Chapter 7 - The Invitation

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Sofia

I finally get the courage to go downstairs to the TV room after sitting around mindlessly in my room after dinner. I’ve always hated being alone in my room, but now that I have somewhere far better where I can be, it’s almost a no-brainer.

It still doesn’t keep me from wringing my hands together nervously as I head downstairs. Somehow I know he’ll be there and he still makes me feel as nervous as the first time I ever laid eyes on him even though we are now far from perfect strangers.

As expected, he’s sitting on my side of the couch again but surprisingly he’s just staring in front of a dark TV. I worry that he might actually want to be on his own this time. He’s been acting strange all week after the last time we did this, even though he asked if we could do it again. I kept thinking that he would say something or bring it up during the week, but he never did much to my disappointment. And then when my parents showed up today, he’s been acting even stranger.

He turns around to look at me, and his mouth curves up into a heart-stopping smile. I swear my knees wobble when I see one of those smiles. But then his brow buries a bit.

“You’re late,” he says somewhat accusingly, but I can still see a grin underneath.

“Oh yeah? I wasn’t aware we had a set time arranged,” I decide to tease him.

He looks at his watch briefly and then back at me. “Yup, you’re exactly 15 minutes late … and five painfully long days. You wound me, Sofia,” he says dramatically placing his hand over his heart.

I chuckle even though I’m not sure if it’s a joke or not. He’s been so serious with me all week but this has to be a joke. I go to sit down next to him, leaving a decent amount of space in between us. “Well, that’s your fault. Next time, send me an invite so I can RSVP. It usually works that way.”

“Hmm. In case I wasn’t clear, it’s an ongoing daily invitation. But I’ll formally send you a calendar invite so there are absolutely no misunderstandings.” He takes out his phone and starts typing away. He holds it away from me so I can’t really see what he’s doing.

“Sounds good,” I laugh. His demeanor is completely different from earlier today and especially dinner so it kind of throws me for a loop. Although I much prefer this playful version of him.

“Okay, done. Check your email.”

I give him a sly look, wondering if he really just sent me an invite. I open it up on my phone and immediately laugh.

From: Adrian Carter

To: Sofia Durant

Invitation: Fall Asleep with Adrian

--------------------------------------------------------------------

When: Weekly from 10pm to 7am on all days GMT

Where: Couch @ TV Room (map)

Calendar: Sofia Durant

Who: Adrian Carter (organizer), Sofia Durant

Going? All events in this series: Yes - Maybe - No

Wow, that is seriously adorable. My heart does a flip at seeing our names written out together like that. I consider pressing maybe just to tease him, but my thumb automatically presses yes. Who could ever say no to him? I look up at him and he looks quite anxious.

“Did you RSVP?” he asks me.

I grin. “Check your phone.”

He lets out a deep breath when he sees my answer and puts his phone away. He reaches forward towards me and circles his hands beneath my knees. I watch him silently, not understanding what he’s doing, until he scoots me closer to him. He sweeps a lock of hair behind my ear and smiles up at me. I notice his eyes are a bit glossy and I discern a faint scent of alcohol on him.

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