Page 47 of Trust In Me

The next couple of weeks pass by painfully slowly. Each day seems to get more awkward between Mia and myself. The first week I just went about my business, hoping she’d regret her decision, and eventually we could get back together. But it didn’t happen. In fact, Mia seems to go out of her way to avoid being in the same room as me alone. I don’t blame her either. The sexual chemistry between us hasn’t got any easier. Every time she is close, I want to hold her, touch her, kiss her, and the silence just crackles. I have a perpetual hard-on whenever I’m near her, yet she just moves away and pretends she doesn't feel it, but I know she does. I can see the way her cheeks blush, and she bites her lip. Or the way she squirms on the sofa when I sit just that little bit too close.

I know I shouldn’t wind her up, or try to make things awkward between us, but I can’t just admit it’s over. I have to fight, and if that means flirting with her continuously, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

To say that Bree and Liam are pissed about the scenario is a massive understatement, and the following morning, I got one hell of a lecture from Liam. This is the exact reason he gave for us not being together in the first place. But, after he got through chewing me up and spitting me back out, he finally let me tell him exactly what happened. Both Liam and Bree were as stunned as I was by Mia’s change. I never asked them to take sides, but it was impossible for them not to be pulled into the middle of our mess.

It’s not like we argue, in fact, our voices have never been raised. Instead, it’s mostly Mia trying to ignore me, or getting snappy at me when I hit on her. I allow my cocky, sarcastic tone to dictate most of our conversations, which obviously pisses Mia off. Then Bree and Liam end up in the middle, acting as go-betweens for us. It’s really fucking childish, but I feel like I have to do something. I can’t just pretend that my feelings for her have just gone away. She might be able to turn hers off, but I can’t.

This mess has been going on for around two weeks when Bree and Mia fall out. Bree won’t tell us exactly what happened, they were at an appointment for the upcoming wedding, but when they came home, they weren’t talking to each other. All I know is that Bree got pissed over Mia not confiding in her, and it spiralled from there.

Liam and I gave them some time to cool down because both girls can be hot-headed and stubborn, but after a week we decided to step in. The wedding is just a week away, and we can’t have the bride and the maid of honour fighting.

Liam sits both girls down on the sofa, and I sit on the chair with Hallie, keen to watch his intervention. “Okay, this crap has gone on long enough. You’re both going to go out for a meal tonight, and when you come back, you are going to be best friends again. Bree, if Mia doesn’t want to open up to you about something, you have to honour her wishes and just trust in your friendship. And, Mia, you need to seriously think about who you can trust in this world. If you keep alienating the people who love you the most, you will end up alone. I’m not telling you to confide in Bree about whatever has caused this argument, but what I’m saying is that you have to put your pride aside and realise that part of being in a friendship or in a relationship means trusting the other person. Knowing that they have your best interests at heart, nothing else. We are getting married next week, and the girls will be here soon to plan the hen party. By the time they get here, I want all the animosity that’s suffocating this house to be gone. Understood?”

Both girls look at each other before returning their gaze to Liam, and neither looks like they want to be the first to reply. Liam pierces Bree with his gaze and I watch her roll her eyes before responding. “You better be paying,” Bree grumbles at Liam, which gets a laugh from Mia.

Her laugh is faint and short, but it’s the most animated we’ve seen her in the last couple of weeks. She could only be described as acting like a robot recently, so that laugh is like music to my ears. I may not be able to fix what’s happening between Mia and myself, but I don’t want her to fall out with Bree over this. They’ve been friends for too long to let that come between them.

Thankfully, when they both come back from dinner that night, they’re laughing and joking like their falling out never happened. Seeing how Mia’s face is lit up, her cheeks flushed, my heart begins to race. Seeing her happy and carefree, like she used to be before that night, it's a bittersweet moment for me. I don’t want her to ever think I have changed my mind, I think I will always believe we are supposed to be together, but I don’t want her to be miserable. It’s like a lightbulb moment for me when I realise that my persistence is making her feel like crap. New plan. If I remind her of our friendship and dial back the flirting, maybe it’ll give her the time she needs.

* * *

“I’m so excited,” shouts Ryleigh as she comes running down the stairs, wearing a skirt that is far too short for an eighteen-year-old girl.

Ryleigh, Freya, and Shane all arrived a couple of days ago. The decision was made to combine the hen and stag nights and to just have one big night out for all of us. Initially there were a few grumbles, particularly from Ryleigh, who I think had planned a crazy blowout for Bree, but eventually she came around.

Evan is the only one that’s unable to attend, apparently Desmond sent him on a mission, but he’ll be here for the wedding. The decision to combine the party only happened when I found a babysitter. Thankfully, Annette offered to come over and look after Hallie for me.

Annette and I stayed in touch, talking almost every week after I left Ireland. She regularly talks to Hallie over video chat, and she’s been over to stay with us on a couple of occasions. It sounds so strange that an older woman is one of my best friends, but she’s like the mother I don’t have. She cares for me, and she absolutely adores Hallie. So, when she offers to fly over from Ireland to look after Hallie, I pay for her to get on a flight straight away.

