“I can bring him,” I offered impulsively. “I haven’t had too much to drink.”
Michaela eyed me a moment, then glanced at James, who shrugged at her in return. She looked back at me. “Okay, let me write down his address.”
And that was how I found myself in the back of a taxi with Neil dozing against me. James and Callum had assisted me in getting him down and into the cab, both of them thoroughly amused since neither had witnessed their prim and proper assistant get blackout drunk before.
“Are we almost there?” I asked the driver about fifteen minutes into the journey.
“Almost. You might want to try waking your friend up. No offence, but a little thing like you isn’t going to be able to carry him.”
The driver was right. I definitely couldn’t carry Neil, especially not since his flat was several storeys up. Michaela said it was on the fourth floor. I nudged his arm, and he groaned in response, but he didn’t open his eyes.
“Neil,” I said softly, “you have to wake up.”
He groaned a second time, but instead of moving his head off my shoulder, he snuggled closer, effectively resting his head on my boobs. I glanced down at him, and my breathing stuttered. He looked so boyish and handsome, and I didn’t dislike him resting on me. In fact, I liked it more than I should have.
I stroked his hair away from his face and shook him again. Finally, his eyes opened as he blearily took in his surroundings. “Afric, where are—”
“We’re in a taxi. We’re almost at your place, but you need to wake up because I can’t carry you up four flights of stairs.”
“Oh,” he said, still drunk but not entirely unaware of where his head was resting. A faint redness touched his cheeks as he withdrew. The taxi came to a stop, and I paid the driver before ushering Neil out. I slung his arm around my shoulders as I made my way towards the entrance to his building.
“Do you have a key fob to get in?” I asked.
“In my pocket,” he said, fumbling for it to no avail. I batted his hand away before sliding my own into his back pocket and pulling out the fob as well as the key to his flat. We entered the building, and thankfully, there was a lift. Neil lived in a nice place, much nicer than where I lived. I led him inside the lift, and his head sagged to the side as I pressed the button for his floor.
“I’m sorry. I drank too much,” he slurred.
“It’s okay. We all drink too much from time to time.”
“You shouldn’t have to bring me home like this,” he went on. “It’s embarrassing.”
“No, it isn’t. I can’t count the number of times I’ve gotten shitfaced and Michaela or Sarita have had to escort me home. It’s what friends do for each other.”
“Right, friends,” he said, and there was an odd note in his voice, but I put it down to his lack of sobriety. The lift opened, and we stepped out, Neil’s arm still around my shoulders. I found his door and slid in the key before pushing it open.
We entered a moderately sized combined kitchen and living area. It was just as neat and tidy as I expected it to be, with a large bookshelf next to a comfortable-looking grey sofa, a coffee table, and a flat screen TV on the wall. For a second, I imagined us having our movie nights all curled up together on that sofa, and a swell of want bloomed within me. I wanted to watch movies here with Neil. I wanted to laze on his sofa reading novels from his bookshelf while he whipped something up for us in the kitchen.
Man, I really did have it bad. Pretty sure I’d never drunkenly lusted after cosy domestic bliss before.
Neil finally let go of me before leaning back against the wall as he kicked off his shoes.
“Thanks for getting me home,” he said. “How are you … going … to get …”
“Home?” I finished, and he nodded. “I’ll order a taxi.”
Neil frowned and glanced over at the sofa I’d just been ogling. “You can sleep over there if you want. I have some extra pillows and blankets … somewhere.”
His offer sent a flutter through me. I was on the verge of accepting when my phone buzzed in my bag. I pulled it out and quickly read the text before bringing my attention back to Neil.
“That was Sarita. She and Mabel are in a taxi now. They’re going to stop off here and pick me up. This building is more or less on their way, so—”
Before I could finish the sentence, Neil closed the distance between us. I stood frozen as he lowered his face to my neck, his nose nuzzling at the sensitive hollow below my ear as he breathed, “I wish you could stay.”