third time's a charm

"you invited him over?"

chapter fourteen: you invited him over?

Friday, December 15. 9:48 pm.

My eyes fluttered open slowly as I began to wake up, and I couldn't make out where I was. I tried pushing myself up, but my hand made contact with a surface I hadn't expected. I turned my head to look at what I was touching and suddenly gasped.

"Oh, hey." I tilted my head up to see Jamie, and he was smiling at me. We were on the couch; Jamie was more or less sitting up, with his legs out on the 'L' of the couch, and I had fallen asleep with my head on his shoulder, but clearly I had become much closer to him, and he had slumped down so my head could rest on his chest.

"I didn't mean to fall asleep, I'm sorry."

"No, no," Jamie said, shaking his head. "It's not a big deal, don't worry about it." I created some distance between Jamie and I, and turned toward him as I pulled my legs up, sitting criss-cross.

"How long was I asleep? What time is it?"

"You weren't out for even forty minutes, it's about nine-fifty," he informed me; I nodded my head slowly and found myself yawning seconds later. "You talk in your sleep."

"Oh, god," I said, instantly covering my face out of embarrassment. "What did I say?"

"Nothing that made any sense," Jamie told me, laughing quietly as he reached forward and grabbed one of my hands and took it into his own. "You said something about wanting something to be pink."

"Who knows," I shrugged, laughing at myself. "How bad do I look right now?"

"You look cuter than ever," Jamie told me, smiling widely before leaning forward and kissing my nose. I laughed at the action and felt a blush creep onto my cheeks. "I think Vales texted you a little while ago." Before a second could pass, I grabbed my phone and checked my messages.

"He wanted to know if Rowan and I would be down for a movie night..." I updated Jamie, but continued to look at my phone as I realized I also had a text from Will. My eyes widened as I read his message and my heart began to pound.

"What's up?" Jamie asked after noticing the look on my face.

"Will's on his way home. He got Rowan to join them at Vales's place and then left the two of them alone." I turned around and peeked through the curtains to see our driveway. To my dismay, Will's car was pulling up. "Oh... shit."

"Ellie?" I looked back at Jamie, and I could tell he was starting to freak out.

"It's fine," I told him, trying to stay calm. "Will is ready to accept all of this... I just didn't tell him you were coming over, so he'll be a little surprised." I looked back out the window and saw that Will was out of the car, and had walked over to Jamie's car. "I'll be right back, okay? You stay here." I forced a smile as I looked at Jamie, and I leaned forward to connect our lips. Jamie pressed his hand against my cheek and deepened the kiss before I could get off the couch.

I had made my way to the front door as Will was rushing in. We made eye contact and he quietly, but quickly, shut the door behind him.

"Is he here?" Will kept his voice at a whisper, but seemed frantic. "You invited him over?"

"You weren't going to be here tonight, and I finally fessed up to mom, so I took the opportunity!" I said, also keeping my voice at a harsh whisper. "You don't even have to meet him, it's okay. I won't be upset with you—"

"Vales and Rowan are on their way over because Vales got cold feet!" My jaw dropped at Will's words and I could suddenly hear my heartbeat in my ears.

"Fuck," I said, not waiting a second to rush into the living room and break the news to Jamie: "Vales is on his way."