The house feels like a fucking hotel right now. It’s a big house, and when it’s just us, it feels just right. But now that Freya, Ryleigh, Shane, Finn, and Annette are staying with us, it feels very crowded. There are still a couple of spare bedrooms, and I know there’s talk that Kian will move in with us, but at this moment, I’m so fucking glad the stubborn bastard is refusing. Bree wants him to move in because he keeps getting threats sent to his flat, and she takes all of our safety very fucking seriously. But Kian’s very determined, saying this isn’t related to his work with Bree. He thinks he’s pissed off someone in the underground fight scene, and that he can deal with it himself. If I know Bree, he will be moved in before the wedding is over. She tends to get exactly what she wants.

“Keep your voice down, Ryleigh. You will wake up Hallie,” snaps Liam, and I can’t help but laugh. I think it’s my job to say that, but Liam is on edge with Ryleigh at the moment. They’ve been arguing on and off since she got here. Ry is at that age where rebellion is her middle name, and everything she does seems to wind up Liam. I caught him yesterday putting the fear of God into Shane as he gave him the big brother warning. Shane swore blind that he isn’t dating Ryleigh, and Liam made it very clear that this lecture applies for any time in the future too.

“I saw Annette take her up into Kellan’s room. Stop being a party pooper, this is a celebration,” she shouts, before turning in the direction of the staircase. “Bree, get your cute butt down here.”

I shake my head, but I can’t deny that Ryleigh’s excitement is contagious. She has been helping the girls to get ready. Freya looks different to how she normally does, dressed in a tight, short purple dress. Ry has managed to highlight her natural beauty and make it stand out even more, and I don’t miss the way Kian practically drools on the floor when Freya walks into the room.

The men are all gathered, dressed similarly in smart jeans and shirts or t-shirts. Ry did try to tell us how we needed to dress, but we shot that down very quickly. The girls, on the other hand, didn’t escape her.

“Frey, don’t forget your sash,” Ry shouts, as she runs over to Freya and places a sash over her shoulder that reads ‘Bride Squad’. Freya has a look of terror on her face, but doesn’t resist. Or at least she doesn’t until Ryleigh pulls out a headband with two bobbles on it that are in the shape of cocks.

“No! Not a chance, Ry. You can fuck right off,” Freya shouts, as she backs away from Ryleigh until her back is pressed against the wall.

Ryleigh starts to moan, but it’s Kian who is standing beside Freya that speaks. “Come on, Freya. You would look cute with two cocks on your head.”

Freya turns to face him, and despite his cocky smile that seems to win everyone over, it clearly doesn’t work on Freya. She glares, and I don’t envy him right now. Freya is one of the sweetest people you’ll ever meet, but if you cross her, she will cut you down. She’s a Doughty, after all. “I think you should wear the headband. You are the biggest dickhead in the room, so it will suit you.”

Laughter rings out as Freya hands the headband over to Kian. He takes it from her and places it on his head. “I can make anything look good, babe,” he retorts with a very obvious wink. Liam’s groan echoes around the room and I can’t help but laugh.

Kian and Freya continue to banter, while Liam threatens Kian every time it’s obvious that he’s flirting with Frey. While that’s happening, my attention is pulled towards the stairs. There’s no noise or indication that someone is making their way down the stairs, but somehow I just know. It’s like there’s a magnetic force field that pulls me towards her whenever she is near.

As Mia begins descending the stairs, she is looking around almost timidly, like she is anxious about walking into this crowd of people. As soon as her full silhouette comes into view, I can tell why Mia’s nervous. She looks like a fucking supermodel. Her shoulder-length brunette hair is curled and pinned back away from her face, which helps to emphasise her beautiful face. She is wearing dark, smoky eye make-up that makes her eyes pop. But it’s the luscious red on her lips that is really driving me crazy. All I can think about is the way those red lips would look perfect around my cock.

Fuck, I really need to get her out of my head. She has made it abundantly clear over the last few weeks that friendship is all she has to offer, and I really am trying to get on board with that. But then she comes in here wearing this short, light blue silky dress that falls to just below her knee. The silky material clings to her curves, showing off what a fucking amazing figure she has, and as she puts her left foot down onto the next step, it’s hard not to miss the slit she has up that side, stopping around mid-thigh.

She isn’t exactly showing off a lot of skin, even the straps and the scoop neck at the top doesn’t show off a load of cleavage, yet she still looks stunning. My heart races, and I take a moment just to appreciate her beauty while nobody else is even aware she’s entered the room. Sadly, the pull we seem to have for each other goes both ways, and her eyes instantly connect with mine. I don’t avert my gaze and neither does she. I watch as she takes a few seconds to take in my appearance, dragging her gaze over my body. I try to hide my smile when I see her bite her lip, Mia’s classic sign that she likes what she sees.

I obviously didn’t do a very good job of hiding my cocky smile, and as soon as she realises I’ve caught her checking me out, she tries to look away. It doesn’t take long for Ryleigh to notice Mia’s in the room, and everyone turns their attention to her, telling her how stunning she looks, which is a fucking understatement. She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen, and I suspect wherever we go tonight, she’ll be the most beautiful girl in the room.

---