dips his head back down to kiss me again, pulling me in closer to him, I can feel how much he does. I push all other thoughts away and keep myself grounded in this feeling here and now. His kisses come harder and eager this time, and as my body responds to his hands roaming, my hands do their own searching and end up in his hair.
“What’s a guy got to do to get a drink round here?”
The deep breezy voice sends a chill straight down my spine; my muscles tense and my body locks in place . James. No, no, no.
Ryan
He must have the worst fucking timing in the world.
“Dude, can’t you do that somewhere else, like at home? I’m thirsty.” He asks, chuckling away to himself. I’m not laughing with him; Laurel’s already stiffened in my arms so I step to the side, keeping one arm around her waist, but it puts her in full view of him. He clearly didn’t notice who was with me because I see the realisation crash into him and he looks like he wants to murder me. I always wondered what was going on between them, and perhaps I should have asked but Laurel doesn’t do anything she doesn’t want to do, so when she kisses me, I know she wants to.
“James.” She acknowledges him, and reaches up to kiss me on the cheek. “I better go. See you upstairs.” She walks off quickly and their eyes meet as he has to turn in the corridor to let her past, “Laurel.”
His voice is tense and aggravated which reminds of the day she came to see me at the site and he flipped. I thought he just didn’t like her, but maybe all the attitude is because he actually does.
“So, you and Laurel?” He bites out between clenched teeth. His eyes are dark and his jaw is set so tense he looks like he might snap.
I can’t get into this with him before I talk to Laurel and find out how she feels so I just shrug it off, “Yeah maybe, we’ll see.”
“How long?”
“What do you mean, how long?”
“How long has it been going on?”
He has no fucking right to be asking me this and it’s not just him frustrated now. “What you so rudely walked in on was the first time anything has happened. Look, I can see you’re cut up about it, are you two together or something?”
He shakes his head and I blow out a harsh breath because the last thing I want is to get involved in any relationship drama. “What are you so pissed off about then?”
He just stares at me and I get the impression he may not have realised how he actually feels until now.
“You like her.”
He frowns and starts to shake his head, but I cut in.
“This is one of those playground situations where you pull the girl’s hair and hurt her but secretly you have a little schoolboy crush. You like Laurel and you’re too much of an idiot to tell her how you feel. Well, let me tell you something: she deserves better. Someone who’s actually gonna be straight with her, someone she can rely on to be there for her. Not a guy who can’t even tell her how he feels. That treats her like crap. I’ve never been a fan of the ‘treat ‘em mean, keep ‘em keen’ philosophy; I’m much more of a tell it like it is kinda guy. Now, I’ve got a bar to run, and then a girl to talk to, so I’ll see you later.”
I leave him standing there, thinking about my words, still with a frown plastered on his face. Sometimes being a nice guy gets you nowhere and I have a feeling this is going to be one of those damn times. He’d be stupid not to tell her how he feels now.
I walk out and she’s already behind the bar serving customers. She’s laughing with one of my regulars as she takes his money and her smile is a megawatt, bring a man to his knees smile that lights up her face. She’s beautiful, and I can’t help just leaning against the wall watching her. She moves on to the next customer giving them the same treatment and as she turns to get another glass she catches me staring. She looks embarrassed and pushes a lock of hair behind her ear before smiling at me shyly.
“What’s a guy got to do to get a drink round here?”
The deep breezy voice sends a chill straight down my spine; my muscles tense and my body locks in place . James. No, no, no.
Ryan
He must have the worst fucking timing in the world.
“Dude, can’t you do that somewhere else, like at home? I’m thirsty.” He asks, chuckling away to himself. I’m not laughing with him; Laurel’s already stiffened in my arms so I step to the side, keeping one arm around her waist, but it puts her in full view of him. He clearly didn’t notice who was with me because I see the realisation crash into him and he looks like he wants to murder me. I always wondered what was going on between them, and perhaps I should have asked but Laurel doesn’t do anything she doesn’t want to do, so when she kisses me, I know she wants to.
“James.” She acknowledges him, and reaches up to kiss me on the cheek. “I better go. See you upstairs.” She walks off quickly and their eyes meet as he has to turn in the corridor to let her past, “Laurel.”
His voice is tense and aggravated which reminds of the day she came to see me at the site and he flipped. I thought he just didn’t like her, but maybe all the attitude is because he actually does.
“So, you and Laurel?” He bites out between clenched teeth. His eyes are dark and his jaw is set so tense he looks like he might snap.
I can’t get into this with him before I talk to Laurel and find out how she feels so I just shrug it off, “Yeah maybe, we’ll see.”
“How long?”
“What do you mean, how long?”
“How long has it been going on?”
He has no fucking right to be asking me this and it’s not just him frustrated now. “What you so rudely walked in on was the first time anything has happened. Look, I can see you’re cut up about it, are you two together or something?”
He shakes his head and I blow out a harsh breath because the last thing I want is to get involved in any relationship drama. “What are you so pissed off about then?”
He just stares at me and I get the impression he may not have realised how he actually feels until now.
“You like her.”
He frowns and starts to shake his head, but I cut in.
“This is one of those playground situations where you pull the girl’s hair and hurt her but secretly you have a little schoolboy crush. You like Laurel and you’re too much of an idiot to tell her how you feel. Well, let me tell you something: she deserves better. Someone who’s actually gonna be straight with her, someone she can rely on to be there for her. Not a guy who can’t even tell her how he feels. That treats her like crap. I’ve never been a fan of the ‘treat ‘em mean, keep ‘em keen’ philosophy; I’m much more of a tell it like it is kinda guy. Now, I’ve got a bar to run, and then a girl to talk to, so I’ll see you later.”
I leave him standing there, thinking about my words, still with a frown plastered on his face. Sometimes being a nice guy gets you nowhere and I have a feeling this is going to be one of those damn times. He’d be stupid not to tell her how he feels now.
I walk out and she’s already behind the bar serving customers. She’s laughing with one of my regulars as she takes his money and her smile is a megawatt, bring a man to his knees smile that lights up her face. She’s beautiful, and I can’t help just leaning against the wall watching her. She moves on to the next customer giving them the same treatment and as she turns to get another glass she catches me staring. She looks embarrassed and pushes a lock of hair behind her ear before smiling at me shyly.
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