Page 73 of The Fool

As expected, but I need to ask you something. X

I’m being evasive. I’m feeling a little embarrassed about asking him to a wedding so early on in our undefined relationship. But I really need an ally at this wedding and seeing as I fought my cause to have him there, it would be beyond humiliating for him not to come. If I’m being honest, Ineedhim to come with me.

Fire away, Miss Summers. Xxx

I reply almost instantly,

No. Can I see you? X

I cringe over how needy I sound, but time is not on my side, so I can’t beat around the bush.

You just stole my next question. I can be at yours in twenty minutes. Xxx

Perfect, but Ben is here so try not to kill each other. X

No worries. Xxx

Feeling equal parts relieved and anxious over seeing him, I slam my body back down onto the bed and release a heavy sigh.

“Bea, you have ten minutes to go and make yourself look halfway reasonable before Nate arrives, who will probably be looking as gorgeous as hell. You then get to ask him to come to a wedding that you would rather stick pins in your eyes than attend, thus looking like a needy, bunny-boiling, baby of a woman,” I say out loud to myself.

“Will you stop it?” My brother’s voice comes out of nowhere, causing me to jump with a small yelp. “Why do you always sell yourself short?”

“Habit,” I reply with a sad shrug. He rolls his eyes and shakes his head before wandering back into the living room. “Where’s Leah? Thought I’d hear you humping each other this morning, but it’s discernably quiet.”

“Er…yeah, we’re on a break,” he says casually like it’s no big deal. I don’t react quite so dignified to this news, instead I run into to the living room with my hair still in a sweaty mess and my robe only half tied up around me.

“What?!” I cry. “What do you mean,on a break? Why?!”

“Bea, relax, it’s just a short break from one another, to reset things,” he says with his mouth half full of cereal. “We’ve been arguing a lot, so she suggested we take some time to reevaluate things. It doesn’t mean we’re broken up, just means we’re having a little freedom to be ourselves.”

“Ben, I’ve not dated for years but I’m pretty sure that is not what she meant when she suggested a break!” I yell. “It means she wants you to get your shit together and move forward with her. Jesus, Ben, you cannot be that stupid.”

“God, you sound just like her,” he groans at the same time as switching on the TV to try and drown out my logical arguing.

“If Nate wasn’t going to be here in…” I pause to check my watch because I know I’ve just wasted at least ten minutes arguing with the idiot in front of me. “Shit! Five minutes. This isn’t over, Ben!”

“Cool,” he replies without a care in the world.

Trying not to lose my temper with him and his nonchalance, I rush back to my bedroom to get washed and dressed so I can make myself look at least halfway presentable. As I’m tying my wet hair into a French braid, I hear the buzzer. Ben doesn’t bother to talk to the person on the other end, just buzzes them access from the outside door. I frown at myself in the mirror, questioning Ben’s sudden change in mood, as well as his laid-back stance over his relationship problems with Leah. I knew they were having problems, it was obvious, but I thought they’d be ok; it’s Ben and Leah!

It’s not long before I hear Ben opening the door to let Nate in. They mumble an uncomfortable greeting to one another, then shuffle over to the couch where I can hear a sports game playing out through the TV speakers. I try to rush to get dressed but my room is currently in a state of having my entire wardrobe on the floor, so it’s not going as quickly as I’d hoped. As for Ben and Nate, I figure they’ll either, a) kill each other, b) ignore each other or c) maybe talk to one another. Anything but option a) would be fine with me.

“Hey, there’s my girl,” Nate says with a beaming smile, “c’mere.”

He leaps up from the couch and crosses the distance to grab hold and hug me in a handsy cuddle before kissing me slowly on the lips. At first, I lose myself in his kiss, but I’m soon snapped out of my lust-filled haze when I hear Ben bumbling around in the kitchen. It’s nothing he hasn’t done with Leah in front of me, but he’s never seenmewith a guy before. Even with Dean, I was always reserved if we were around other people.

“Hey, you ok?” Nate asks when I pull away from his arms.

“Er, well, I need to ask you something,” I begin, trying to ignore Ben snorting out a laugh in the background. I glare at him before pulling Nate over to the couch so I can ask him to be my date properly.

“Ok, sounds ominous,” he says, “anything for you though, so shoot.”

“Ok.” I take a moment to let out a long, slow breath of anxiety before I find the right words. “I need you to marry me before next weekend,” I tell him with a serious expression. I wink at Ben over Nate’s shoulder, to which he smirks and mouths ‘wicked’ back to me. I then return my attention to Nate who has suddenly lost some of his Californian boy tan. He’s staring back at me with his mouth hanging wide open and with a thoroughly shocked look in his eyes.

“Yeah, I’ve decided no sex before marriage, so the quicker the better, right?” I add, still looking deadly serious.

“Yeah, trouble is, Bea,” he finally says, taking hold of my hand in a dramatic fashion, “I’m kinda already married.”

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