by Amy Davies
“Hey, Man-whore. You had better be treating my Welsh Cake right or I will cut off your balls and feed them to Cane.” She breathes heavy after her rant.
“Umm Juicy, it’s Leah. I just wanted to check on you. Do you need anything?” Reeve is watching me; I know he worries about Lucy. She still has six weeks left before the baby arrives.
“Oh, Leah I am bored fucking shitless. Rafe is running around like a headless chicken, waiting on me hand and foot. He is taking such good care of me.” She sighs through the phone.
“Ok, so what’s the problem? I would love a sexy as sin, rock star waiting on me. Doing everything for me, even…” Reeve cuts me off, making me laugh.
“Hey, what am I chopped liver? You have your own sexy as sin rock star, baby. I can do allllll kinds of things to you.” He winks and leans in, planting a kiss to my lips.
“Do you hear that, Juicy, you are my witness; he is saying that I have him?” I look at Reeve and smirk at him, “You can’t back down now, boyo.” I wink at him. Our food arrives and I say so long to Lucy.
We eat in a comfortable silence. I see a few girls about our age checking Reeve out. I have no doubt that one or more have already had him. I take a drink of my orange juice when one of the girls comes over.
“Hey, Reeve. Not seen you in a while, baby. Where have you been?” She smirks at me while running a finger over the swell of her to-big-fake-arse-boobs.
“Yeah, I have been busy. And don’t call me baby. I am her,” he points to me, “baby.” I smirk back.
“Well, you let me call you ‘baby’ when you and Skeet fucked me hard behind Max Point a few weeks ago.” I can’t stop my body from tensing; I know that Reeve can feel it.
“Well, it won’t be happening again, so just go away, you are ruining our breakfast,” I say to the skank.
“What fucking language do you speak? You are in America sweetie, speak fucking English,” she snipes at me.
“I am Welsh, sweetie. I speak English but I am bilingual so I speak Welsh, plus I speak Bitch, so back the fuck off and leave.” Reeve sniggers beside me. And I stare the bitch down. I flick my hand in the direction of the table where her friends are sitting, gesturing “B-Bye” and Reeve bursts out laughing when the skank, actually stomps her foot and turns and walks away. What is she like, five?
I feel Reeve’s hand on my bare thigh and he slides it up closer to my knickers, which are getting wetter by the inch.
“Holy shit, Lipsy, that was the sexiest thing I have ever seen. We need to hurry up and finish; we need to get back to my place. I need to bury myself deep inside you again, baby.”
And there go my knickers, up in smoke.
We finish our breakfast and start the walk back to Skeet’s apartment to pick Reeve’s car up after Beck dropped it off last night. My phone beeps, alerting me of a reminder. I pull my phone out of my bag, seeing the reminder. “Bollocks,” I say, flicking through my phone.
“What is it, Lipsy?”
“I set a reminder for me to Skype with my family back home today; my family wants to check on me. They were worried after everything that happened with Marc. Can I borrow your laptop when we get back to the apartment, please?”
“Of course you can, baby. Can I meet the Adams family…? Oh my God, did I just say that? Holy shit Lipsy, I am so sorry. But you have to admit that is some funny shit.” He holds his stomach and bends over laughing. Bastard. I slap his shoulder and he straightens up, wipes the tears away and calms his breathing.
“Baby, I am so fucking sorry.” He takes a deep breath. “Ok, I’m good.”
“Knobhead. Come on, we have to sign on in one hour.” We reach Skeet’s apartment and jump in Reeve’s car. The drive back to his apartment was filled with singing along with the radio. Arriving at the Phoenix apartment, we walk in on Gunner and Maisey kissing on the couch. Gunner was shirtless but wearing grey pajama trousers, Maisey was wearing a t-shirt that looks too big for her.
“Take it to the bedroom, people. We are back,” Reeve says from behind me. Maisey jumps but doesn’t leave Gunner’s lap, not that I blame her.
“Dude, you scared the shit of us. Fucknut. Hey, Leah.”
“Hi Gunner, hey Maisey. We are just going to have a Skype chat with my family. So we had to come back here early, sorry to interrupt.”
