Just Like the Movies, стр. 23

I wanted to throw something at Sophie earlier. We got off lightly, I suppose. Though, when I was walking back to uni, I did see him chatting to a group of women outside the café.

Flicking my textbook shut, I swing my legs over the bed, and I grab my bag and phone.

Mum and Dad are uncharacteristically quiet when I head downstairs.

There’s usually some conversation along with the sound of bottles clinking, one of them coughing, or cans opening.

I don’t want to go in and see them. They didn’t notice when I arrived home; they were too busy ranting about nosey ‘arseholes’. Something about a neighbour who looked towards our property yesterday. We live in a super quiet cul-de-sac. All of the neighbours are very old and completely uninterested in us.

My parents are paranoid.

I walk straight past the living room door, keeping my eyes straight ahead of me while my heart pumps harder. I only let myself breathe when the front door slams shut behind me.

Swallowing bile, I jog to my car, and then I’m on my way to Spencer’s.

I’ve missed him, his parents, and his house so much that I don’t even want to think about him leaving.

When I arrive at Spencer’s, he’s waiting in the kitchen.

“Hey,” I say. “I let myself in.”

He looks up. “That’s hardly news, Indie.”

My heart skips a beat at his perfect smile. His eyes are light and flirty. I love him like this. He’s usually more hands on, and I’ll take him touching me any way I can get it.

Okay, I always used to let myself in. That was until he went to LA and I stopped coming around as much. Now everything is as it was before, even if it is tinged with the sting of a looming deadline.

“What are you doing? Are you cooking?”

He rolls his eyes. “I can cook.”

“Yes, you can. It’s just… rare. What’s the occasion?”

“I’m hungry.” His reply is short and edgy. What happened? Two seconds ago, he was all smiles.

I place my bag down on the counter. “What’s going on? Why am I getting attitude?”

“You’re not.”

“Tell that to your face, voice, manner, and—”

“All right!” he snaps, cutting me off. On a hard exhale that sounds like he’s pissed off, he says, “Are you sleeping with Grant?”

My mouth falls open. That is the last thing I expected. “What?”

“He’s weird with you.”

“Weird with me? No, he’s not!” Where the hell is this coming from?

Spencer’s jaw clenches. He drops the knife onto the chopping board and pushes his hands though his hair. “Indie, you’re not answering the question.”

“Of course, I’m not sleeping with him! This isn’t high school where I have to call him sir and pretend that he doesn’t exist outside of campus. We can talk and have some sort of friendship. He has that with all his students.”

Spencer’s posture relaxes. “All right,” he says, raising his palms. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

“Grant isn’t going to hurt me. He’s helping me.”

He flashes his palms in surrender. “I get it.”

Why did he have to go there? Spencer knows me better than anyone. Still not completely, but he’s the closest friend I have. How could he think I would do that? I’ve never had sex, and he thinks I would jump into bed with a man old enough to be my dad.

I inhale through my nose and count to ten. I get to twelve and still want to kill him.

Spencer slowly makes his way around the breakfast bar to stand in front of me.

“Please don’t be angry, Indie. I’m just trying to look out for you.”

“I can do that for myself.”

“As your best friend, I’m going to do that, too. Just like you do every time you tell me what I need to change about my acting. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have made a movie.”

I stare through him. He doesn’t get to pat me on the back for believing in him and assume all is okay.

“Indie, please,” he begs, wrapping me into a bear hug. His arms hold me close; his lips press to the top of my head, and he whispers, “Don’t hate me.”

I feel my traitorous body begin to relax in his embrace. He’s the only place I want to be… even when he’s doing my head in. “I don’t hate you,” I admit, sinking deeper into his hold.

“Thank you.” His voice makes my insides tremble. “I’m making you mac and cheese.”

Wrapping my arms around his waist, I look up into his eyes. “You made me your apology dinner before you started an argument?”

He winces, guilty. “I knew I would need mac and cheese if I was going to bring up Grant. I should have known you wouldn’t be stupid when it comes to a guy.”

I don’t know. I feel like the biggest idiot on the planet for falling for him sometimes. How much easier would things have been if we’d just stayed friends?

If I could erase the memory of his lips on mine…

No, I wouldn’t take that away. Our relationship was brief and adolescent, but it meant the world to me.

“So, I got the ESTA sorted. Now I won’t get put on a plane straight back home at LAX.”

His next smile makes my brain short-circuit. “You’re really coming?”

“It’s a little insulting that you think I’ll pull out.”

“I just want you there so bad.”

I squeeze him, and he chuckles. “I’m going to LA!”

His hand tangles into my hair, and I squirm from the throbbing below. “Good. I need you, Indie.”

I need you, Indie.

My new favourite words.

I need you, too, Spence. More than you will ever know.