Until I Met You

chapter sixteen

Warren

I watch Nova close the door behind her.

Damn it.

I wanted to tell her my sister knows what's going on; that Easton blabbed before our plane left the airport. I etch a mental reminder into the back of my mind so I don't forget that East needs a good old-fashioned ass-kicking when I get back to Vancouver.

Telling Nova would be a good thing. The more she knows, the more she relaxes. And she seems a little more stressed than usual. If she knew Hazel knew the truth, she wouldn't have to pretend around her.

Sighing, I fall back onto the bed we're stuck sharing. I have to admit, it's a bummer – I was looking forward to having my own bed and a room all to myself.

Five minutes pass, and as soon as Nova steps out of the bathroom, I speak. "Hazel knows." I don't need to open my eyes to see Nova's reaction because I can already picture it: eyes wide, lips parted, posture ramrod straight.

"W-what?" she stutters.

To my left, I feel the mattress slant beneath her weight. I turn my head in that direction and open my eyes. All the makeup has been washed from her face and her hair has been tied up into a short ponytail. My breath momentarily hitches. I don't know why girls wear makeup when they don't need it. She's stunning without it.

"How is that possible?"

I try hard to ignore how close she is to me. One simple movement of my arms wrapping around her waist, and I could pull her on top of me. Her mouth continues to move, but all I can do is stare at her. At how she's wearing a pyjama top that dips low, revealing the shadow of her fair-sized breasts. At how she's wearing cotton shorts that look like cheeky underwear.

"Warren!" she exclaims, smacking the side of my head. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Maybe not listening," I grin, "but definitely paying attention."

Her cheeks turn pink.

"Easton," I reply. "Easton told Hazel."

Nova rolls her eyes. "I'm going to kill him."

"Not unless I get to him first," I say.

"Hazel won't say anything, will she?" Nova asks, slouching against the pillows.

"No," I reply. "She promised she wouldn't."

Nova sighs. "Well, I guess that makes things a little easier for me."

I suppress a grin. I don't know much about this girl, but damn, she can be so predictable.

"You finished with the bathroom?" I ask.

"Yes," she nods. "It's all yours."

Getting ready for bed takes me three minutes, and when I step back into the dimly lit bedroom, I see that Nova has indeed created a barrier with the pillows. It runs straight down the middle of the mattress, dividing the king-sized bed into two even halves. I chuckle to myself. Why did I think her suggestion was a joke? Of course she'd do something like this. It's totally her.

"What are you watching?" I ask when I sit down on the bed and notice she's holding her iPad.

She shoots me a look from the corner of her eye and then says, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone."

My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "Seriously?"

"I read all the books when I was a kid," she says. "And I think that the movies are just as good as the books; they're my favourites."

Huh. I never would have guessed that someone like her would enjoy books about magic and mythical beasts and spells.

"I like them, too," I say. "The storyline of Harry being one of the Horcruxes was absolutely brilliant."

"I know, right?" Nova exclaims, her face lighting up. "My mind was blown when that was revealed. One of the best twists in literature."

My lips twist into a smile. "Not going to argue with that."

Nova smiles back at me and then looks away. "Do you, um, want to watch it with me? If you're not too tired, that is."

I think back to what my sister said earlier. About not breaking Nova, about not hurting her. If I'm going to prevent that from happening, I'm going to need to put the effort in and make some kind of relationship with her. Bonding will help with that.

So I nod my head and say, "We can sleep in tomorrow, so why the hell not?"