Chrysalis by Emily Gould Read Free Book Online

Josh, but of me, having a relationship when he just gets one-night-stands.
    We get through about hour of singing, and I'm just drunk enough to start going out of tune when Josh comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. "Hey, are you gonna be singing all night?"
    I swing around to face him. His breath smells a little of beer. "I could do something else, why?"
    "I didn't come here to spend all night sitting on a couch talking about Chemistry with some guy I barely know. I came to spend some time with you."
    Josh's arms feel so good around me. They also kind of keep me upright as I drop the mic, and we rather awkwardly shuffle over to where Emmy and her friends are dancing. Chelsea smiles at us from the sofa with can of coke resting on her bump, her head on Charles's shoulder. I'm not bad at dancing, but I'm feeling a bit too drunk to really do it properly, so I just wrap my arms around Josh's neck, and we sway back and forward a little bit.
    We get some proper dancing in, though, when Charles throws Thibby off the karaoke halfway through 'Anarchy in the UK' and sticks on some actual dance music. Josh pulls me closer as we sway, his voice a little slurred as he breathes, "Luke, mate, I'm really falling for you, babe, like, I think I love you."
    That makes my legs even more unsteady, and my whole body shivers and heats up under his hands at the thoughts of all the things we could be doing tonight.
    *~*~*
    We don't do anything that night, as it turns out, because we end up wrapped up in a duvet next to the TV on Charles's floor, Josh snoring the happy, drunken snore of a big, sleepy, rugby guy. There's the sound of something girly happening up in Chelsea's room and Thibby's disappeared somewhere, and I have a feeling he's taken one of Emmy's friends with him.
    I roll over to look at Josh and it's weird, but my brain doesn't feel panicky anymore, or crazy or odd. I just feel really cool actually and a little bit soppy. I reach forward and give him a hug, running my arms over his chest. I really want to be closer to him again, but I'm terrified, in case Charles comes downstairs and catches us.
    He makes a little mumbling noise and I smile, reaching over to whisper in his ear, "I'm kinda falling for you, too, babe."
    Josh gives another mumble that sounds like, "For chrissakes, Luke, what time is it?"
    I scowl at him in the darkness, then roll back over and leave him to sleep. The next date, I decide, we'll get all the way through without messing it up, from heading out in the afternoon to waking up together the next morning.

Fifth
    I choose the restaurant for the fifth date, which is why we end up on wooden benches in a slightly pretentious cafe. For the first time, I actually feel comfortable sitting opposite Josh, and I've swept my hair so far sideways that with a careful peek, the bottom of my scar is just about visible.
    I'm pretty sure nobody except Josh is going to stare at me that closely, however.
    We go back to Josh's again afterwards and curl up together on the sofa, having a brief discussion about what to watch, which gets slightly heated until Josh finally caves and switches the sport off. It's not enough to spoil the date, though, and to be honest, Josh doesn't spend much time with his eyes on the television.
    We spend a bit more time talking after Josh switches the TV off; although it doesn't quite reach the magical atmosphere of our first time, we get pretty intimate on the sofa, and then head up to bed. I think Josh still feels a bit guilty about taking it so quickly last time, because we don't go all the way. In the end, we fall asleep with our arms wrapped around each other, although I have to break away a bit fairly quickly, since Josh lying on my arm gives me pins and needles.
    My phone goes off at two in the morning, and I have to roll over Josh to get at it. He grumbles and pulls the duvet away from me as I scramble around in the dark, swearing under my breath. I think I'm just about ready to kill