Believe (Faith & Friendship Series)

by Jayne, S. L.

  “Matt?” I call out, closing the front door behind me.

  “I’m in the bathroom, Princess.”

  Speed walking down the hall, I walk in to the bathroom, not wanting to wait another minute to see him. He’s standing in front of the mirror with only a towel wrapped around his waist, I catch a glimpse of the small drops of water falling over his back muscles, my brain instantly latches on to thoughts of him in the shower. Why didn’t I get home ten minutes earlier?

  Hearing Matt’s smooth, deep voice draws me from my lust fuelled thoughts. “I haven’t seen you for at least two hours. Get your ass over here and kiss me,” he said, turning to give me a dazzling smile.

  I love how he misses me so much. I stalk over to where he’s standing, snaking my arms around his waist, I look up at him as he brings his arms around me. He’s so much taller than me and his arms are huge, but I never feel intimidated by his size, I’ve always felt safe with him.

  “I missed you too, babe. Why did you come back to my apartment to shower?” I asked, remembering that he had left with me earlier.

  “I stopped by the gym on my way back from…”

  He didn’t finish his sentence, he kissed me instead. His soft lips met mine and I sigh as his tongue traces my bottom lip, requesting access to my mouth.

  “I didn’t have time to go home before getting back here to see you,” he whispered, breaking the kiss.

  “I’m glad you came, I got to walk in on you dripping wet and looking as sexy as sin,” I smirked.

  Grabbing my waist and lifting me up, he places me on the sink. He kisses me with more ferocity this time, I wrap my legs around him as his hand finds my hair, grabbing fistfuls of my wavy locks as he deepens our kiss, it should hurt with how tight his grip is, but it feels good. The pleasure from just his kiss, mixed with the pain from the pull on my hair is a perfect balance.

  My hands roam over his damp back muscles, as I lose myself in our kiss as we pull and grab each other to bring us closer together, almost trying to get inside one another. With us, skin to skin isn’t close enough; the tighter the embrace, the better.

  A loud knock on the front door, startles us. “Ignore it, baby,” he growled into my mouth.

  I nod my head to answer him, not wanting to break the kiss. Another knock comes, louder this time.

  “Fuck! Who the hell is it?”

  “I don’t know, but it better be good,” I said, breathlessly.

  “You’ll have to go answer that… I can’t go out there with this.” He gestured to the towel, showing me that the effect of our make out session is recognizable.

  Chuckling as I jump down from the sink, I reach up and kiss him before leaving the bathroom and heading to see who is hammering down the front door.

  “Ryan! What are you doing here?” I ask, after opening the door. I’m shocked to see him here knowing Ava is at work.

  “Hey, Rylee, are you alone? I need to talk to you,” he asked, awkwardly.

  “Um, no, Matt is here. You can still talk to me, though… come in,” I said, opening the door wider.

  “Thanks.”

  Closing the door behind him, I call out to Matt to let him know it was Ryan at the door. We walk through to the kitchen; he leans on the counter and faces me, he looks nervous.

  “Coffee?” I offer.

  “Please.”

  The awkward silence is too much; you could cut the atmosphere in this room with a knife.

  “So, what’s up?” I ask.

  “Well, I wanted to talk to you about Ava; you’re her best friend so I figured it’s only right that I come to you.”

  My heart sinks in my chest, I eye him suspiciously.

  “What’s wrong with Ava?” I instantly think the worse.

  “No! Nothing is wrong with her, Rylee… I, um…” he paused for moment. “Do you think she wants to spend forever with me?”

  “Where has this come from, Ryan, of course she does! She loves you, you’re her life, you kind of always have been. What’s going on?”

  “I know I sound like a fucking girl right now, I just want to make sure it’s going to work,” he said, letting out a breath.

  Staring at him clueless, I hold my hands out, waiting for him to give me a clue.

  “Make sure what will work? Come on, Ryan, you’re killing me here,” I laughed.

  “I want to propose to her… but I was hoping you’d be able to help, you know? Tell me I’m not going to be embarrassed in front of hundreds of people,” he said, smiling shyly.

