[in progress] As hearts collide {chicklit}

Chapter seventeen - the truth

I woke up the next morning feeling hot, sticky and uncomfortable after a night's sleep next to Alex. The man was like a hot water bottle that hogged the majority of the bed and snored like a bear in hibernation.

Disgusted by how gross I felt, I immediately went and took a shower and when I returned, he was still snoring away. I got myself dressed, keeping it simple in a pair of black jeans and a striped black and white jumper, and spent some time reading one of the books I'd been assigned at uni when Al's phone rang.
Groaning, he turned over with his eyes still half closed and picked it up.
"Hello?" He asked, his voice croaky.
"Yeah, I'm awake... yeah it was good... nope, never been... can do... she's here," he said, eyeing me from his cocoon. "Well what's the time now? Alright, fine... see you in a bit."
"Good morning," I said breezily from the mid century armchair in the corner of the room. "Did you know that your body temperature is hotter than the fucking sun? You almost cooked me last night!"
"Ugh... I forgot how much of a morning person you are. It sickens me." Alex replied, pulling a pillow over his head.
"Wake up, you lazy bastard!" I replied, throwing one of the decorative pillows at him.
"Was that Jim on the phone?"
"Hmm?" The pile of sheets grunted.
"The phone. Was that Jim?"
"Oh, yeah. Wanted to see if we still wanted to hang. We're meeting him at 11:30."
I looked at my watch. "It's 11:00 now - don't you need to shower and get ready?"
Alex pulled the pillow off his head and yawned. "Em, I'm a guy... it takes me two minutes to get ready."
"Where are we meeting him?"
"I don't know... some place near the beach."
"Helpful." I said, growing more impatient at the conversation.
"He's texting the details over... chill."
I huffed and carried on reading. After ten minutes of snoozing, Alex pulled himself out of bed and took a slow walk to the shower.
When he came out a few minutes later, his hair was slicked back off his face and his towel was wrapped around himself lazily. Why is it those towels look good on guys, but not girls?
I found myself unable to take my eyes off of him as he walked around the room, grabbing his clothes for the day. His body was lean but perfectly taut and my mouth dried at the sight of him.
"Em?" He asked, looking over at me. I realised I was so busy staring that I'd missed what he'd asked.
"Hmm, what did you say?"
He grinned and I felt my face flush.
"I said, have you seen my deodorant?"
"Yeah, I put it back in the bathroom... where it should be." I replied pointedly and he rolled his eyes.
He went back into the bathroom and returned smelling amazing, fully dressed in jeans, a grey t-shirt and a navy hoodie.
He picked up his phone and looked at the instructions from Jim. "He said to meet him outside the Odeon."
I laid my book down on the table and got myself ready to leave. I wasn't taken any chances with the weather today, so decided to pull my hair up to stop the wind from creating knots I couldn't comb out without wincing, and wear a red scarf as well as my trusty peacoat. I also grabbed Jim's hoodie... the promise to return it coming true.

We made our way down to the beachfront, searching for the Odeon. By the time we'd made it, we were almost 15 minutes late, which annoyed me.
"Sorry we're late," I said in my brightest voice, "this one wouldn't get out of bed."
Alex pulled a face and smirked. "You know what they say, better late than never."
"Well whoever said that clearly hadn't spent a day with your annoying arse!" I jibbed back, making Jim chuckle.
"Ah, just like old times..." he said wistfully, making me smile.
"Oh here," I said, handing over the hoodie. Jim smiled gratefully.
"So, what's the plan today mate? I'm starving." Alex asked, wrapping his arms around himself to stay warm.
Jim scratched his head, causing his hair to stick up in different directions.
"Ooh, there's a good cafe down here if you fancy that? Or we can go to the lanes for something a bit fancier?" He asked, looking to me for approval.
"Greasy spoon please - I need bacon stat!" Alex said, shivering against the harsh winds.
We took a short walk to the cafe, which was opposite the beach. The front had seating that was protected from the elements, so we sat there so I could peek out at the beach. Even in near winter, it was beautiful.
Once we'd placed our orders, we moved from the small talk onto a real catch up.
"So, Jimmy boy... bagged yourself a girlfriend, eh? Kept that one quiet." Alex joked and Jim's cheeks blushed with embarrassment. He cleared his throat awkwardly before replying. "Yeah, it just sort of happened..."
"She's nice, isn't she Em?" Alex asked, pulling me into the conversation.
"Yeah, she's lovely," I agreed.
"And what about you, Em? Al said you're getting close to some guy at uni?" I looked to Alex, who was grinning wildly.
"He's fucking with you Jim, Julian's just a mate."
Jim expression fell as Alex started laughing.
"He's well into her though, I met him just before we came here."
"He's not! And even if he is, I'm not interested." I stated, unable to look to Jim again.