“Yep, I am going to meet Leah’s family. Well, as close as I am going to get to meeting them anyway.” Why do his words sting a little? Does he not want to meet my family face to face or does he think that we won’t last so he won’t need to meet my family face to face?
Gunner gives me a knowing look but I shake my head and he nods very faintly. Reeve and Maisey barely notice. He stands still holding Maisey tight to his body. “Well ok then, we will take this to the bedroom; we will try to keep the noise down. But you know how much I love to make my girl scream my name.” He winks at me.
I walk into the kitchen and get myself a drink and Reeve goes to his room to fetch his laptop. Taking two bottles of water into the living room and placing them on the coffee table, Reeve walks in with his laptop. He sets it on the table and walks into the kitchen, not looking at me or speaking to me. What the hell has happened in the space of like four minutes? My stomach knots a little; does he not want to see my family now? He joins me on the couch while Skype is loading.
“Reeve, what’s wrong? Have I done something? If you don’t want to do this then you can go out or do whatever.” I know I sound like a bitch but he is making me feel like one.
“What was the nod Gunner gave you?” Shit, he did see it.
“He saw my face when you said that Skyping with my family would be the only way you will meet them, which tells me that you have no intention of ever meeting my parents face to face. Meaning you won't be coming back to Wales with me at all, so basically this … us,” I flick my hand between us, “is going nowhere.” I click on my brother’s name and listen while the weird beeping noise connects us. Reeve is still sitting there looking at me, but I refuse to look at him. I am unsure of what the hell will happen between us now. The screen flickers and my brother Ryan’s face pops up.
“Hiya, Leah. Hey Jade, it’s working. Leah is on the screen. Sorry chick, Jade has been trying to get the kids calm before we connected with you. So how is LA, better weather there here, right?” I return my big brother’s smile.
“I’m alright. Weather is awesome, Ry. Bloody hot but I am getting used to it. How are Mam and Dad, Jade and the kids?”
“They are fab. Peyton joined dance classes. Owen started playing rugby and Daniel is just Daniel. Oh hey, here is Jade. Mam and Dad will be here in like ten minutes.” My brother moves over a little so his wife, Jade, can sit next to the laptop.
“Wow, Leah, you look tanned, girly. So I take it you are enjoying the sun then? Don’t blame you; it’s pissing down here again.” I see Reeve move out of the corner of my eye and I try not to watch him, but I fail epically. He scoots closer to the coffee table and picks up a bottle of water. I watch him open it and take a long drink. Why is watching him swallow so erotic?
“Leah, who the hell is in the room with you? We lost you for a bit there.” Bollocks. Reeve scoots down on the couch so that he is right next to me, in full view of the webcam. My sister-in-law’s eyes almost pop out of her head. I can feel the heat creep up my cheeks; great, now I freaking blush.
“Hi, Ryan, Hi Jade. I am Reeve Phoenix and I am Lipsy’s boyfriend. It’s nice to meet you, well as much of a meeting as this is.” All three of them laugh but I don’t.
“Wow, you don’t waste time, good for you. That knob Marc isn’t worth your time or tears. He is moving in with some new girl now. Nicola got a job and moved away some fucking where. This new girl works at the casino in Swansea.” Jade shrugs her shoulders, she never liked Marc. I hear a commotion through the screen, the kids shouting, saying that Gramps and Nana have arrived. My heart skips a beat and my muscles tighten. Reeve pulls me to him and he kisses the side of my head.
“Bab
y, it will be fine.”
“Will it? Because from your attitude, you don’t want to do this.”
“Yes, Leah I wanted to. I was annoyed that yet again, you couldn’t tell me what you were thinking.” We both are speaking in hushed tones so that Ryan and Jade won’t hear, but they aren’t paying us any attention anyway.
“Hey, Sweetie. Oh hello, handsome. And who might you be?” Fuck.
“Hi, Mrs. Adams, my name is Reeve and I am Leah’s boyfriend.” He pulls me tighter to him.
“Leah, why didn’t you tell us that you had a new lad in your life? A simple email would have been enough.” Great, now Dad speaks up.
