Chapter 63 CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
Chapter 63 CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
EVA’S POV
The smile didn’t leave my face.
Not when Josh slowly pulled away and for the first time in what felt like forever, put a bit of distance between us.
He looked around him nervously and finally, I realized we weren’t the only ones in the corridor. There were a couple of strangers walking past, some glancing at us and some staring for longer than a couple of seconds.
“Oh, God,” I covered my face with my palm, my cheeks heating up in embarrassment. “Okay this is crazy.”
“Is it?” Josh took a step closer as I instinctively took one away from him. “I guess so.”
“I thought you weren’t returning from the camp until tomorrow?” I finally asked, still trying to process the fact that he was actually standing in front of me. “How are you back already?”
“I needed to wish you a happy birthday,” he replied so easily it made me blush. “In person.”
“Really?”
“I was also scared Aaron would ask you to be his girlfriend before me,” he added. “And I couldn’t bare the thought of that.”
My smile returned to my face and I quickly turned around, peeking into the restaurant. I immediately spotted Aaron, Lily and Ryan, a bit of guilt making its way to my chest.
“Does Lily know you’re here?” I turned around to face Josh again.
“No, she doesn’t,” the way he ran his hands through his hair distracted me for a while. “No one knows.”
“I—”
“Do you have to head back in?” he asked before I could speak. “Right. They are probably all waiting for you.”
All I could do was nod slowly. I didn’t want him to leave. It still all felt so surreal and the thought of him leaving made it feel like I would be waking up from a dream.
But I needed to return to the restaurant. If not for Lily and Ryan, at least for Aaron.
“I should probably head home,” he continued. I bit my lip, watching him study my face before he continued. “You should go be with them. I’ll see you later then?”
“Later?”
“Later tonight,” he reached for my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Go home. I promise I’ll show up before you go to bed.”
I didn’t understand exactly what he meant. But all I needed was that little assurance from him.
“Okay,” I slowly pulled away. “See you later then.”
With a final smile, I turned around and returned to the restaurant. The moment I walked through the main door, everything looked exactly the same, but somehow it didn't feel that way anymore. The music sounded softer, the lights seemed warmer and even the crowded room felt easier to breathe in.
Maybe nothing had changed.
Maybe I was the only thing that had.
“There you are,” Lily was the first to speak up as I returned to my seat. “You were gone for so long we were almost thinking you ran away.”
“What? Of course not,” I chuckled lightly as I tried to act normal. But my cheeks were still warm, my lips still tingling from the memory of his kiss and my mind was still replaying the way he had looked at me when he told me he came back just to wish me a happy birthday.
Then I felt Aaron's eyes on me and the warmth in my chest immediately twisted into guilt. “Sorry, I just needed to go out for a while.”
“You’re better now?” he gently placed his hand on my thigh as he asked. “You actually look better.”
“Huh?” I swallowed. I could barely meet his gaze without the feeling of guilt threatening to overwhelm me. “Yeah, thank you. Thank you for this. For coming.”
“I think you’ve thanked me more than enough times tonight, Eva.”
“Oh,” I looked at Lily and Ryan and then my phone. “I think we should all head home. It’s past midnight already.”
“Yeah.”
“We were waiting for you.”
They didn’t object and we all took turns to rise to our feet after the bill was settled. Lily and Ryan led the way with Ryan offering to drive her home while Aaron and I followed, Aaron by default, offering to drive me home.
We all said our goodbyes for the night and I got into his car. He helped me with the seatbelt before he got into his side, immediately starting the engine.
“Thank you for driving me home,” I said as I unclasped my seatbelt. “And I know I’ve said it already but thank you for today. For showing up and for the gift.”
I held up my wrist, watching him smile slightly as he caught sight of the bracelet. Something in my chest immediately twisted.
His smile was genuine. He looked pleased to see me wearing something he had chosen for me.
And yet, all I could think about was Josh.
The way his expression had changed when he saw the bracelet earlier. The way he had looked at it, then at me, like it meant more than just a piece of jewellery sitting around my wrist.
“You’re welcome, Eva,” he caught my wrist before I could stop him and slowly, leaned his head to kiss my hand. I tensed up immediately but he didn’t seem to notice, his kisses slowly extending towards my fingers.
“Do I get a kiss tonight?”
I pulled my hand away before he could kiss it again, my movements obviously startling him. He immediately straightened and looked at me, his brows furrowing slightly.
“I’m guessing that’s a no, then?”
“I’m a bit tired,” I bit my lip, immediately regretting my choice of words. “Some other time?”
He didn’t push further. He simply nodded then rested his hands on the steering wheel, his gaze shifting towards outside the window.
“You’re driving me crazy, Eva.”
“I’m sorry,” I muttered, slowly reaching for the door. “I really am.”
“When I said I’d heard more than enough ‘thank you’ for the night, I didn’t mean you should replace it with I’m sorry,” he shook his head. “You don’t have to.”
“Okay,” I looked at him for a while then opened the door. “Good night then.”
“I’ll see you later.”
I shut the door and, with a final wave, watched him drive off, his taillights disappearing down the street.
But the moment he was out of sight, hell, even before he was out of my sight, all I could think about was the other man who had promised to see me later.