Page 85 of Try Hard

Her head fit perfectly under my chin when she was in sneakers, our arms wrapping around each other like they knew exactly how we slotted together.

“Did Adnan hurt you?” I asked softly, allowing space for any kind of hurt she might have felt.

She shook her head and I breathed the scent of her in relief.

We were quiet for a moment, and I was fairly certain she was listening to my breathing, matching hers to it. Then, without warning, she pushed lightly against me. I went willingly, allowing my shoulders to hit the wall behind us as Ophelia stepped into the space between my legs, keeping us locked in the hug, even at an angle.

I laughed gently and watched the way it disturbed a couple of her mesmerising hairs.

“Adnan was perfectly fine,” she said finally, her voice hushed. “I shouldn’t have been so uptight about it.”

“You’re allowed to feel however you do, at anything.”

“I just…” She sighed heavily. “This isn’t the place for that whole conversation, but it wasn’t really about him or anything he did. Not exactly.”

I pressed a kiss to the top of her head, lingering through three steady breaths, my heart racing. With her ear pressed against my chest, Ophelia had to have heard it, but she didn’t move or comment, so neither did I.

Everything with her was starting to feel so much like dating, and I wasn’t convinced it was only because I wanted that. Not anymore.

That was probably another conversation I needed to have. I liked this one more, even though the outcome terrified me far beyond the one with Sammy.

“We can talk about it later?” Ophelia asked, and her timing was perfect even if she was asking about a different conversation.

I hummed. “Of course. Whenever you want to. But, just so you know, whatever happened and whatever caused it, I’m not going to judge you.”

She laughed, the sound emotional, like I’d surprised her and hit upon the exact thing she needed to hear.

I smiled and adjusted my grip to slip my hands inside her blazer, reducing the layers between us.

“You know Sammy wouldn’t like this?” she asked, changing tack so she’d be ready to go back inside and face everyone.

“On the contrary, I’m sure she’d love me to hold her like this.”

“Oh, so you finally admit she does want you?”

“I suppose it would be a little foolish to keep denying it at this point. But we don’t always get what we want, you know?”

Ophelia hummed and wrapped her arms a little tighter around me. But, before I could worry too much, she said, “I’m sure she’ll be devastated.”

“I’m sure Soph would too, to find out she’d missed out on hugging you ‘round the back of some club.”

Her laughter was light and lyrical and extraordinary. “She’ll cope. Besides, I’ve heard I’m having dinner with her tomorrow night.”

“Oh, have I been uninvited?”

“Yes, Archer,” she said, her tone snarky again. But the way she pressed herself into me, inching further between my legs, took the bite out of her words completely. “I’m hoping to go on a double date with your sister, your mum, and her boyfriend.”

“You’re breaking my heart, Ophelia,” I said with a laugh, even if a tiny part of me worried about the possibility of her actually wanting that.

She shook her head, her hair tickling my neck and chin. “I’m not coming to dinner if you’re not there.”

I beamed. “In that case, count me in for every dinner from now until eternity. Can’t have you going hungry, can we?”

She finally stepped back, but her hands dragged slowly over my back and lingered on my hips as she stood before me with narrowed, amused eyes. “You want to be careful with promising things like that. I might hold you to them.”

“Do it,” I said with a grin, like it was a challenge. She could hold me to anything she wanted, and I would move heaven and earth to give her all of it.

She shook her head, barely hiding her smile. “Come on, let’s get back inside before they think we got lost. That bouncer fan of yours will be sending out a search party any minute now.”