"This pasta is to die for!" Darcy all but moaned as she swallowed her mouthful.
The dark-haired, lanky male next to her leaned down to speak to her. "Wait until you try the potatoes. That's what I made."
She smiled and leaned away from him slightly. "I'll be sure to try them." Since there were so many of them around two six-seater tables joined together, they were all huddled together. It was nice and cosy, but it did feel weird to have Will literally whisper into her ears whenever he wanted to talk to her.
She was surprised that he was even speaking to her.
Growing up, Darcy had spent a lot of time with Naomi, whom was Isabel and John's daughter and with Jacob and Jaden whom were Loraine and Scott's twin sons. Seeing as they were all the same age, attended the same primary and high school and the fact that their parents were all best friends, really pushed them together.
Darcy's mum was once a part of this group, but that was another matter.
More than being best friends, they were more family friends. While Alice, Delilah and Darcy were best friends, Jacob, Jaden, Darcy and Naomi were friends who hung out mostly at these events, but always stayed in contact through social media and text messages. There was also the fact that all of them, with the exception of Jacob and Jaden, attended different universities, they didn't see each other as often as they did while growing up.
But Darcy valued this group of friends and they would always hold a special place in her heart.
Will never really bothered with him. He was three years older than them all and didn't particularly enjoy hanging out with them seeing as he considered them children in comparison to him. He also usually skipped out of these sorts of dinners or events, so all of them were surprised that he was here today.
Darcy was even more surprised when he had held her chair out for her at the dining table. The boys had snickered while Naomi had almost looked miffed that he had completely ignored her as if she wasn't there. Darcy had merely shrugged and sent her a weird look.
When the boys engaged in a conversation regarding the last football match, Darcy turned to Naomi. "What's wrong with him?" She asked, not even having to explain whom she was referring to.
"I think he likes you."
"That's stupid." She rolled her eyes. "I have a boyfriend anyway."
"You do?" The excitement was clear in her eyes. "When did that happen?"
"Just last week," she shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal when in fact, to her, it was a huge deal. She was really glad that Thelonious was on the same wave length as her and had returned her feelings.
"You should let him know," she sent a pointed look in Will's direction. "That you're taken."
Darcy shrugged. "I don't think he's looking for anything. He's probably just being friendly."
"Maybe." Naomi repeated, though she didn't look convinced. "Tell me about your man."
A smile slipped onto her face. "His name is Thelonious Knight."
A thoughtful look crept onto Naomi's face. "Thelonious Knight?" She asked aloud, and continued speaking when Darcy confirmed this with a small nod. "That name sounds really familiar." her voice trailed off.
"He owns a hotel in London if that helps."
That must have sparked something. "Knight's Rest?"
"That's the one."
"I've been there before!" Naomi exclaimed aloud. An embarrassed blush swept across her face when everyone turned to look at them, having heard Naomi all but make an announcement. "Sorry."
The two women were glad that all eyes left them after that apology, all but one.
"What you girls talking about?"
Darcy turned to look at him. "Nothing interesting."
Will gave her his best smile, the one that had all the girls swooning. "Didn't sound like nothing."
Naomi rolled her eyes. "Don't you have anything better to do, Will?"
He smirked. "Nope."
Darcy shared a knowing look with Naomi and sighed. It appeared their conversation would have to be put on pause as neither of them were willing to continue now that Will had decided to grant them his undivided attention.
"How's your boyfriend doing, Naomi?"
"Matt's doing well."
"How long has it been now?"
"Since we've been dating?" She asked. He nodded. "4 years."
"That's an awfully long time." He thought aloud. "Doesn't sound like he's going to pop the question anytime soon."
Darcy reached out and placed her hand on Naomi's arm, unnoticed by Will. The woman in question took the hint and bit her tongue.
"What do you say Darcy? You think we can expect Matt and Naomi to get married anytime soon?"
"I think it's none of our business."
Will merely hummed in response. "You're still single, aren't you?"
Thankfully, before she could response, Will's mother, aunt Jessica, called him over.
"I'll be sure to catch you later, ladies." He winked at them before heading over to help his mother plate the desserts.
Once he was gone, Naomi and Darcy shared a look.
Now they remembered why they disliked Will growing up. They had forgotten just how unpleasant and horrid he was. It seemed that age and maturity had done nothing to change that. In fact, it probably just made things much worse.
Once all the dishes were stacked in the dish washer and the table had been cleared, everyone sat inside in the living room with their desserts.
Darcy helped herself to the biggest slice of chocolate fudge cake that she saw before heading over to Naomi whom was stood leaning against the windowsill, already working her way through her second slice of cake. Darcy wished she could do the same but feared she would just regurgitate it sometime later that evening.
She stood beside her blonde friend. "You should hit me up next time you're in London. We'll do something."
Naomi smiled. "Matt and I are actually heading down there in 2 weeks for the weekend. It's his little brother's birthday on Saturday. Maybe we can meet up on Sunday?"