  I let out a huge sigh of relief, it’s times like this that I hate my negative side, always thinking things are wrong really sucks. Now I know it’s good news, I squeal at him. I can’t believe he’s going to propose to her!

  Running over to him, I wrap my arms around his neck. “That’s great, Ryan! I can’t wait, oh my God, this is awesome. She’s going to be floored, I’ll help in any way I can,” I said, excitedly.

  Hugging me back, he chuckled at my reaction. “Thanks, Rylee, I knew I could count on you. Can you make sure she stays clueless, too? I don’t want her suspecting anything,” he said, letting me out of his grip.

  I remember her mentioning about not being ready to move in with him, but that was because she was worried about leaving me. She deserves her fairy tale ending; we all have to learn to walk by ourselves one day, right?

  “Sure, no worries. I’ll throw her off if she mentions anything,” I smiled brightly at him.

  “What’s up, cockblock?” Matt asked, playfully punching Ryan on the arm as he walks in.

  I snickered to myself, watching the two of them play fight. They are both pretty big guys, but Matt is taller and broader than Ryan, which would make them both look quite scary in a dark alley- but not when they are like this. Knowing what I know about Matt’s friends, or lack thereof, it makes me happy that he has Ryan. Their bromance is strong; you can feel it when you’re around them.

  I jumped up and down, not caring if I look like a two year old in a candy factory. “Matt! Ryan is proposing to Ava! I’m so excited for them.”

  “That’s awesome news, Pretty Boy. I knew you wouldn’t last until July!” Matt laughed.

  “Wait, when are you doing it? In July?” I asked, looking confused.

  Ryan ran his hand through his hair, looking at Matt. “Thanks, Bear, you’re about a subtle as a gun. You know that, right?” He smirked.

  Guilt flashed across Matt’s face. “Sorry dude, I thought you’d have told her already.”

  “Told me what?” I said, interrupting their exchange.

  “I was planning on proposing in July, you know, on the same day you guys left… I wanted to make a new meaning for that day… to stop it being tainted,” he shrugged. “But I can’t wait that long, I’m going to do it at the masquerade ball,” he smiled.

  “That is so sweet, Ryan, it would have been perfect, but I understand that you don’t want to wait. This is amazing; you know she’s going to cry, don’t you?” I smiled, feeling the excitement bubble up inside of me.

  Smiling at me, he nodded his head. “I’m heading off now; I need to see Walker before Aimee is around him. I’m sorry for ruining your moment, and I appreciate you not telling me to fuck off. Thanks again, Rylee. Catch you later, guys.” Ryan gave us a quick wave and jogged to the door.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “I’ve been planning this event for almost a month, Ry, how can they have screwed up the table covers? I had a simple request, red satin, how hard is it to find red freaking satin in San Diego?!” Ava huffed, waving her arms around, frantically pacing the living room.

  Trying not to laugh at her, I bite down on my lip and shrug my shoulders. There are two weeks left until the masquerade ball and she is feeling the pressure of getting everything done in time. It’s been four weeks since Ryan told me he was going to propose to her, and luckily she hasn’t suspected anything. Matt and I have worked together every time she wondered why Ryan was late or hadn’t called; we mainly used the Valentine
’s event at the bar as a decoy.

  “Calm your ass down, Ava, it’ll all work out. Have faith,” I smirked at her.

  “Okay, I’m breathing. Deep breaths. In. Out,” she said, taking breaths between each word.

  “Everything else is sorted. Which reminds me, I forgot to ask if Adam is coming to the ball, too?”

  Excitement lit up her face at the mention of Adam. “You mean Adam AND Meaghan? Yup, you guessed it, girlfriend… he’s actually going to bring the girl he likes! I can’t believe he finally has his sights set on one girl, but it’ll be great to meet her and see what kind of girl she is. I hope they stay for the ball, it will be fun to see Adam in a suit!”

  “Wow, I never thought we’d see the day that he focussed on one girl, she must have a platinum pussy!” I said, laughing hard.

  Ava’s laughter reverberated around the room; she’s bent over clutching her sides trying to catch her breath. “Rylee… that was too funny, I can’t believe you said pussy! Matt really has broken you, I’m so proud that you’ve moved on from ‘stuff’.”

