I didn't mind it, but when Darcy said it, it sounded dirty... dirty in a good way.
"No, I don't."
Darcy lightly chuckled. "Okay, you're acting like a little girl who has never seen a penis before."
I elbowed him in the stomach and he coughed then laughed, hard.
"You're such a dickhead, Darcy Hart!" I snapped.
I tried to get up from the couch but Darcy's arms closed around me making that impossible.
"I'm sorry. I won't laugh anymore."
Yeah, like I'd believed that.
I sighed in defeat. "I don't care, laugh it up."
Darcy released me from his hold, but left one arm draped around my shoulder.
"I'm only playing with you, Neala Girl. You know that, right?"
I did, but it was still embarrassing.
"Did you come in here to talk about this morning? Because if you did, you can feck off."
Darcy shook with silent laughter.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay. You've barely looked at me since this morning and that is odd, even for you."
I leaned my head back on Darcy's arm and looked up to the dark ceiling.
"I know you couldn't help it, it was just your body and not you. I know all that, but still... it touched me, Darcy."
Darcy lost it and quickly wrapped both his arms around my body when I tried to get up from the couch once more. He howled with laughter and yelped and screeched when I pinched his skin in an attempt for him to let me go, but he didn't. He held on to me tightly, and I hated that I loved every second of it.
"I'm sorry," he wheezed with laughter. "I'll stop... just give me a second."
He was such a moron - he laughed at everything.
I muttered obscenities to myself until Darcy calmed himself down, which wasn't for at least three minutes.
"Okay, I'm okay," he said.
I tilted my head back and looked to my right at him. "Are you sure?"
Darcy smiled wide. "Just don't say me boner touched you again in that horrified tone and I'll be perfectly fine."
I rolled my eyes and looked back to the ceiling. "You're an eejit. You know that, right?"
"Yes."
I couldn't help it, I laughed.
Darcy lightly nudged me until I looked back at him.
"You know what this reminds me of?"
I was intrigued.
"What?" I asked.
"When we were little, before the drama started between us, you would lie against me like you are now and you'd happily stay that way for hours. It was as if you felt safe in me arms, like you knew I would protect you from anything."
I melted. "You would protect me from anything back then, Darcy. I knew you would."
He nudged me. "I still would."
I swallowed and looked forward.
What the hell was I supposed to say to that?
"I'm not sweet talking you. I've just never told you that even though we have hate for one another, I still have a lot love for you. Even though we are at each other's throats all the time, you're a huge part of me life. You take up half of it to be honest."
I was half of Darcy's life?
"Wow," I whispered.
Darcy chuckled, "Deep, huh?"
I nodded my head. "I'm not sure what to think. This is the weirdest conversation we've ever had."
Darcy's snorted. "It's called being civil to one another."
I pretended to be disgusted. "I don't like it."
Darcy pulled a face at me and pinched my side making me squeal and him laugh.
"Do you think being stuck here together will change us?" I randomly asked.
It was a question sitting in the back of my mind since Darcy told me what he did for me when we were teenagers.
Darcy thought about it for a moment then nodded his head. "I do. I mean, it has. Look how different we are with one another and it's only been a few days. Sure, we've still had spats here and there, but we're both alive, which speaks volumes… I mean, do you even remember why we acted the way we did for all those years?
Was that a serious question?
"Yes, I do. You punched Alan Pine in the face for calling me his girlfriend and you kicked me out of your house and told me you didn't want to be me friend anymore. I remember everything about that day, Darcy."
Darcy blinked down at me. "You remember that day?"
I nodded my head. "It was the first time someone had ever broke my heart, of course I remember it."
Darcy widened his eyes as he stared at me, and I mirrored his expression because I did not mean to say that out loud.
"I broke your heart?" Darcy asked.
I shrugged my shoulders, but didn't respond.
Darcy's fingers touched my chin as he turned my face in his direction.
"I broke your heart?" he repeated.
I swallowed, and slowly nodded my head.
He blinked his big brown eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it.
After a few moments of silence I smiled. "It's okay, it was a long time ago."
Darcy frowned at me. "It's not okay. I should have never said what I did to you. I never meant to hurt you. I mean, I did, but not to this extent. I just wanted you to feel sad like I did when I heard Alan call you his girlfriend."
I stared at Darcy with wide eyes.
He caught my expression and gave me a sad smile. "I loved you, Neala Girl. You were my best friend. No one else's. Mine. I didn't like anyone else calling you his or hers, even as a little kid I felt protective of you. I just did a shitty thing and took it out on you when I shouldn't have... Is it too late for me to apologise?"
What. The. Hell?
What was happening right now?
Darcy was apologising to me?
This was too much to take in.
"You look like you're about to freak out," Darcy mused.
"I am," I replied.
Darcy chuckled and hugged me to his warm body. "It appears to be honesty hour. We may never get another chance like this so I want everything between us to be out in the open. Okay?"
I nodded my head.
"Does my honesty scare you?" Darcy asked.
Scare me?
No.
Thrill me?
Yes.
"No, I'm just a little... shocked? I don't really know. I never expected you to say anything like this to me, Darcy."
He nodded his head. "Trust me, I never planned on it, but it just feels right. I don't know why, but it does."
I gnawed on my inner cheek then said, "Maybe you have cabin fever and the isolation it starting to drive you mad."
Darcy looked at me and burst out laughing.
The tension that built up in the room fled within that moment, and I was very grateful for it.
"Be serious," he chuckled and nudged me.
I cleared my throat. "Deadly serious?"
Darcy nodded.
"Okay, it does feel right. I think because it's just us here together and we don't have our families around us trying to force us to be nice. We're being nice on our own terms, which is sort of a miracle in itself. I mean, did you ever imagine us ever being even remotely friendly to one another?"
Darcy grinned. "No, but I hope today is the first day of many we're friendly?"
I turned in Darcy's arm and raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you suggesting an indefinite truce between us?"
"Would that be so terrible?" Darcy asked.
I thought about it and could only come up with one answer.
I smiled. "No."
"Then yes." Darcy beamed. "That is what I'm suggesting."