Trace of Innocence (No Control Book 3)

Chapter 22

(No Control - 22. Gotta Be You)

I stare at the tweet once it's sent, and my heart is pounding. What the fuck have I just done?

I feel lightheaded from my recklessness. I can't stop smiling. Will she DM me?

I put my phone down on the bed beside me and lay back on my pillows, my arms resting on my chest. I stare up at the ceiling.

Nothing happens.

I don't know what I was expecting, but this is sort of an anti climax.

Climax. Hmm... that leads my thoughts back to Jess and I feel a twitch in my pants as I imagine her sitting astride me in my bedroom on Friday night, her hands cupping my face and my fingers stroking her...

My phone suddenly buzzes on the bed and my blood runs cold. Oh my God is it her? Someone is ringing me....

I grab my phone, my heart in my mouth.

Oh. It's just Louis.

"Hi Lou," I say.

"Hi," he responds. He sounds glum.

"How are you?" I ask.

"Shit," he replies. "Me and El are over."

I sit bolt upright in the bed, everything else suddenly forgotten.

"Oh my God," I say. "What happened?"

"Just wasn't working out," he says. "We've grown apart. It's been nearly four years y'know."

"I know," I nod. "Shit, man - are you alright?"

"Yeah. No. I don't fucking know. I can't get my head around it."

"Was it mutual?"

"Yeah, it's been brewing a while. I think we'd both been thinking it, but someone just needed to say it. It was horrible. She was in fucking tears the whole time. She's my best friend, y'know. It hurts, seeing her like that." His voice is wavering.

"Fuck, I'm sorry," I mutter. I don't really know what to say.

"Thanks," he mutters back.

"When...?" I ask.

"Yesterday night."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"You wanna talk about it?" I offer, but I know his answer even before it leaves his mouth.

"Nah, I'm good. Thanks though, pal."

"No worries. You know where I am though, yeah?"

"Yeah, sweet. Anyway, enough about that shit. Niall said you fucked some fitty at the weekend? Why am I only just hearing about this now?"

I laugh. "I'm surprised you haven't seen it on Twitter. It went viral. Some pap was waiting outside my house the next morning and caught us."

"He caught you fucking?!" Louis squeals.

"NO! Fuck, no. Don't be stupid. You'd have heard about it by now if that had happened."

Louis laughs. "So she was hot then? Nice rack, yeah?"

"Jess? She's beautiful," I answer, ignoring Louis's second question. "Karen went fucking ape though. She bollocked me for like ten minutes over it."

"Why? Who cares? You're single."

"I had no security," I tell him. "And, er, I took her back to mine. And I followed her on Twitter. And I put my number in her phone."

There is a silence on the other end of the phone. "No fucking way," Louis finally says. "You need a fucking crash course in chill. What the fuck do you mean, you followed her on Twitter?"