The Elusive Heart of Nova Hart ✔

47// impromptu birthdays

Thank you princess_of_thieves for reading and voting and just being in love with this story :'D

IMPROMPTU BIRTHDAYS

    The door to Graham's house swung open in a blur and then an arm shot out, snatching the plastic bag from her hand before slamming the door back in her face.

    What in the world...

    "Declan, no!" She could hear Tyler holler from inside the house. "Nova's welcome too, not just the ice cream!"

    "What the hell man?" It was a different voice this time, a voice that seeped into Nova's skin pleasurably and flowed with her bloodstream, setting her entire body alight with something she couldn't name.

    The door opened, gentler this time, and when her eyes drank the sight in front of her, Nova's heart skipped a beat.

    Which was disturbing, because Nova really, really wasn't the heartbeat-skipping kind of girl.

    It was the first time she'd seen him in black... And oh boy, the way it intensified his eyes.

    The tight-fitting shirt clung to his lean muscles in a sinful way, the v-neck hinting teasingly at a well-defined chest.

    Now, Nova was and had always been a confident girl. Its something she prided herself on. But, standing on his porch, right in front of his eyes, she was suddenly self-conscious about her black cut-off jean shorts and red tank top that was tied into a knot at the front.

    "You planning on staying there all day?"

    His voice broke the trance she'd given herself over to, causing the back of her neck to grow warm.

    "Just waiting for you to invite me in, Miller," she replied nonchalantly.

    With a roll of his eyes, he gestured for her to come in, moving only the tiniest bit to the side. Nova noticed it didn't really leave that much room for her to walk through, not without their bodies brushing against each other anyway.

    "Nova!" Addy's arms engulfed her into a hug as soon as Graham closed the door behind them. "I told these idiots not to bother you—"

    "The ice cream parlour is literally on the way from her home to here!" Piper snorted.

    I raised a brow, placing both my hands on my hips, "so that's why I was invited? Because I could deliver ice cream?"

    "Yeah," Declan piped up, emerging from the kitchen with ice cream bowls and spoons. "Sorry if that hurts your feelings, Nova, but truth is, the world's a cruel and selfish place." And then he grinned, showing her that he was only messing around.

    "This wasn't planned, you know," Graham muttered from beside her, rubbing his ear in discomfort.

    Tyler scoffed from where he was lying sprawled out on the sofa, switching channels on the TV, looking for something interesting enough. "Your birthdays are never planned," he said and then turned to Nova, speaking to her instead, "he hates celebrating his birthday, this idiot. But I came over anyway, dragging Declan along—"

    "And then I told Piper," Declan cut in, shrugging.

    "And I let Addy know," Piper began filling her bowl with scoops of ice cream, "and Addy called you—"

    "Well, technically, I was against it because I knew you'd have curled up with a good movie or something," Addy quickly defended herself,  "but you know how persistent these pests can be—"

    "Long story short, ice cream is here and we're happy," Declan interjected, rolling his eyes at Addy's glare. And then as an afterthought, added: "oh, we're happy you're here too, Nova."

    Nova flipped him off, smiling to herself as everyone chuckled.

    "What's in this bag?" Graham's voice was closer now, his arm merely inches away from hers while everybody else were arguing about what to watch.

    Nova lifted the bag in her other hand and gave it to him. "Its your ice cream," she shrugged. "I remember you ordering cookie dough that day so... I, uh, I just got you a small tub of that." She averted her gaze, focusing instead on the bare mantelpiece by the door.

    "Thanks," he sounded surprised. "I'll, um, I'll put mine in the freezer for later. Do you want some of it?"

    Nova still didn't meet his eyes as she pretended to take in her surroundings. "No, I'll have some later too. Go ahead and put it in the freezer."

    She felt him step away, causing her to exhale a breath she didn't realise she'd been holding, and just as he was about to turn around, Nova spoke again.

    "Oh, and Graham?"

    "Mm?"

    "Happy birthday," she grinned.

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im a lil behind on my studying schedule, so gonna catch up with that.
See you all later in the evening (its still noon here) xx