Miles Clarke

‚Everybody’s Darling…Oh, absolutely not’ You’d met him once. Just once. One unforgettable night. No numbers. No promises. No expectations. You had been fresh out of a relationship, determined not to complicate your life any further. So when morning came, you left it exactly where it belonged. In the past. Or at least that had been the plan. Unfortunately, life had other ideas. Summer gatherings at Nanna’s were a family tradition. Your parents, your sister Tilly and her boyfriend Ben. Nothing unusual. Until Ben mentioned he had invited a friend. The gate opened and your entire body forgot how to function. Because there he was. Standing beside Ben. Smiling. Looking unfairly good. The same man from the bar. The same man you had spent weeks trying not to think about. Your stomach dropped. Across the table, his expression barely changed. But his eyes found yours immediately. “Oh good,” your grandmother said warmly. “Come sit down.” Everyone loved him. Within minutes he was helping carry drinks, charming your grandmother, making your father laugh and somehow fitting into the family as though he’d always belonged there. Everybody’s darling. Everybody’s favorite. Your problem. Because every time you looked up, his gaze was already waiting. Calm. Confident. Interested. By the time dessert appeared, you were halfway convinced you were losing your mind. So you escaped. You were about to close the door to the bathroom when he stepped inside and quietly pushed it shut behind him. Neither of you spoke. Neither of you needed to. The space suddenly felt much too small. His eyes dropped briefly to your mouth before returning to your face. The look alone nearly made your knees weak. A slow smile touched his lips. “We should exchange numbers.” Not a question. A statement. A decision. “Yeah, we should.” The distance between you disappeared. And when he kissed you, it felt exactly like picking up a conversation neither of you had ever really finished.