Darcy smiled genuinely. "That sounds great. I know Alice and Delilah would love to see you again."
"And I'd love to meet your new boyfriend."
She couldn't control her smile. "You mentioned you've been to his hotel before?"
She nodded. "Twice actually. It's a beautiful place, but not as beautiful as its owner. He's a gorgeous man. You've done well for yourself."
Darcy was beaming now. "
"And he seems really nice too."
"He is," she gushed. "He's actually really sweet."
And that was how Will spotted them, their heads bent towards each other as they enjoyed their cake and conversation. He had been watching them for a couple of minutes now. It didn't appear that they would finish any time soon.
They didn't even notice him approach. "Mind if I cut in ladies?"
Both women looked up, surprised. They had been so engrossed in their conversation that they hadn't seen Will closing in on them.
"I just want to have a quick chat with Darcy."
"About what?"
Will just stood with his hands in his pockets and with a confident smile on his face. He didn't bother answering her question.
Darcy placed her empty plate on the windowsill before following Will to the empty kitchen, but not before throwing a weird look over her shoulder at Naomi.
She wasn't sure if she had ever spoken as much as she had to Will growing up, as they had that evening.
Darcy sat down on one of the bar stools and accepted the bottle of water he offered her with a thanks. She unscrewed the lid and took a sip. "What's this about?"
"Two friends can't just have a friendly conversation?"
"We're not really friends though, are we?"
"That hurts." When it was apparent that she didn't care, he leaned forward on the kitchen island that separated them, a confident smirk on his face. "I tried making a conversation with you earlier but Naomi kept interrupting. Frankly, I think she's a bit jealous."
Darcy didn't appreciate that comment.
When she didn't respond, he took that as his queue to continue speaking, not realising just how big a hole he was digging for himself.
"Frankly, I think things aren't going great with Matt and her."
"Why do you care?"
"I don't care what's going on between her and her boyfriend," he sneered at the term 'boyfriend'. "But I do care when she keeps interrupting us."
"What has she interrupted?" She asked, rhetorically. Will must not have picked up on it as he opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off before he could begin. "I think it's you who has been bothering people, not Naomi. And I don't know why you feel the need to keep taking jabs at her relationship. Maybe it makes you feel insecure that she's in a long-term relationship and you're not." By the end of it, Darcy was huffing with rage.
He clenched his jaw but bit back his tongue. "Let's not talk about Naomi."
She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "What did you want to talk about?"
"Us."
"Us?"
"Yes. Us." He emphasised each word.
"What's going on between us?"
"Don't act like you don't feel it."
"Trust me, I'm not acting." She mumbled under his breath. "Feel what?"
"The electricity."
She snorted in response.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"I didn't expect you to play coy."
She was getting frustrated now. She didn't appreciate having words being put in her mouth or being instructed to feel a certain way. She was woman enough to understand her own wants and needs. "I'm not playing anything. Can you stop beating around the bush and just get to it?" She spat at him, not even bothering to hide the fact that she was fuming inside.
After her discussion with Naomi earlier, she had an idea of what he wanted to say but nevertheless, she would rather hear it from the horse's mouth. It would be easier to put a stop to it that way.
He gave her a weird look. "Do you want to go out on a date with me?"
Darcy blinked once, and then twice.
When she didn't answer straight away, he smiled. "I was thinking we could go out for lunch tomorrow and then go for a movie or something?"
"That sounds great," she began, but winced visibly when his smile widened. "But I'm going to have to say no."
His smile dropped immediately. If the tension in the air wasn't so thick then, she was sure she would have burst out laughing at his response.
It was pretty comical.
But he was human â regardless how shitty of a human he was â and didn't deserve to have his feelings played with.
"You're a great guy," she lied through her teeth. "But I have a boyfriend."
He paused, seemingly looking for words. "How long have you been dating?" He asked, his jaw still clenched. It was clear this guy wasn't used to being told no.
There was no point lying. "About a week."
His smile returned. "So, not long then." It was more of a statement than a question.
"No, not long." She replied, wary. He seemed too happy despite her rejecting him.
It was strange.
"I'm assuming you've known me longer."
She allowed some time to pass before she answered. "Yes."
"It doesn't sound like you know this guy very well then."
"I know enough."
"But you know me better." He walked around the kitchen island then to come to a stop to the right of her. She turned around in her chair to look at him. "We have a history together."
Darcy snorted. "What history?"
"We could be great together."
"Let me get this straight," she pushed him slightly, just enough so that she was able to stand up. Not comfortable with how close he was standing to her, she maneuvered herself closer to the door, ready to bolt for it. "You want me to leave him for you?"
His smile widened. "Yes."
"Not in a million years." And with that, Darcy rolled her eyes and walked away. There was no point wasting her time on someone who didn't deserve it. Especially someone whom believed themselves entitled of it.
-
NOTE - not edited
The next chapter should be uploaded on 23/04/2020
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Layla Knight
25.09.19