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Chapter 46

*C H A R L O T T E*

"Okay, let's do this boys!" I say and I fix my ponytail.

I look at the walls and I approve. They look great!

"You are way too excited about this," Killian says.

"I am for now," I laugh. "I might not be in half an hour!"

The boys start laughing. Lizzie is taking a nap. We wouldn't allow her in the room with us anyway, who knows what those paint fumes might do to the babies!

We're actually having a lot of fun painting. We're talking a bit about all the people we used to know last year and everything we've missed. All of our lives have changed so much. Hero won't have the time to go back this year because he has some projects coming up, both filming and modelling. Jack is obviously a working man now and Lizzie will raise the babies. I don't really know what my future holds but for now I'm happy being a guide in Funchal. Killian is the only one of us still attending university. When I hear his stories I miss those days. I loved being a student and I also loved how easy being a student was. You're carefree and the future is exciting. Only thing you have to care about is passing tests and submitting paper before the deadline.

"God, I miss a good old flat party," I groan.

"Oh, those were great!" Killian sniggers.

"Seriously?" Hero asks. "You guys didn't even party that often! You preferred to hang in your kitchen!"

"True," Jack adds. "But I seem to remember that after a while you loved hanging in our kitchen as well."

We all start laughing.

"Touché!" I giggle.

"I have to admit," Killian says. "I was so jealous of you Hero! You seemed to party all the time. You're life seemed great, different party every night of the week, all those girls."

Hero and Killian exchange stories about some girls they both knew back then.

"We should probably open a window," Jack says to me. "It's a sunny and windy day so the primer should dry quickly. Maybe we can start with the first layer of colored paint tonight!"

"Oh, I hope so!" I say. "Waiting is not my strong point!"

It takes surprisingly little time to each finish a wall with the primer.

"I should get going," Killian says after a look on his phone. "I have another meeting for our group project in two hours and I would like to take a shower first."

"That's fine, thank you so much for today!" Jack says.

"Maybe we can go to the pub for dinner?" Killian suggests. "And if the primer is dry enough by then we can pain the first layer of green!"

"You're the best," Jack says with an earnest voice. "Pub food sounds great to be fair! Dinner is on us to thank all of you for your help!"

We say goodbye to Killian and I pick up my brush to start on the final wall.

"Are you guys okay to finish the final wall?" Jack asks. "I want to check on Lizzie and I'll prepare a snack and fix some drinks."

"Totally!" Hero says.

Jack leaves and for a moment Hero and I work in silence. We're painting the same wall now. I've started on the left and he's starting from the right.

"I can't wait to see the result," I say to break the silence.

Hero turns to look at me and he start's laughing immediately.

"What?" I say.

"Your hair is full of paint splashes," he laughs. "You need to be more careful! There'll be more paint in your hair than on the walls."

"Oh, you think this is funny do you?" My voice sounds dark as I stare at Hero. He still looks flawless. Time to change that!

I dip my brush in de white paint and splash it at a laughing Hero. It hits his forehead and he stops laughing. He's shocked.

"Oooooh you shouldn't have done that!" he says. He also dips his brush in the primer and I take a step back. Hero comes closer and I run away, across the room. Hero chases me and catches me quickly. He wraps one arm around me and paints my neck with the other. It tickles and it's cold and I'm fighting to break free. Hero's grip is tight though so I can't. We're both laughing really hard.

"Stop!" I yell. "I surrender!"

Hero's grip is still as strong but he has stopped painting my neck. We're both out of breath from running around like little puppies and laughing so hard.

It's in that moment that I realize how close he is. His breath is brushing against my cheek, his chin is touching my ear. If I just turn around now, our lips would meet. My heartbeat is rising and my skin is burning where he is touching me. He is still holding me. I feel his heart beating fast as well. I turn my head a bit.