Page 4 of Date Knight (Roll for Romance #2)
Amy
M y horoscope had warned me that morning that I’d make some controversial moves, but I hadn’t thought it would be in a game of Dungeons I didn’t really understand the appeal of meeting up with thousands of other people wearing nerdy costumes.
But I was jealous of the fact that they were doing it together, and that they were so excited.
They’d even started talking about another trip to America next year for a different Renaissance Faire, and it was everything I could do to ask questions and act interested without letting on how envious I was.
At least they wanted me to be a regular part of their D even just looking at his name made me feel sick to my stomach.
“Everything okay?”
Phil was studying me from the other end of the picnic table.
“Yeah, why?” I widened my eyes and looked around as if his question were baseless.
“You just looked tweaked,” he said, shrugging, and I tried my best to keep my face neutral. I shook my head.
“Nope.”
“Okay, well,” Phil said, bringing his hands to his knees and standing up from the table, “I’ve gotta get back to Ethel. But I’ll see you nerds next week.”
“You’re not coming to the quiz?” Chloe asked, an exaggerated pout on her face.
“Probably not.”
He made his way around the table, giving each person a hug, including Jack.
Even as kids, they’d always given each other proper hugs when saying goodbye.
But then he got to me, and I realised I would have to hug Phil, otherwise it would look extremely suspicious.
He seemed to have the same realisation at the same time, pausing as he turned from Chloe to me.
“See ya,” I said, standing up and determining to keep it as casual as possible. I reached out just my right arm for a side hug, but he did the same with his own right arm, meaning we ended up reaching past one another in a way that made a full hug inevitable.
It’s not that hugging Phil was unpleasant.
In fact, it was quite the opposite; he was only a few inches taller than me, and I knew from experience that I could just about tuck my head under his chin, my cheek against his chest. I didn’t intend to do that, but it was as if my body remembered what it was like to hug him properly, even if we hadn’t done so in months.
Years, maybe. In fact, I wasn’t sure if we’d hugged like this since that night five years ago.
He pulled me into him, his arms wrapping around my back just tight enough, his chin propping on the top of my head. Despite the heat, he wasn’t sweaty, and he smelled fresh, like unscented soap, and a little bit earthy. I resisted the urge to breathe in deeply, but only just.
“Sorry for the change of plans this weekend,” he said, not yet pulling away, and I could feel his voice against my temple as it reverberated through him.
I opened my eyes and realised Jack was watching us, his eyes narrowed. I wasn’t actually sure how long I’d been hugging Phil, but clearly it had been long enough.
“It’s fine,” I said, pulling back. “I’ll see you next week like you said.”
“Don’t forget, we’re camping next week,” Morgan said.
“Oh shit, yeah,” Phil said, looking apologetic. “And Anil’s staying with Ethel all weekend.”
“Oh yeah, sure,” I said, trying to hide any shred of disappointment.
I really did like hanging out with Ethel, so I was sad not to see her two weeks in a row.
But more than that, I was surprised at how bummed I was not to be playing D&D next week.
I caught Morgan’s eye briefly, and she frowned at me, though I wasn’t sure why.
As Phil turned to leave, I suddenly remembered that I had something with me that I’d planned to give to Ethel.
“Hey, wait,” I said, reaching down for my bag and digging out the stone I’d bought online last week. “Can you add this to the windowsill?”
He looked down at the pink and black crystal I held out to him. “What’s this one then?”
“Rhodonite. It’s supposed to be good for using other senses to help with memory.”
I couldn’t quite tell with his beard in the way, but I was pretty sure his mouth quirked into a slight smile. “Sure,” he said, plucking it from my palm.
“You’ve gotta charge it though,” I said. “Under the new moon tonight.”
Phil rolled his eyes, but the smile didn’t dissipate. “Utter hogwash, all of it,” he said, but I knew he’d do it anyway. I was pretty sure it hadn’t been Ethel or Anil dusting the ones I’d put on the windowsill so far.
“Interesting,” Chloe said as I sat back down and narrowed my eyes at her. She liked to make pointed comments about Phil and me from time to time– hell, even Jack had gotten involved since I’d moved home last year– but Chloe knew better than anyone why that would never happen.
Better than anyone but Phil, that was.
* * *
I walked back to Fatima and Morgan’s house with the others, then took Jack’s car home, promising to pick him up the next morning before work.
We didn’t technically share the car– it was his beloved Land Rover that he’d fixed up by hand– but he acted as if we did, which was annoyingly generous of him.
As I drove myself home, I mentally tallied up how much money I still needed to save before I could get a car of my own.
Not that my social life was particularly busy, but it was annoying to have to rely on Jack’s schedule, or Mum’s at a pinch.
It made me feel even more like a tag-along than I already did.
But I was constantly balancing in my mind the cost of a car versus the cost of getting my own place.
Not buying– I had no idea where I wanted to be long-term, and I was tens of thousands in savings away from being able to afford a deposit– but just to get out from under Mum and Dad’s thumb.
They were good to me, but Mum especially could be a lot.
I’d moved away about three years ago, after it became abundantly clear that my social life in my hometown was dead.
The only school friends I had that hadn’t moved away had settled down, and we had precious little in common anymore.
And after things went south with Jack’s friends– with Phil, specifically– I just wanted to be anywhere else.
So I’d moved in with my uni mate Niamh in Manchester, got a job, and started building a life.
I’d even met someone, thought I’d fallen in love, and moved in with him.