all right here?” a man asks, his finger tapping my shoulder.
I flinch, turn to face him, and—strangely enough—move closer to Will. “Yes, everything is fine. Thank you.”
“You sure?” His eyes are on Will, his chest puffed, which looks ridiculous. Because if Will were a lion, this dude would be a gazelle.
“Yes, I’m sure.” I turn back to Will, his face still crumpled in that unexplained phenomenon kinda way, but now it’s directed at the gazelle and not at me.
I can’t help but giggle.
“Because if this guy is hassling you—”
“Oh my God!” I look over my shoulder at him. “No, he’s not hassling me. You are! Now go away or I’ll punch you too.”
The guy raises his hands and says, “Just tryin’ to fuckin’ help a bitch,” then walks off.
Will’s body stiffens, and his funny expression turns sinister as his eyes follow the guy. He takes a step in his direction, and I panic, clasping his arm and pulling him to me.
“Don’t bother,” I say, scoffing.
His hands find my hips again, and this time, I leave them there.
“Don’t bother what?” he prompts, still focussed on the guy.
“Defending my honour.”
His eyes lock on mine. “Why not?”
“Because I don’t need nor want you to. I can defend myself.”
He lets me go and rubs his chin with his thumb and knuckle. “I’m not convinced.”
“You don’t need to be.”
“Yes, I do.”
“No, you don’t.” I go to leave, when he says my name, and for some stupid reason, I like the sound of it on his tongue.
“Elizabeth.”
“What?”
“I’m going to teach you how to box.”
“Box? What?”
He nods as if that’s all there is to it.
“Um… no, you’re not.”
This time, I do turn on my heel in search of Carly, Will following, his Gigantor arm reaching out to make a clear path through the sea of people before me.
“You need to learn how to defend yourself. You’re too small and delicate.”
“The only person I need to defend myself against is you.”
“Fine! I’ll teach you how to defend yourself against me then.”
The offer is almost too good to refuse.
“I’ll pass, thanks.”
“Sorry, no can do.”
Stopping at the edge of the dance floor, I spin to face him, when he bumps into me, his arms reaching around my back stop me from falling.
I gasp and grip the lapels of his shirt, my heartbeat escalating as our eyes bounce like tennis balls from each other’s lips to each other’s eyes. Will’s gaze drops to my neck, and my skin instantly heats.
“See?” I wiggle out of his embrace so I’m able to step back for much-needed space. “The only person I need to defend myself against is you.”
“Then I’ll teach you how. It’s settled.”
“No, it’s not.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
“No, you don’t have a choice.” Huffing, I wonder why I’m still standing here talking to him. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to find Carly then pretend this night never happened.”
Will smiles, greedy-like, then licks his luscious Brad Pitt lips. “It happened, sweetheart, and it will happen again.”
Swallowing hard, I take another step back and shake my head. “No, it won’t.”
“I mean who does he think he is?” I move onto the pavement and hold the door of the taxi while Carly ungracefully climbs out.
“He is Will.” She giggles.
“He is an arrogant, pig-headed jerk.”
Carly sways as she stands, so I loop my arm around hers, bearing most of her weight as I lead her toward the front door of our house.
“Derek and I are,” she says, her eyes all dreamy.
I have no idea what she’s talking about. She’s been cooing and mumbling ever since she got off the phone with him. “Are what?”
“We just are.”
“Jesus, how much did you drink?”
“Enough.”
“You can say that again.”
We somehow stumble to the top of the porch steps unscathed, so I prop her against the door while I search my clutch for the keys.
“His dad is sick.”
“Huh?”
She twirls a piece of hair around her finger, eyes still dreamy. “That’s why he’s in Sydney. Sick dad.”
“Oh. That’s terrible.”
“It’s great!”
“What? Why?” My finger snags the key ring, so I pull it out and unlock the door, twisting the handle and opening it before remembering Carly’s still leaning against it.
She slips down the wooden panel and falls to her knees in our doorway. Oopsies.
“Ouch!” Carly rolls onto her side and then onto her back, her limbs splayed like a starfish, her dress pretty much around her waist.
“Shit! Sorry.” I reach for her hands to help her up, but she just laughs.
“It’s so great!”
I can’t help but giggle at her weird