the love club

xxiii

Dan

"Cheers to us."
The clink of champagne glasses ring in my ears as I grin.
"Cheers to one month of living together and almost one year of you putting up with me." Phil's voice is bubbly, his nose red from the light alcohol.
"Cheers to Phil finally graduating high school." I tease, giggles escaping my lips.
My family laughed, raising their glasses as we all clinked once more.

"I love you." Phil says, kissing my cheek as the small party breaks into chatter.
"I love you more." I say back, leaning into him as I sipped from my glass.

Our dining room was glowing in an orange light. My family was seated around the large table, laughing and smiling at one another as they ate the meal Phil had prepared.

"I'm sorry your family isn't here." I tell him quietly but he shakes his head quickly.
"I'm not." Phil whispers, squeezing my hand tightly. "This is my family. You're my family."

The night dies down and everybody leaves, leaving myself and Phil to tidy up the dining room and kitchen.

"Do you know what's good about living on your own?" Phil asks as I stack the dinner plates on one another.
"Paying bills?" I tease as he grips my hips.
"Guess again." He whispers, his voice slightly raspy.
"Hmm." I hum, continuing to stack dishes. "Responsibility?"
Even though I'm not facing him, I feel him grin.
"Wrong again. I'll just show you." He pushes me down against the wooden table, one hand in my hair and one gripping my hip.
I moan lightly as he runs his hands down my back, raking his finger tips into my black shirt.

He moves his knee up into the table, shifting the white cloth that covers it. As I went to make a joke about fucking on the table, a champagne glass slipped and shattered on the tiled floor. I rolled my eyes, sighing and pushing Phil back as I stood from my position.

Phil laughed, grabbing my behind as I walked past him to clean up the mess. I cautiously picked up pieces of glass and placed them in the bin, hearing the shower start. I smiled to myself and reminisced what we once were and what we are now.

"Have you found a place?" I asked, sitting on Phil's childhood bed as I watched him scroll through a list of inexpensive flats in the area for him to live in.
"What do you think of this one?" Phil asked, turning the laptop to show me a simple two bedroom flat with cream walls.
"It's nice." I decide. "But what does it matter what I think?"
Phil had been looking to move out of his parents old house where he had been living for about 9 months. He decided there was too much past here, so with his savings from his part time job and his parents account money that they no longer had access to, he was to move into a flat after he graduated in a month.
"Dan." Phil started, hidden excitement evident in his cheery voice.
"Phil." I teased, matching his excited tone but mine laced with confusion.
"I want us to live together."
I'm taken aback by his proposal but I'm nodding my head, laughing and smiling widely.
"Oh my gosh yes."

"Dan?"
I grinned. "Yes, Phil?" I called back, my voice echoing off of the cream walls lined with photos.
"Come to bed, please. Clean tomorrow."
I trekked down the hallway, stepping into our room. Phil was cozied under the duvet, his towel laying lazily on the floor. Sighing, I picked it up and shook it at him. He laughed as I hung it up before making my way to my set of draws to receive a pair of sweats.

"I love you." He tells me as I drift into a peaceful abyss of sleep and rest.

hello
it me
so yeah bc im lazy af and the story was dragging, i skipped 11 months down the track to avoid some crazy tfios shit with undying love in a week
-holly