  I shoot her a dirty look as I remember her giving me hell for referring to her precious parts as her stuff. “Very funny, bitch.”

  I’m not going into which words I’ve become accustomed to hearing come out of Matt’s mouth, specifically when we shared our first shower together, almost three weeks ago. That was something else, hearing him tell me what he’s going to do to me, yeah, that. I can feel my skin heating and my heart beat picking up its pace at the memory. I definitely won’t be saying no to him joining me again.

  “Anyway, back to my crisis at hand… are your mom and Max coming to the ball, too? Have you asked Connor if he wants to come, if he isn’t busy with Summer?” She smiled.

  Summer is Connors new girlfriend; apparently she is, in his words, “traffic stopping beautiful”. He told me last week that he wanted to ask her out, but didn’t know how to, so I told him to just be confident and be himself, and if she likes him she’ll go out with him. He called me the next day and told me that my advice had worked and he was taking her out. I couldn’t be happier at how well he has settled in here, it makes it a lot easier on my mom. Spending time with Liam, working through the anger he had repressed has been good for him; it has benefited him far more than the therapist he gave into and saw twice.

  “I’ll ask him, but I think there is a Valentine’s dance at school that he is taking Summer to. My Mom and Max are coming; she told me she wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  “Great! The ball is going to be amazing, I just know it!” She clapped her hands and skipped off into the Kitchen.

  Matt and Ryan are out this evening, event planning, apparently. I say they are drinking this week’s stock of Jack Daniels in the bar, but as long as they are having some down time, that’s what counts. Matt and I have been spending most of our spare time together lately, so it’s only fair that Ryan gets his guyfriend back for a short while. Max and I have been talking some more, too, we went for dinner with mom and Connor two weeks ago and it was a great. We talked and laughed for the whole evening with no awkwardness or nerves.

  ***

  Waking up without Matt draped over me felt odd, we’ve been practically joined at the hip for weeks. But last night he had called me to tell me he wouldn’t be round after drinking with Ryan, he was too wasted.

  “Morning, sweetie,” Ava said as she stalked into the living room with a fresh coffee for both of us.

  Taking my mug from her, I smiled. “I was waiting for you to rise; do you feel like going out for pancakes before work this morning? We could go down the street and see Linda, she’ll wake us up quicker than any coffee,” I said, laughing.

  “Sure, I can’t wait to tell you about the Valentine’s evening!”

  “Let’s get dressed and get out of here.”

  Less than an hour later, we’re sitting in the same booth we have always sat at since we first came here. We haven’t visited for a while, but we had hoped Linda still worked here, and she does. She has already skipped over here and taken our order. She was her usual crazy self, wanting to know what we’ve been doing, who we’ve met and where we have visited. We told her a short version of our last few months and said that we hadn’t visited many places or done much sight-seeing. She told us she was happy to see us again and wished us both well before heading back to serve other people.

  “So, Liam and Walker are up for the ladies night. Adam and Josh are definitely coming, too, but Lewis has to see about getting time off of work. But all in all it’s going to be a great weekend!” Ava gushed.

  “I’m really looking forward to that weekend, why can’t it be tomorrow? It needs to hurry up already. Can we at least go dress shopping this weekend?” I asked, giving her my best puppy eyes. “Please, it will make it feel like it’s really happening.”

  Nodding her head at me, she laughed. “Yes, we’ll go shopping. I’ll get Aimee and Kaitlyn, but we’ll have to send pictures of ourselves in the dresses to Sophie, so she knows what kind we’re getting. Do you want to ask your mom to come, too?”

  Excitement took over, making me clap my hands and almost jump up from my seat.

  “Yes! She’ll come, I’m sure of it. Okay so, black and silver dress, with some killer heels and a stunning mask… we’re going to rock this ball.”

  Looking at the time, we didn’t realize how long we had been sitting here. We only have about fifteen minutes to get to work.

  “Shit, the time… let’s go!” We both hightailed out of there, rushed back to the apartment to get our cars and made our way to work.

