Page 20 of Worth Every Game
I take her hand in mine. “Come on.”
She looks up at me, amazed, as though I’m the last person she expected to see, but the shock in her gaze vanishes and the relief that sweeps in to take its place wrings out every organ in my body.She needs me. She doesn’t resist when I tuck her under my arm and escort her to another doorway. She’s so small.So vulnerable in this heaving crowd.I squeeze her tighter, and together we make our way down a side staircase. She lets out a cough as the stench of smoke filters over our heads. Not a drill, then.Fuck, if anything happens to her…
Others must smell it too, because the screaming increases and the movement down the staircase gathers urgency. People are shoving and tripping. Hands flail and grip my jacket, using me to pull them forward, or trying to push me back.
Finally, we spill outside. There’s a bitter chill in the night air, but it’s a welcome sign of safety.We made it.Around us, people disperse, searching for friends, gathering in clustered groups, and within moments Elly and I are alone in the darkness, standing by the side of the building. My heart is racing, the adrenaline flooding my system making my limbs tingle.
Heaving breaths, Elly stands opposite me, trembling. “You think everyone got out?”
I glance back at the building, where smoke is choking out of a ground floor window. “I hope so.”
“Fuck. That was crazy.” She tangles the fingers of one hand in her hair. She shifts around, thumping her feet on the ground for a few seconds as though she too is flooded with adrenaline and needs to shake it out, then her gaze snags on mine and she stops moving. “You came back for me,” she says, breathless.
I want to tell her that,of course,I came back for her. There was no way in hell I would have left her struggling in that mess. I give a careless shrug and say, “Figured a little thing like you would get crushed.”
Elly wraps her arms around her. She must be freezing without a coat. If I had mine, I’d give it to her. “Thanks,” she says, her breath pearling out in a cloud of fog.
She’s shaking visibly now, and I don’t know if it’s the cold or shock, but before I’ve thought it through I’m saying, “Come here,” and stepping up to her. I slide my arms around her, pulling her against me. She doesn’t resist.
“Shit,” she mutters, but she lets me hold her until the trembling lessens. It’s a risk, having her so close to me because she can probably feel the rapid beating of my heart. With any luck, she’ll attribute it to what just happened, rather than her proximity.
Her sweet, citrusy scent surrounds me until all I’m aware of is the woman in my arms. “You okay?” I whisper.
She looks up, and when our eyes meet, electricity surges through me, connecting us in a charged moment. Elly must feel it too, because a momentary look of confusion flits over her face. “The others. We should find the others,” she murmurs, but there’s no urgency in her tone.
Without thinking, my hand rises to the back of her neck, slipping beneath all that wild hair. Her skin is warm and soft, and the tips of my fingers twist into the curls at her nape. I’ve never touched Elly like this, and my skin is prickling at the contact. Maybe it’s because she’s off-limits—Kate’s best friend—or maybe it’s because I like her. But either way, there is absolutely no passing this off as me trying to comfort her. It’s way too intimate. “We should,” I admit. “But I’m not in a rush right now.”
A stillness descends, and we’re trapped, motionless, in the energy field of whatever is happening between us.
Elly wets her lips with her tongue, and when her gaze falls to my mouth, I know I’m not imagining it. She wants to kiss me as much as I want to kiss her. But as I lean towards her, she blinks, breaking the connection, and jerks away from me, eyes flashing with annoyance. “You think everyone’s ready to fall at your feet, don’t you?”
My laugh takes me by surprise. “What? No.” The words are a knee-jerk reaction, which I immediately reassess. “Actually, yes. A lot of the time.”
“Unbelievable.” She paces away with purpose, but I catch up to her in two strides.
“Have I offended you? Because you should’ve known when you got up there to sing, the effect it was going to have. This is predictable.”
She tosses her hair over her shoulder and glances sideways at me. “What is?”
“Me, wanting you.”
She stops and stares right at me, outrage flickering in her gaze. Her pretty pink mouth opens to say something I’m sure isn’t going to be complimentary, when—
“Elly! Jack!” Kate’s voice cuts through the night air, and only now am I aware of how close we are to the main gathering of people near the track. The buzz of chatter roars in my ears, and I wonder how I hadn’t noticed it before. “Thank God you’re okay,” Kate exclaims, rushing up to us. “It was a fire in the kitchen. Hot oil or something like that. No one’s hurt. Barely any damage, apparently.”
“That’s good,” Elly says, and I’m wondering how she’s managing to appear normal and maintain a regular conversation when I am spinning from our moments alone and our almost-kiss.
“You have to come,” Kate continues. “Mum’s determined to go into the centre of town and drink champagne. For her nerves. She’s all shaken up.”
“Bollocks, it’s her nerves. She’s been gagging to get back to the West End all evening.” I sound disproportionately irritated, and it’s more to do with Elly than Mum wanting to leave. Kate, clueless as to the origin of my unexpected vehemence, shoots me a reprimanding glance.
“You know what,” Elly says, “I’m going to head home. I’ve had enough excitement for one night.”
Kate tries to dissuade her, telling her its too cold to be out without a coat, and that she should stay with us and take the car, but Elly’s having none of it. She gives Kate a hug, promises to take a cab rather than the night bus, and barely glances at me before she walks towards the main road. I will her to turn back, to give me some indication that it’s notthat fucking easyto walk away from me, but she doesn’t.
And she takes every scrap of enthusiasm I have for this evening with her.
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