Beating Hearts [Knight's Rest #1]

31

"I'm so glad exams are over!" Alice announced, raising her glass in the air for a toast. The three best friends clinked their glasses and threw back the shots.

Darcy coughed slightly as the vodka burned on the way down. "Too bad classes start again next week." She sighed, but grinned when her friend reached over to fill all their shot glasses.

"How's that boyfriend of yours?" Alice smirked over the rim of her glass, looking pointedly in Darcy's direction. "Give us some juicy gossip."

Darcy rolled her eyes but smiled. "The only gossip I have is regarding my dad and his secret long-term girlfriend, but I don't want to talk about that." She had spent the 2-week break to revise for her exams at home and while she had forgiven her father, things got a little awkward sometimes. Especially when Stacey came over. Things were on the mend for them and for that she was relieved however, she was not over poking fun at the situation.

Delilah reached over and embraced Darcy in a light hug. "I'm glad Thelonious was there for you."

"Me too." She sighed, not aware that she was smiling at the thought. She hadn't seen him since uni closed for Christmas and with all the revision she had to do for exams, she hadn't made any trips up to London. While she did skype him nearly every day, but it wasn't the same. Now that exams were over and she didn't have classes again until Monday, they had made plans to spend the whole weekend together at the hotel.

Darcy grinned at the thought. She was really looking forward to some alone time with Thelonious.

"How's that friend of his?"

She glanced up at Alice and her eyebrows furrowed together confusion. "Which friend?"

Alice avoided eye contact and sipped at her wine, hoping to appear nonchalant even though the eager curiosity was evident in her voice. "Romeo. The one that invited us to the party."

"Romeo Bourne?" Her friend's silence answered her question. "I thought you didn't like him."

"I don't," she denied. "I just asked about him because he invited us to that party. It's only polite." She tried to reason and the other two weren't sure whether she was trying to convince them or herself.

"That the only reason why?"

Delilah giggled, slightly tipsy already. "She has the hots for him but refuses to admit it."

Darcy toyed a knowing smirk and turned to Alice. "You know he likes you, right? He asks about you all the time."

That caught her attention. "He asks about me?" She asked, but was quick to cover her slipup. "Not that I care, of course."

"Of course." Darcy scoffed. "I don't know why you're denying your feelings for him. He clearly feels just as strongly for you, if not more."

She rolled her eyes but pursed her lips, clearly fighting her feelings for her Romeo. "He's too young for me."

"That the only thing that's holding you back?"

Alice shrugged and sighed. "I guess I'm confused. I want a serious relationship."

"Did he say he didn't want serious?"

"Well, no." She denied, pausing to ponder over her own thoughts. "I guess it won't hurt to go out with him just once."

"He's asked you out already?"

A slow grin spread on her face. "He did, at the party."

"And you turned him down?"

She nodded. "What if he's changed his mind after I rejected him?"

Darcy scoffed. "You won't know until you speak to him."