Be Rude but Love Me | ✔

CHAPTER 30

"Wake up!" I mumble in my sleep in annoyance at the voice disturbing me. "Wake up, Graham."

"Leave me alone," I mutter and turn around to be more comfortable.

Two seconds pass and I fall back again into the peacefulness of slumber. But said peacefulness is short-lived when I'm yanked and propped up to my feet. Disoriented, I sway on my legs like a drunk person and try to adjust my vision to the living world around me.

My eyes settle on a Yann who's sporting an expression made of both sleepiness and annoyance. His fingers are wrapped tightly around my wrists and he's trying to steady me. "Quite awake now?"

It takes me a minute to be remotely lucid and when I do, I jerk my wrist away from his hands. "That's how you wake up people?"

He rolls his eyes. "Goodnight, Graham."

And he turns around. Pissed off, I grab a fistful of his ponytail and yank his hair back. But as my mind is still foggy from the remnants of sleep, I stumble over my feet as I hear Yann's what the fuck before I fall on my back.

I close my eyes and wait for the pain to shot through my skull when it hits the concrete but it doesn't. Instead, I fall into the pool, water entering my mouth without my consent. My elbows hit the bottom of the pool before I resurface.

"Are you always that fucking childish?" Now the sleepiness and annoyance are gone from his face.

I try to breathe as I tread water, struggling with the sleep in my eyes. I manage to swim my way to the edge of the pool and prop myself out. I let my body fall on the grass and close my eyes.

I steady the beats of my heart, I chase away the fear I've felt, and I breathe. When I open my eyes, Yann is staring down at me. His hair forms a nice halo around his sharp face – I probably yanked his hairband out – and as I wish I could touch his hair, I realize I've just had. I try to grasp the fragments of memory, trying to recall how his hair felt between my fingers. Soft and silky, as always. Just like yesterday when I kissed him – or two days ago, rather, since it's already morning now.

"Why are you smiling?"

I think I smile even wider at his question. "Your hair." His expression seems to say, what about my hair? so I continue, "It's nice." I think I've already complimented him on his hair once but in my sleepy state, I cannot remember.

"Is that why you pulled it like that?" His voice is incredulous, as if he cannot believe I really did that.

I shake my head no, feeling tired from the talk. "What time is it?"

He helps me sit up when I reach out to him, and then up on my feet. "Almost 3 AM. You're wet, go change and go to bed."

I look at him for a moment, forgetting my shivering body in my damp clothing. "You want to know what I wish for the most in the world right now?"

"No."

His answer is expected but it does not deter me. "That you shave that God-awful beard one day," I blurt out.

I start stumbling again then as he rushes to catch him, I think I hear him mumble. "Fuck, I think I prefer you drunk."

He sets me up straight and once he's sure I can stand by myself, he lets go. Then, with one last look my way, he says, "In another life, Graham. Maybe."

And I let him walk away, not because I have nothing to say, but because I know my words have triggered something inside of him, for I saw that forlorn look on his face a fraction of second before he turned.

***

When I wake up the next morning, Lucy is still in bed and Ellie is already out. She spends all her time with James and I barely get to see her. I miss her, really, but she seems to like James so who am I to take that from her?