“Sorry, Dad. Things have been busy here. Doing the tourist thing and then Lucy was taken into the hospital, but don’t panic her and the baby are fine. Rafe is taking very good care of them; in fact Reeve is Rafe’s brother. Reeve is one of the Phoenix triplets. I should have emailed, sorry.”
“Ok, well as long as you and Lucy and the baby are ok. So young man, you had better be treating my baby girl well. Because remember, I am just a flight away. I will come there and beat your arse down.”
“Bloody hell, Daddy. Reeve is treating me right, and stop treating me like a child; I’m twenty-one for Christ’s sakes. Now, how are you guys doing?”
We talk for another hour, Reeve taking over most of the conversation between the men in my life; even Peyton fought for his attention. I guess women of all ages fall at his feet. After saying a teary goodbye to my family, we take Reeve’s car and drive to Mama Phoenix’s house. I know that they need to discuss the details of the charity car wash that is tomorrow; it’s been the main topic of conversation.
We walk into Hayley’s house; well, I say house but it’s a freaking mansion. It’s huge. Music is playing and you can hear the chatter all the way from the front door. Reeve still hasn’t let my hand go, so I look up at him and he smiles at me.
“Your family rocks by the way, pretty fucking cool.” He lifts my hand to his mouth and places a soft kiss on the back of it. He leads me into the large dining room, where everyone is sitting around a large table. Reeve lets my hand go just as we enter the room and I miss the heat from his hand instantly. He walks straight to his Mam and hugs and kisses her head. He goes around the table greeting everyone, while I just stand here like a freaking sad arse. Why do I feel like an outsider right now? Demi sees me and runs over to me.
“Auntie Leah, I so happy you are here. I can show you my new swimsuit for the car wash tomorrow.” With her words, everyone stops and looks at me. Even Reeve straightens up; the frown on his face showing that he forgot I was even here. Why has this day gone from bad to worse? Maybe this just wasn’t meant to happen between us; my heart sinks a little and tiny prickles run all over my skin as I fight back the tears. Demi tugs on my hand and leads me to the spot at the table where Letty and Ryder are sitting. Ryder slaps Reeve on the back of his head, hard I imagine, as Reeve is rubbing the back of his head.
“What the hell, bro? Why did you slap me?” He asks Ryder.
“Because dumbass, you left your girl standing in the doorway. Here Leah, you can sit in my seat.” I sit between Letty and Demi. Ryder mutters ‘asshole’ under his breath and Reeve just stares at me, like I have done something wrong. I think we are both to blame for this act.
“Why did you just stand there, Leah?” Wow, Leah.
“I don’t know, I kind of felt like I was intruding on family time,” I say, dropping my eyes to my hands in my lap. My stomach knots and I feel sick. I turn to Mama Phoenix, “Can I use the bathroom please?”
“Of course, Leah, honey you don’t have to ask. Let me show you where it is.”
“No, I will take her.”
“Reeve, I think it’s best if I take her, now stay here.” I can feel the burn starting in my nose, why the hell am I feeling like this? This is bloody stupid. I follow Hayley out of the room and leave all the curious eyes boring into the back of my head.
“In here, Leah. Honey, are you ok? You seem out of sorts.” I shake my head as a tear escapes down my cheek. Bugger. “Oh Leah, come on, follow me.” I follow her up the stairs and into a big, huge arse master bedroom. “Use the bathroom there and I will be here waiting.” I nod and walk in. I take a deep breath and look at myself in the mirror; why in God’s name does he even want me? Plain old, overly emotional Leah Adams. Taking a deep breath, I walk out and meet Hayley sitting on a couch in her room.
“Come sit.” She pats the seat next to her. “Tell me what is happening with you and my son.”
“Before I came here I had just broken up with my boyfriend; he basically told me I wasn’t enough, but he wasn’t the only bloke to say that. The two boyfriends before him said the same, pretty much. A few things happened today with Reeve and they made me feel like he thinks I am not good enough for him too. My head is going mental with all these thoughts and feelings running around in it.” I lean my elbow on my knees and bury my head in my hands and I cry for not feeling good enough and for possibly never finding someone who thinks I am. Hayley rubs my back, comforting me.
