Affinity (RDJ)

Chapter 40 - Back To It

'TELL ME EVERYTHING!' Lexi exclaims the second you walk through the door. She must have been waiting to ambush you and you chuckle at the two glasses of wine and bowl of popcorn she's set up in the living room.

'Okay, okay!' you laugh, being dragged across to the couches and forced to sit down by Lexi's surprisingly strong arms.

'Wait wait wait wait wait...' You hear a thunder of quick footsteps as George's voice gets louder the closer he gets having ran from his room straight to you at the sound of your voice. 'I can't believe you were about to start without me - this is all we've talked about all weekend!'

You can't help but laugh, shaking your head at the pair of them who are now sitting perched on the edge of the sofa, waiting very impatiently for you to tell them everything with wide eyes. 'Alright alright...' you start. 'I don't even know where to begin really. It was just... amazing. We stayed in his apartment and-'

'Hold up,' Lexi cuts in, a finger in the air and a puzzled expression on her face. 'His apartment? Like, he has an apartment in New York City?' You nod shyly, biting your lip. 'Well shit. Good game girl, you got a rich one,' she giggles in disbelief, taking a swig of her wine and gesturing at you with her free hand to continue.

You roll your eyes, knowing she's kidding but wondering for the first time if there's any truth to that statement. 'Anyway... we spent my birthday looking around at all the sights - the Statue of Liberty, the memorial gardens - all the usual stuff. And then we went out to dinner and I met some of his friends and... yeah. It was just incredible. I can't wait to go back there,' you finish. However, judging by the looks on your friends' faces, they haven't gotten all the gossip they were expecting. Of course - as if you could ever get anything past these two.

'Soooo...' George probes, eyebrow cocked upwards as if waiting for you to say more, a silly grin on his face that tells you that you're not getting out of this until you spill everything.

'Okay, yeah. We, uh... spent a night. Together. After the... yeah,' you mutter awkwardly. There's no time to be embarrassed though because in a flash, Lexi is jumping up and down squealing and George picks you up with a 'wooooo!', twirling you around in celebration. You cover your face with your hands but you can't supress the huge smile on your face.

'It may be an early start tomorrow but there is no way we're not drinking tonight!' Lexi exclaims, topping up the already-full wine glasses. 'George, turn up the damn music. Let's dance!'

-

'George, come on!' you call down the hall, not wanting to be late today. Robert's class is first and you hate to be that girl, but you've missed him since he dropped you off yesterday. 'Lexi's waiting in the car!'

'Alright, jeez,' he mumbles, hopping out of his room as he pulls on his sneakers. You smile at the floppy hair that falls across his face as he zips up his hoodie - he drank a little too much as usual last night but he still tries to maintain that he's a morning person, even though he's taken the longest to make himself presentable out of the three of you.

You're antsy in the car, twiddling your thumbs and tapping impatiently on the centre console every time you have to stop at a red light. You'll struggle to hide your feelings now after everything that's happened, but you know it's more important now than ever to be subtle - you can't have anyone finding out. Robert definitely can't have anyone finding out. Taking a few deep breaths, you try to prepare yourself to see him. You've done it before so you tell yourself you'll be fine.

You were wrong.

Lexi is babbling away as she pushes open the door to his classroom but nothing she is saying registers as your eyes flick straight up to meet his across the room. You feel your heart quicken at the sight of the boyish smile that instantly pulls at the corners of his mouth, his eyes twinkling as he watches you walk to your seats. He holds your gaze for longer than usual so you're relieved when he drags his eyes away and starts the session, constantly nervous that someone is bound to notice.