Good morning, beautiful angels.

If the only thing you do today is read this chapter, know that I am so grateful that you made the effort to do so. L x

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I find the girls and spend an hour or so with them. It gets hot inside so we move outside. Halle needs a wee so Etty goes with her whilst I save our seats at one of the patio tables.

Alex comes striding over and sits down in Halle's seat.

'Someone is sitting there,' I tell him.

He smirks. 'Yeah, me.'

I narrow my eyes at him. 'Are you stalking me?'

He grins and takes a swig of his drink.

'Nope. But I do want to know why you hate me so much.'

I frown at his comment. 'I don't hate you, Alex.'

He snorts. 'Could have fooled me, Bianca.'

'You're just so...confident.'

He smirks. 'And that's a bad thing?'

I shrug. 'No, but you're kinda cocky.'

I don't miss the flash of hurt that crosses his face. I've offended him and I feel bad.

I quickly continue, 'I'm sorry that I've been rude. We kinda started on a bad foot with the whole picture-taking thing.'

He smiles then, making me feel better. He leans back in the chair, rests one foot on his other knee and puts his hands behind his head. His t-shirt rides up a bit, offering a tempting glimpse of dark, toned stomach. He looks me up and down pointedly.

'I know who I am and what I want.'

I roll my eyes at him. 'Are you going to say some cliche line like, you're what I want?'

He grins, revealing those whiter-than-white teeth. 'And if I do?'

'Why would you want me?' I ask curiously.

I'm not fishing for compliments. I'm genuinely curious as to why he would be interested, especially given our interactions are curt at best.

He leans forwards suddenly, surprising me. He gets close, resting his elbows on his knees.

'Why wouldn't I want you?' He mirrors the question back, looking interested as to why I'm questioning him.

I shrug. 'I'm nothing special. And, I'm rather rude to you.'

He grins. 'I like that, though. I like the fire, the spunk, if you will.'

I grimace at the word spunk, which makes him chuckle.

'You're fiery and not afraid to speak your mind,' he says and I realise that he's going to continue. 'From what I can see, you're a good friend, a great athlete, popular with most people and don't cause drama. Plus, we have a similar sense of humour and I have found out that you love tacos as much as I do.'

I give him a weird look. 'You have seriously check up on me. What the fuck?'

He shrugs and gives me a half-smile. 'I spoke to some people. Your friends, too.'

'Why?'

'To get to know a bit about you, duh. I obviously wasn't getting very far when you wouldn't even tell me your name.'

'It's creepy that you asked around like that. You sure you're not a stalker?'

He snorts and shakes his head. 'I promise.'

I give him a look to show him that I'm unconvinced. He glances around, stands up and holds his hand out to me.

'Please dance with me? Your mates obviously aren't coming back.'

Knowing them, they've spotted us talking together and don't want to disturb. They're probably hiding out inside and planning our wedding or something.

The song changes and I note that I actually really like this song. Damn.

I reluctantly get to my feet and place my hand in his. 'Fine. One song.'

'Yes!' He fist-pumps the air and pulls me over to the now-larger group of people.

We mix in with the crowd and Alex turns to face me. He starts throwing out some cheesy dance moves to make me laugh, which works. I stick to the safe two-step. He takes my hands and makes me spin and mess about with him.

At one point, he spins me back into his arms and my back bumps his chest. We laugh together and our eyes meet. Something passes between us. I can't identify it, but there is an unspoken happiness in that moment as we unconsciously confirm our attraction to one another.

He turns me around and wraps his arms around my waist, drawing me close to his body. We sway back and forth to the beat, our eyes locked.

'Come to my house for dinner tomorrow night?' He offers sweetly.

I'll admit, I'm intrigued to see inside the modern build. 'Really?'

'Yeah.' He nods. 'I want to get to know the elusive Bianca better. Besides, you get to meet my parents and gush over how much cooler they are than me.'

I grin at that. 'I bet they are cooler than you.'

'A lot cooler. It's kind of painful, actually.'

I chuckle and his face softens.

'I know that you've been screwed over,' he says quietly. I can just hear him over the music. 'The guys told me about your ex.'

My hands tighten on his arms instinctively. I'm annoyed that they told him. It's my history, my business. But gossip travels like wild fire in school.

'I won't do that to you, I swear it.'

I give him a tight smile. 'Careful, I might not give you the chance to fuck up.'

That makes him grin. 'Oh, you will. I can be very charming when I want to be and I want a chance to prove myself.'

'Really? You? Charming? I don't see it.'

He winks. 'You will.'

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'How was your slow dance with Alex?'

I deadpan at Halle's question.

'David Guetta was on. There was no slow dance,' I retort.

'Looked pretty romantic to me,' Etty chirps. 'The two of you swaying in each other's arms and everything.'

I blush and look down at my phone.

'Yo! Bianca!'

My head snaps up at the sound of Alex calling my name. He jogs across the field towards us, stopping by the bench we're sat on.

'We still on for later?' He asks eagerly.

I glance anxiously at my friends, I haven't told them yet. 'Of course.'

'Great! Can I have your number, please? I'll text you my address.'

'I don't need the address, I know where it is.'

He rolls his eyes. 'Cool, but can I still have your number?'

Blushing, I pull my phone from my bag, unlock it and give it to him. He puts his number in and then texts himself. He hands it back to me and his warm fingers brush mine.

'Awesome. Thanks!'

We watch him run back over to the guys on the field. His muscles ripple under his t-shirt. It's like a sexy sports commercial or something.

The girls are oddly quiet. When I look at them, they are both looking at me with unimpressed faces and crossed arms.

'He's invited me to his house tonight.'

'Shut up!'

'What are you going to wear?'

'I don't know. I'm going to go home first and walk over to his at like five.'

'This is so exciting!'

I realise that I made a mistake in telling my friends when the dinner is all they can talk about for the rest of the day. I take a shower after football practice and walk home with wet hair down my back.

I dry it off and change into jeans and a top when I get back to my house. My parents are fine with me going round by ask me to be back by 10PM because it's a school night.

Just before five I start walking over to Alex's. I text him to let him know that I'm on my way. I arrive at the house in only a few minutes and nervously knock on the door.

I pat down my hair and rub my lips together. I wonder if he will try and kiss me tonight?

The door suddenly opens and a grinning Alex is behind it. Two young girls are standing next to him, they only come to his hips.

'Hey! Come inside. These are my little sisters, Mae and Moira,' he introduces them.

'Guys, this is my friend, Bianca.'

They shyly say hi before running off into another room. Alex shuts the door behind me.

'Sorry, they wanted to know what you look like, but they're a bit shy. They're twins and they're four.'

'They're adorable.'

He grins. 'They get that a lot. Do you want a tour?'

'Uh, sure.'

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I'm working late tonight so won't be able to write tomorrow's chapter.

Instead, I've made a feedback chapter called 'Reader Questions' that I will post in The Lust Anthology tomorrow.

If you are up for it, please could you answer the questions on there as a reader? It's just some research for your needy author who is looking to improve 😂❤️

Thank you, L x