Chapter 23 #2
Luckily for me, music started to play from somewhere in the distance at that exact moment, so we made our way to the main stage where the pirate band was already playing.
The atmosphere was exactly as magical as I’d remembered – fairy lights strung between trees, people in elaborate costumes, and my friends, there in the middle of the crowd, laughing and dancing.
I got myself a souvenir pint of mead – not as good as Gwenynen’s, but decent enough – and tried to lose myself in the music and the company of my friends.
But I kept finding my gaze drifting back to Teddy.
She was standing a few feet behind me, her posture loose and slouchy, adding to the dishevelled pirate vibe.
God, it was really doing it for me, which was a problem.
She was talking to Jack about something involving a tent, laughing at Phil’s terrible pirate accent, and complimenting Morgan on her elaborate kraken-inspired costume. She was drinking, too, which I realised I hadn’t seen her do before, and which made her slouch just that little bit deeper.
She belonged here with us in a way that felt both natural and terrifying.
“I love your dress,” a voice said beside me.
I turned to find a gorgeous woman in a nymph-like outfit – flowers in her dark hair, flowing green dress, delicate mesh corset – the kind of ethereal beauty that normally would have had my full attention.
“You look amazing, too,” I said honestly, trying to shake off my brooding.
“You up for a dance?” she asked with a smile, holding out a dainty hand to me. I looked past her to see two other people watching us, nervous looks on their faces, as if they’d had to encourage her to come talk to me.
She was beautiful, and she had a knowing twinkle in her eye, and under normal circumstances I would have been delighted by the attention. But I was obviously distracted, and the only person I wanted to dance with was a few feet behind me, oblivious to my turmoil.
But fuck it; I deserved to let myself get lost in the fun of the evening, too.
So I took the girl’s hand, noticing as the two people beyond her high-fived each other, and followed her deeper into the crowd, where we twirled one another and swayed to the music.
We went to the bar together for another mead, surprisingly soon after I’d downed the first, and I let her lace her fingers through mine as she pulled me back into the centre of things, drinks in hand.
I tried to lose myself in the moment, and for a while, it worked – the mead hit at just the right time, the band played banger after banger, and I managed to get that buzzy feeling I usually had when I met a woman I was attracted to.
Wren, her name apparently was, put a hand on my waist and pulled me in towards her, and I let myself press my body against her, our hips moving together to the beat.
I even felt a spark of attraction as she looked at me, her bright eyes flitting between admiring my lips and holding my gaze. It was kind of hot, actually.
But every time a song ended, I looked around for Teddy without meaning to.
The throngs of people were largely in my way, and I didn’t want to make it obvious to Wren, who was being very adorable, but I looked anyway.
And after one particularly good song, when Wren had brought her hand up to play with my hair as we danced in a way that felt charged, I finally made eye contact with Teddy through the crowd.
She was watching us with an expression that looked distinctly like jealousy. She looked away quickly, but I’d seen it.
Suddenly, my head was spinning, from both the mead and the moment.
“Excuse me,” I said apologetically to Wren, “I need to use the loo.” And then I bolted.
The portable toilets were set up on the edge of the festival grounds near the stage, and it wasn’t until I was inside one that I realised I was significantly more drunk than I’d thought.
The world had gone fuzzy around the edges, and I had to concentrate harder than usual.
That was what I got for drinking on an empty stomach, I supposed.
I was leaving the area, shaking excess water off my hands, when I nearly collided with someone coming around the corner.
“Whoa,” Teddy said, catching me around the waist as I stumbled. “Steady there.”
Her hands were warm and strong on my back, and suddenly we were pressed together, her face inches from mine. I could smell the sweetness of mead mixed with the leather of her costume, and when I met her gaze, I noticed that her pupils had dilated in the dim light.
For a moment, neither of us moved. The din of the festival felt distant, muffled, like we were in our own private bubble.
Teddy’s gaze dropped to my lips, and despite every near miss we’d had, this time I was absolutely certain she was about to kiss me.
Then I burped. Loudly, and directly in her face.
Teddy burst out laughing, the spell broken, nearly dropping me as she moved her hands away, fanning one in front of her, and I felt my face flame with embarrassment.
“Right,” I said, pulling away from her. “That’s … mortifying.”
But she was still laughing, and the sound was warm and genuine.
“Come on,” she said, offering me her arm. “Let’s get you some water.”
“I’m fine,” I protested, already striding away from her, my heart racing and my head spinning with more than just alcohol. I heard her call after me, her voice still full of mirth, but I beelined away from her as fast as I could, my face growing redder by the second.
I tried to lose myself again in the festivities, even looking out for Wren, who seemed to have made herself scarce.
But every time I tried, I was reminded of how it had felt to have Teddy’s arms around my waist, or how, when I’d thought she might kiss me, the one thought in my mind had been finally.
I wasn’t sure whether it was a good idea to cross that line, but I felt absolutely sure of one thing. The next time I thought Teddy might kiss me, I would absolutely not burp.