In Real Life ✓

27. My Body Is Ready

Finally, peace.

After not getting bothered by a certain blonde at lunch time anymore, Gilbert insisted I'd cast a spell on her, and then curiously asked me what I'd done to make said blonde leave him alone, but I would not tell. With a victorious little smirk, I said a magician never reveals her secrets.

And this kind of pissed him off—

Actually, it pissed him off a lot, since he'd spent ages trying to find information as well, but as much as I wanted to share these juicy secrets with my boyfriend, I had promised Felicia that I wouldn't tell anyone—not even him—and I was always true to my word. When I explained this to him, he sighed and muttered, "Fair enough."

Quite frankly, I didn't want to ruin whatever she had with Ash either, because... well, they were kinda cute together. When I'd walked in on them, they were holding hands and smiling at each other and all that romantic shit, and I really hoped for Ash that her smile was genuine.

"I'm glad I managed to do this before my name reveal," I said, smiling proudly. "Knowing Felicia, she would have probably used it to her advantage, somehow. I mean, technically, she still could, but I have leverage now."

"You've got it all figured out, don't you?" Gilbert asked.

"I sure hope so."

He shook his head with a laugh. "Remind me to never get on your bad side. You're scary."

"A little bit of fear is healthy. Keeps you on your toes."

And with that, I walked away.

Ten seconds later, I heard, "What the hell does that mean?!"

That same afternoon, Gilbert and I were back at his house to watch Netflix, as usual. We always sat right next to each other and I often leaned into him and he often had his arm around me, and sometimes he'd even play with my hair or gently rub my arm, but today... he had his hand on my thigh.

I had never felt so fucking accomplished.

I thought I wouldn't ever be comfortable with anyone hugging me, let alone putting their hand on other body parts than my arms, but here we were. Here we fucking were. I leaned into him a little more as we watched Daredevil beating a guy into a pulp, and he gently patted my leg, as if to say 'this is nice'.

Or maybe that was just my interpretation.

When the episode ended, he turned his head to look at me with a smile and just stared for a while without saying anything like a weirdo, and I was about to ask him why he was looking at me like that, when he leaned down to press his lips to mine. Softly and shortly. As always...

"You know you can kiss me, right?" I said.

"I just did."

"Yeah, but I mean, like... you can do more than... that."

I got that he'd let me set the pace and all that, but sometimes, it was almost like he was afraid to do anything. Like he was holding back or something. And I didn't want him to hold back. Well, I mean, I did, because I'd rather not be stripped naked, but like—

Honestly, I don't even know what I'm saying anymore.

I guess I just wanted him to be comfortable around me too.

"Oh," he said.

God, if I had a dollar for every time he said 'oh' I'd be as rich as... Well, as him. "We've kissed before," I reminded him.

"Yeah, but... Never mind." He returned his lips to mine and now we were really kissing. I wasn't sure why I enjoyed it so much when I had really thought I wouldn't—couldn't even. Maybe because of the warmth of his lips, or the idea that he was enjoying it too, or... I don't know. I just did.

Why did I always have to overthink things like this?

Just fucking enjoy it, Eve. God.

A phone rang.

Mine.

I sighed and took the phone out of my pocket, before glaring at my mom's name, brightly displayed on the screen. "Hey, Mom, what's up?"

"Are you at Gilbert's?"

"Yeah, why?"

"We found an agent and we want you to meet with her."

"Wh— Now?"

"Yes, now."

"Can I bring Gilbert?"

Gilbert gave me a questioning look while Mom replied, "Uhh, I don't think that's necessary for the first meeting. If you're going to be working with her, you can all meet up again later. There's no rush, right? Can you text me his address? I'll come pick you up."

"Mom, I told you I wanted to do it with Christmas."

"Oh, well, that's more than enough time!"

"It's literally only a few weeks from now."

She sighed. "Look, honey, don't worry. We'll go to the meeting and see what happens, and if we don't manage to arrange everything in time, you can postpone it. You can do it with Christmas. And will you please text me Gilbert's address? I'm already in the car."

"Alright, alright," I said quickly, rolling my eyes at Gilbert before turning the phone off. "My mom wants me to meet an agent."

"Oh, now?"

"Yeah, apparently."

He gave me a smile, followed by a hug and a quiet, "Good luck."

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