Page 26 of Win You Over
Remington
T he house is chaos when we finally make it downstairs. Maybe I got a bit carried away kissing Holden again. I cannot be blamed – the man kisses like he’s eating his last meal and he cannot get enough.
If I had my way, we’d have stayed in bed all day, but apparently my boyfriend thinks we have to show face, given we’re here for a family wedding.
My sister and her bridesmaids are all lounging on the patio while her friend’s partners and kids are in the pool, which is now filled with inflatable flamingos, lobsters and dolphins.
Squeals of laughter carry across the lawn towards where the girls are having a champagne brunch. My parents are nowhere to be seen.
“Remingden have arrived!” I announce, my hand firmly in Holden’s. He scowls at the name and I lift his arm and bite him on the wrist, because biting is my new love language.
When my sister notices us, her face is like a television rapidly hopping channels. She goes from smiling warmly, to narrowing her eyes, to looking down right annoyed.
“What the fuck, you animal?” She points at me and then at Holden. “Your boyfriend looks like he was attacked by an octopus!”
Holden releases my hand and rubs his over the marks on his neck. They are a lot more prominent in the sunlight.
“And you?” Nadine stands and walks towards me. With one hand holding a champagne flute, she flicks me in the neck, right over the spot Holden sunk his teeth into. “We have pre-wedding photos tomorrow!”
“I’m sorry,” I say, fighting back my smile.
“You don’t look fucking sorry,” she seethes.
“Okay, I’m not really,” I admit. “How about I promise no marks – that you can see – before the actual wedding photos? Who books pre-wedding photos, anyway? It’s a bit much.”
My sister sucks in a breath, clearly offended, and I take a step back to avoid the wrath of Bridezilla.
She huffs. “ I book pre-wedding photos. Because it’s my wedding. Stop chewing on him like a chew toy,” she retorts before taking her seat and adding more champagne to her glass.
“What’s for breakfast?” I take Holden’s hand and manoeuvre us to an open seat, where I plop down, pulling him onto my lap. He tenses, and I move the hair from his neck and land a kiss on his nape.
“Relax,” I whisper, and he does, melting into me and accepting a glass from one of Nadine’s friends.
“This,” Nadine replies, lifting her glass. Her cheeks are rosy, and I’m sure it’s more from the booze than the sun. “Mom and Dad popped out and said they would bring back pastries.”
“Perfect,” I mumble, wrapping my arms around Holden’s stomach. He smells like lemon and soap and something delicious that I can’t wait to taste.
Three days pass with us spending most of the time by the pool before venturing down to the private beach later in the day.
In the evenings, we sit on the patio or in the dining area, eating and drinking and enjoying the company of my family and my sister’s friends.
We’ve ventured into the local town a few times to pick up groceries and, one evening, pizzas.
Holden is quieter now that the house is brimming with people he doesn’t know, and I do my best to steal him away as often as I can, cocooning us in our own little world.
The photo shoot a few days ago went off without a hitch, and staying true to my promise, I have kept my teeth and lips away from Holden’s neck.
The same cannot be said for his hipbones, which I have spent hours licking and sucking into a pretty artwork of purple dots.
We haven’t done anything more than some heavy petting and a lot of kissing and I could not be happier.
I have never felt like this before. Never felt this drawn to someone, this needy for someone.
My chest aches when he’s not around me. When he goes to help Mom in the kitchen or disappears to shower.
I crave his attention like a lost puppy.
How can one person have such a huge effect on another’s life? He makes me never want to leave this bubble we’re in and to say fuck the rest of the world.
Speaking of the rest of the world, my phone rings for the fourth time today, calling my attention away from my book.
Holden and I are lying in bed, the air-conditioning unit blasting after a particularly scorching day. He sighs loudly, dropping his e-reader on the bed next to us. The mattress dips when he moves, reaches over me and picks up my phone from the side table.
“You need to talk to him,” he suggests, handing me the ringing phone.
I’m surprised by his insistence, so sure that Holden wouldn’t want me to talk to Finn, knowing about the argument Finn and I had before I left for Sardinia.
“He’s still your best friend, even if he’s a dick who hates my guts.”
Reluctantly, because I do not want to deal with Finn while being blissed out after an incredible day and even better orgasm, I answer his call.
“Rem! Dude, this cold shoulder you’ve been giving me is not cool,” he says loudly. Loud enough for Holden to hear. Holden shakes his head, then gets up and goes into the bathroom. I’m not sure if he really needs it or if he’s just giving me privacy.
“Finn,” I say as a greeting.
“Look, I’m sorry. I acted rash. If you need to fake date the lo-” There’s a low growl which I quickly realise comes from my chest and Finn changes his direction, clearly having heard it too.
“If you need to fake date Booker for a few weeks, I get it. Do what you need. When you’re back, things can get back to normal, right? ”
Now is not the time to tell him that the fake part disappeared somewhere in the Mediterranean sea. Though Holden and I haven’t talked about it, nothing about this is fake anymore. Part of me doesn’t think it ever was.
I make a noncommittal sound that must be enough for Finn because he continues talking.
We spend a few minutes talking about everything and nothing.
It’s so easy to slip back into our friendship, and our banter, but his next words are a reminder that even if things feel like they used to between us, in reality, so much has changed.
“I miss you.” He drops his voice until it’s thick and dark, the way he does when he’s after a fuck. “ Really miss you. Can I see you when you’re back, after this thing with Booker is done?”
“Let’s talk when I get back, okay?” I suggest not wanting to get into things with Finn right now.
He grumbles something I don’t catch and we end the call.
A knot forms in my stomach, as my heart feels tugged in two directions.
Finn is a big part of my life. He always has been, but he is going to have to accept that Holden is a part of my life now, too.
He will also have to understand that he and I cannot do the things we used to because… .
Holden walks back into the room then. He’s removed his contacts and replaced them with his glasses.
Because I am hopelessly gone for this man.