“Leah, honey, believe me when I tell you that Reeve likes you for who you are. He knows you are good enough for him, if not too good. Reeve has always had a thing about failing, even when he was really young. He had to beat Rafe and Ryder at everything. I think that maybe the fact that those two boys have settled down may have a factor in his feelings, like he failed to settle down first. Think about that. But you hear me; you are good enough to belong in this family, ok?” I smile and nod through the tears. “Good, now let’s go sort this car wash out, I want it bigger than last year.” She smiles and we make our way back downstairs.
My steps falter when I see Reeve standing at the bottom of the stairs with a frown on his beautiful face.
“Go easy on her, Reeve. I like her.” Hayley joins the others in the big room.
“Can we not talk about this now, please?” I can tell he isn’t happy but he agrees and walks off. Well bloody hell.
Chapter 14
Reeve
We talked for what seemed like hours, planning the charity car wash. Leah sits next to me with Demi on her lap but she might as well have been over on the other side of the room. She barely looked at me, and when we did make eye contact, she would quickly look away. Fucking hell, why do I get the feeling that she is pulling away.
“Ok, this year need to be bigger and better than last year. Brax and Nix have booked a live band and a DJ to keep the music going. Nana Ruby will be handling the food tents. We will have two ports set up like we did last year. Get them through quicker. Anything you want to add?”
“I am going to wash soooooo many more cars than all you cootie carrying boys,” Miss Demi speaks up. She is standing on Leah’s thighs, hands on the table, as she leans over, looking at all the men in the room.
“Is that right, Princess? So you think that girls are better than boys then, do you?” asks Beck.
“Yeppers and you know I am right, so there.” She pokes her tongue out him. We all burst out laughing.
“Ok, what do you say boys? Boys versus girls. Who washes the most cars?” We all nod and smirk at each other. Leah speaks up.
“Challenge accepted lads.” She hasn’t said much since her talk with my mom.
“Oh, you think you can beat us, Lipsy?” I lean in and kiss her neck; when she shivers it pleases the fuck out of me.
“Yeppers, baby. We girls will wipe the floor with you lads. What do you say girls?” They all agree with my girl.
“Well, I will do as much as I can but with this,” Juicy points to her huge baby belly, “I can’t do much.” She fake pouts and yawns.
“And that’s our cue to leave, Snowflake needs to rest. Come on baby, let’s get you home and in bed.” Rafe helps Juicy up from the table and they say their goodbyes.
“You ready to go? Are you coming back to mine or am I talking you to your home?” I am not assuming anything with her at the moment; things are a little unbalance
d with us right now. She looks down at her hands, debating what to do. I fucking hate this feeling, so I make the decision for her. “Tell you what, I will drop you off at Rafe and Juicy’s apartment. I need check in on a few things for tomorrow.” I walk over to Mom and see her scowling at me but I ignore the look. “Cya tomorrow, Mom.” I turn at walk to my car, not really caring if Leah is behind me. Damn, who the hell am I kidding, of course I fucking care. I stop and turn back to get her and she is hot on my heels. She walks to my car and waits for me to unlock it. She has her arms wrapped tightly around her slim waist and she won’t look at me again. Fucking shit. I unlock the car and she climbs in. I slide into the driver’s seat. Taking a deep breath I start the car Leah is staring out the window so she doesn’t have to look at me.
Katy Perry’s ‘Unconditionally’ is on the radio as we sit here, listening in silence. I take in every damn word that is sung as I drive and I know that Lipsy feels the words because a barely there sob escapes her beautiful mouth. I let the words wash over me and they make my heart race; could I actually be falling in love with Leah? Fuck. I pull up outside Rafe and Juicy’s apartment and turn the engine off but neither of us makes a move to exit the car.
“Lipsy, look at me. I know that I have hurt you today but you won’t talk to me so I don’t know how you are feeling. I have been getting death glares off my Mom all day because you confided in her and not me. I thought I was your boyfriend, shouldn’t you come to me if I hurt your feelings?” I wait for her to answer. It feels like hours before she speaks up.
“You hurt me a few times today, and it got me thinking, and those thoughts got my mind working overdrive about me … us. I told your Mam everything and she helped settle a few things.”