  ***

  Halfway through my work day, and I had already had two visits from Mr. Ashby, I still address him formally in our working environment, but I’m better now at calling him Max outside of work. The first visit from him was work related; the second was asking if I could stop by his office before I leave. I’m not entirely sure what it is about, but I don’t feel nervous or anxious with him anymore, it really has worked out well between us.

  My phone shakes on the desk from the vibrate alert of getting a text message, looking at it I see Matt’s name flash up on my screen.

  Matt: Fuck I miss you… good afternoon, baby. ;) xxx

  I smile stupidly at my phone as I reply.

  Me: Good afternoon to you, too, gorgeous. I miss you more, how’s your head today? Xxx

  Matt: I’m laughing right now, trying to decide how to answer that ;) xxx

  Shaking my head, I laugh out loud at his reply. I’ll be surprised if Ava didn’t hear my laughter through the wall.

  Me: I’m shaking my head at you right now, bad boy. Xxx

  Matt: I can make you shake and tremble, Princess… but it won’t be in a disapproving way, I can promise that you’ll approve ;) xxx

  How does he always manage to turn it around and leave me blushing? I really should play along, tease him a little, but part of me is still nervous about doing it wrong or saying the wrong thing.

  Me: I think I’ve forgotten, I’m having a bad case of amnesia… I vaguely remember trembling in your arms in the shower, maybe? Did I whisper ‘please’ in your ear, begging you? ;) xxx

  A reply doesn’t come so I’m not sure if he genuinely thinks I’ve forgotten, which of course I could never. How the hell could a girl forget something like that?

  After a few minutes of waiting, and no reply coming through, I set my phone down on the desk and leave my office to see Mr. Ashby.

  Gently tapping on his office door, I don’t have to wait long before he calls me in.

  “Come in, have a seat, Rylee. Would you like a drink?” he asked, rising from his seat to greet me.

  He pulls me in for a hug before releasing me and setting himself back down behind his desk.

  “Hey, no I’m okay, thank you,” I reply, taking a seat opposite him.

  “Thanks for stopping by, I just wanted to talk to you real quick about the ball. Your mom is really looking forward it, and I know she been looking at dres
ses already and I had told her I would buy her whichever dress she chose, and I wanted to do the same for you… if that’s okay? I know what you women are like when it comes to shopping and I want my two favorite girls to be able to have whichever dress they want,” he smiled at me, “and don’t worry, I have told Connor, too, that I will buy him his clothing for the Valentine’s dance. We have to have him looking handsome for Summer, don’t we?” he beamed with happiness.

  I really need to talk to my mom and find out just how well it’s going with her and Max, not that I mind anything happening between them. I want my mom to be happy, and he makes her happy. I’m just kind of speechless that he’s offering to pay for us all to have what we want.

  “That’s awesome of you to offer. I really don’t know what to say, except thank you, I appreciate the offer. I’m going to be asking mom if she wants to come shopping this weekend with us girls, so it’ll work out great,” I said, smiling at him.

  “Oh, Rylee, she’ll love that. I’ll sort out the money for you both, but I’ll wait for you to ask her first,” he winked.

  “Thank you.”

  We continued talking for a short while after, catching up and talking about some accounts that he had taken on. Thirty minutes later, I’m finally on my way back to the office and wondering if Matt had replied to my text. Walking past Aimee, I give her a small wave and she winks back at me with a smile.

  I open my office door and am taken by surprise at the sight of Matt sitting behind my desk, leaning back in my chair with a smirk on his face. My whole office smells of him. He looks freshly showered, dressed in dark jeans and a tight red t-shirt that hugs his body and defines his muscles.

  “And what can I do for you today, Mr. Morgan?” I smirk back at him.

  His deep brown eyes bore into me as he speaks. “Well, Miss. Blake, I had a very alarming text message stating that you had found yourself in an awful state of forgetfulness…” he stopped to make his way around the desk, stopping a few feet away from me. “So, I thought I’d come and remind you.”

  My train of thought stops dead in its tracks and my heart is slamming against my chest. He came to remind me how it feels to tremble… oh lord help me, I’m not having sex with him in my office!