Page 65 of West (The Moral Compass 1)
“Fuck, West. I need to get changed now!” She’s yelling behind me, trying to catch up. This girl makes my day every day.
We get back to the house a little breathy. Mum raises an eyebrow, North smiles like a fucker, East starts laughing, and South? Well, he just shakes his head. Sutton runs upstairs, ignoring them all. It looks like we’ve had a row, but we both know different. Well, until East keeps laughing.
“What’s so funny?” I ask.
“You are,” she replies, laughing.
“Why? What have I done?”
“Sutton. You’ve just done Sutton,” North says a grin as wide as a river.
“Shhh, shut up. If she hears you, I’ll be dead. I had to do something to take her mind off today and, well, I couldn’t think of anything nicer. It was only supposed to be a walk, but you know, sometimes shit happens.” I wink my cocky wink and smile. “Oh, and how did you know?” I whisper.
Mum points to the monitor in the corner. “We had cameras installed up there after everything that happened.” She blushed and walked out of the room.
“You didn’t… You didn’twatch, did you?”
North is shaking his head along with South.
“Watch what?” Sutton asks from the doorway. “What’s up?” Sutton looks at me.
Oh fuck. Why couldn’t she choose today to take forever to get changed?
“The video replay of the game where I beat the shit out of North.” East saves the day.
“I need to go change.” Fuck, I need to get out of this room and get her away from that monitor before she realises we’ve made a porno. “Come help me choose a shirt?” I ask as I grab her hand and drag her back upstairs.
After we had washed and gotten changed, we went back downstairs. The monitor is now on a different camera, thank God.
I look at the clock. It hits 1:55 p.m. just as the doorbell rings. I go to find Sutton whilst Mum gets the door.
Chapter 52
Sutton
Thedoorbellrings,andI hear the clicking of Liz’s heels and the unlocking of the door. A cool breeze rushes through the house as the door opens wide. My mouth is dry, my stomach is swirling, and I feel like I am spiralling out of control as West comes and stands right in front of me. His eyes bore into mine, and a soft kiss on my lips gently brings me back down to earth. He takes my hand.
“Ready?” he asks. I can’t speak, so I just nod. West leads me out into the hallway and, as I look up, Liz is standing with Mark.
“Mark, this is Sutton. Sutton, this is Mark.” She waves her hand between us, but it’s useless, really. We both know who the other is. We’ve seen photos. I don’t get a chance to blink or acknowledge anything before I’m swept off my feet and into a tight embrace.
At first, I panic and struggle. What the fuck. Why would he do that? Does he always fucking rush someone he doesn’t fucking know? But as his embrace settles and softens, I can feel the warmth and, when I stop fighting him for a moment, I realise this is okay.
He steps back from me, placing both his hands on my cheeks, and he stares into my eyes. “Oh, Lord, Sutton. You are so much more beautiful than your photographs. I can’t believe you’re here in front of me.” He has tears in his eyes. He moves his hands to my hands, giving me space to breathe, but I have a feeling he isn’t going to let me go for a while yet.
I don’t understand the emotions running through me. This man. He doesn’t know me. He’s never met me before, but he looks at me with love in his eyes. Is that normal?
West can sense that I’m not totally comfortable in this situation and steps forward. “Hey, Mark? Let’s give her some space to breathe, yeah?”
Mark retreats a little, still holding one hand. Tears fall from his eyes and down his cheeks. He just stands and stares. He can’t take his eyes away. “Yeah, son, sorry. I just can’t believe how lucky I am,” Mark stutters.
West laughs quite loudly. “You and me both, Mark. You and me both. She is one remarkable woman, I can promise you that.” West comes and takes my other hand. “Let’s go and get a drink. It’s five o’clock somewhere, right?”
He is cracking jokes. Bad jokes. It suddenly hits me that he’s as nervous as me. This morning’s frolic under the trees was as much about him as it was me. I know that I love him, but my admiration for this man has just multiplied by a billion. He’s feeling my feelings, and my heart almost bursts.
We sit in the lounge area, and the tension is nearly visible it’s so strong.
“Okay, I can’t stand this much more. We need to start the talking, or I’m going to throw up again,” I spit out. I look to West who has positioned himself against the fireplace with a large glass of something, and then to Mark. They both smile widely back at me.
