Chapter 35: The Offer

Clarissa’s eighteenth birthday was in March and fell on a Thursday. Her mother had planned a big ‘society’ party for her the following Saturday up at Westmouth Hall, but on her birthday itself, she allowed Clarissa to invite some of her closest friends over to the house for a dinner party. Of course, this being a ‘Liddington’ dinner party, it had to be the best, which is why my sister ended up catering it.

“She’s the best cook in town,” Clarissa reasoned.

“Well, you’re not too bad yourself.”

She laughed. “That’s as may be, but I’m hosting. I can’t be expected to whip up fabulous food and greet all my guests, now can I?”

I’d arrived with Vicky and helped her unload her catering van and move everything she needed into the kitchen. She’d done most of the preparation at home and would just need to finish off at the Liddington house. That meant I’d been the first ‘guest’ to arrive, much to Clarissa’s delight.

As much as I’d gotten used to the idea of Clarissa being as ‘normal’ as the rest of us, I still couldn’t wrap my head around the sheer scale of her house. She gave me the grand tour—from the lounge that I’d been in once before, to the dining room, out through the kitchen to the conservatory that stretched the width of the house and the swimming pool just beyond. And that was just downstairs. She then dragged me upstairs to show me her bedroom, which was easily twice the size of mine, maybe more, and stole a seismic lip-lock from me that almost stopped my heart.

This was actually the first time I’d spent any time in the house—usually, all I did was wait in the hallway for Clarissa when I picked her up for a date. Still, at least her mum was actually letting me in the house these days rather than leaving me standing on the doorstep.

She was even perfectly civil to me, and we’d shared a few conversations over the past blissful month about school and exam preparation. She even told me about her memories of her A levels. It was a complete contrast to how she’d been during my very first conversation with her after the Halloween Ball.

Mind you, that conversation took place outside Clarissa’s hospital room, and I was very much the reason that Clarissa was in that hospital bed. I can try and pretend I wasn’t, but I was. Del Stevens might have been the one who pushed her over and caused her to bang her head, but she was only in that bathroom because of me.

Before we could truly enjoy our soul-connecting kiss, the doorbell rang to indicate the next guest had arrived. Clarissa rushed downstairs to open it. It was Emily, which wasn’t surprising in the least.

“You two look like the cat that got caught stealing the cream. Did I interrupt something?”

“Another five minutes and you might well have done,” Clarissa replied with a smirk.

I just blushed.

Emily had taken great pleasure in teasing me about my physical relationship with Clarissa over the past few weeks. What can I say? Girls talk. And, apparently, Clarissa had been raving about my ... prowess.

We continued our routine from before Christmas—Date Night on Fridays and a night in at my place on Saturdays. Clarissa was allowed to come to my house after school during the week, provided she completed all her homework and adhered to a strict nine o’clock curfew. But on Fridays and Saturdays, her mum agreed to let her stay overnight with me.