forward to. Meeting up with Chloe and Logan was great but having Nell all to myself was much better. She was driving me crazy and absentmindedly playing with her hair, giving me the occasional flash of neck. A neck I wanted to be kissing.

“Are you okay?” I asked. She still seemed a bit distant. Her mind was elsewhere.

“I’m fine. Sorry, just family stuff. Nothing I can’t handle though. Parents can be a nightmare sometimes.”

“Yes, they can be. Sure you’re alright?”

“Absolutely.”

I parked behind her car and we walked into her place. She wasn’t going to share why her parents were a nightmare and I didn’t want to push her, so I let it go.

“Do you want a shower?” She asked, turning around and raising her eyebrow.

“What? Now?”

“Me. You. Wet.”

I mentally undressed her and felt a straining against my trousers. “When you put it like that…” Suddenly it seemed like the best idea ever, even if the timing was a little off.

She started unbuttoning her shirt. “Good. I’ll rub you down if you rub me down.”

Oh fucking hell. I felt my eyes dilate so much I could barely see.

Nell

So we were flying to Scotland in a plane that looked like a toy. The anticipation of my steamy weekend away had turned into pure fear of crashing in that tiny tin can. And not even Chloe shared my fears.

“Nell, will you stop looking at the plane. Everything’s going to be fine,” she said, stirring her cinnamon spiced latte.

We had thirty minutes before we needed to board and were spending it drinking coffee in the café. My cappuccino was doing nothing and nowhere in here sold alcohol. I was screwed.

Damon put his hand on my thigh under the table. “Relax. It won’t crash.”

“And how do you know that?”

“I just do. We’re going to be fine.”

“Okay, I’m gonna need a little more than that.”

He sighed and squeezed his hand. “Alright, if we crash I’ll lay under you so I break your fall. Happy?”

Happy? “No, not happy.”

“You’re being impossible, has anyone got a Valium?”

“I don’t need drugging, Damon.”

He flashed me a smile as his hand travelled higher. “It’s not for you.”

“Oh how very funny you are,” I said, catching his hand before it went to the inside of my leg.

I could see Chloe grinning at us out of the corner of my eye. She was obsessed with the idea of me and Damon being a couple. In an ideal world that would be great. I really liked the guy; he was fun and killer in bed. But we didn’t live in an ideal world.

“I wasn’t joking, Nell,” he replied. “The plane is fine and we’re going to be fine.”

“Okay, but when it’s plummeting out of the sky and we’re hurtling to our death I’m so saying I told you so.”

“Go for it. Jesus, I think I’m just going to have to fuck you in the bathroom for the whole hour it takes to get there.”

Logan and Chloe laughed, but I wasn’t so sure he was joking on that either.

I held my hands up. “I’m letting it go. I’m sure the tiny, rickety old plane will get us there without a hitch. Are we looking around the castle first, Chlo?”

“No, we can check-in first and then meet up afterwards, save lugging our stuff around. I hope it’s as nice as it looks in the pictures.”

It was a
castle
in Scotland. How could it not be?

“I’m sure it is. Are you setting a date this weekend if you love it?”

Logan looked at Chloe for the answer. Bless him he would do absolutely anything to make her happy. I bet he didn’t care where they got married. I bet Chloe didn’t either actually but they deserved their dream wedding, they’d been through a lot to get together.

“I think so, if we’re both set on it.”

“Still summer this year?” I asked. That got a negative reaction from Logan. He wanted to marry her immediately but Chloe was a little more traditional than that and wanted to plan a big wedding and celebrate with all of their family and friends.

“It depends on the dates. Maybe spring if we can.”

“Better,” Logan mumbled. It was February now so they
really
didn’t have long, but that was what they both wanted. I was so damn excited for them, they were adorable together. It was sickening really.

Our flight was called so my telekinetic powers obviously hadn’t developed enough to seriously damage the engine. I took Damon’s hand and followed an excited Logan and Chloe to our gate.

“Focus on getting hot and sweaty in the hotel room while the snow falls outside,” Damon said, trying to loosen my death grip on his hand. That did sound romantic. Our sex was usually dirty, frantic and needy, so romance actually sounded…nice.

“Sounds perfect,” I replied.

A little too perfect.

We had to walk to the plane and climb the steps. The fucking thing was only about three of me long. Okay, I was exaggerating slightly but I didn’t think commercial planes could be so tiny. Not even fifty people could fit in here.

Damon and I took our seats behind Chlo and Logan. I made the mistake of sitting next to the window so I could see the rickety wings moving in the icy February wind. Thankfully there was no snow or ice but what about the other end? Scotland was notoriously colder than England. What if our pretend plane hit ice on landing? We’d have no chance.

Note to self: If they choose this castle I’m driving up.

“Do we fly over the sea?” I asked.

“I’m not sure. Why?”

“Just trying to work out our best chances of survival. The plane is small so could make an emergency landing in a field but surely the best chance is on water?”

“Alright, I’m banning you from talking about the plane.”

“You can’t ban me from anything.”

“Maybe not but I can make it really annoying if you try.”

“How do you–”

“Ba,” he said.

“What–”

“Da da da.”

I took a deep breath. Right, that was what he was doing. “Are you three, Dam–”

“Nelly, Nelly,” he sang until I slapped my hand over his mouth. Chloe and Logan chucked in front of us.

“Alright, enough, I won’t mention it again,” I snapped, shoving his hand away.

“So my folks are visiting next weekend and want to meet you,” he said as casually as if he was telling me the time.

“I’m sorry what?”

He rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t introduce you as my wife, so calm down.”

I fucking know he wouldn’t. “Why do they want to meet me?”

“Last time I was there I took a call from you and then the questions started. I guess you, Chloe and Logan are the only people I’ve really mentioned since I moved here. Don’t give me that look, if you weren’t phone stalking me they wouldn’t want to meet you.”

I coughed in disbelief. “Me stalking you? I think you put in way more booty calls than I do.”

“Oh, that is so not true. Damn, I knew I should’ve kept a tally.”

Chloe glanced over her shoulder and grinned at us through the gap between the chairs. Bitch. I almost wanted to stop arguing with Damon so she’d stop doing that annoying, smug face but there was no way I was letting Damon win this.

“Damon, you call me more.”

“No, I don’t.”

I glared. How could we settle this? There was no way of remembering all the times and who’d instigated them.

“Whatever, let’s just say that I make the calls the most,” he said.

“Yes, let’s, because you do. Anyway, I’ll meet your parents but if you make one marriage joke I’m out of there.”

“Deal. You’re not the marrying type so it’d be pointless.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

In front Logan winced along with Damon.

He held his hand up. “That sounded nowhere near as bad in my head.”

“What. Do. You. Mean?” I hissed.

“I mean you make no secret of the fact that you’d rather chop off your own head than settle down. Obviously I don’t mean that no one would want to marry you.” He looked rightfully scared.

“That wasn’t very obvious.”

“Hey,” he said, lifting my chin. “I would never think that about you, Nell. If it’s not clear that I think you’re the perfect woman by now, then you’re blind.” He extended his index finger and added, “And before you say, I’m not telling you this because I want more, I know you don’t want anything heavy.”