At some point I must have fallen asleep, because I have just woken up with Ryan still wrapped around me. I love it - he makes me feel safe, but at the same time it scares the shit out of me. What I’m not so happy about is his morning erection stabbing me in the bum.
I decide to try to sneak out of his hold. I carefully lift his arm and start to slide out from under him, but I’m suddenly pulled back.
“No,” I hear grumbled from behind me. Shit, I’m back in the same position. What do I do now?
“Are you awake?” I whisper.
“No,” he replies, making me smile.
“Really?”
“Yes really, now go back to sleep.”
“I can’t, I was getting up but was stopped!”
“Uh huh. You’re not going anywhere, I’m too comfortable.”
“Okay, well I should tell you then that I have a problem.”
“What now, Molls?”
“Um…I think when we came to bed last night we forgot to move something off the bed, because I can feel it against my arse.” I gently push my arse back a bit more into him. “It’s not very comfortable.” I can’t help but laugh.
“Oh, yeah,” he grunts. “I see your problem, and I know a number of ways you could resolve it.”
I turn my head to see a huge grin over his face. I pull myself away from him and completely turn so I am facing him.
“Not happening, Evans,” I state. “Get yourself under control, please.”
“Sorry, my body can’t help it, especially while it’s cuddled around such a hot one.”
“Stop it Ryan. I said get control.”
“Sorry,” he pouts, making me smack him gently on his chest.
“I’m warning you now that we will be having a conversation about what is going on here.”
“Molls, do I need to give you a sex ed lesson? It’s called an erection; men get them when they are turned on or first thing in the morning…” I put my hand over his mouth.
“That is not what I am talking about, you little shit.” I wave my hand between us. “I’m talking about what has been going on between us. We will be talking but I need to get my head together, and so do you, because from seeing how drunk you were last night, my guess is you feel like shit this morning.”
“I’ve felt better, and my face is killing.”
“Well that’s what happen when you get in to a fight with two dickheads.”
‘Uh…” he sucks in a breath as if he’s remembering, “Max.”
“Yes, Max, but don’t worry - you left them both in a worse state than you’re in right now. I don’t think they’ll be bothering me again.”
“Okay so, I’m sorry to ask, because based on some of the things you just said I’m thinking nothing, but why am I in your bed? What happened?”
“If you mean did anything happen between us, then you’re correct, the answer is nothing. By the time the taxi dropped us off, you could barely walk. I was not going to attempt to get you up two flights of stairs to your bed. So I got you in here, got you undressed and -”
“I bet you did you dirty bitch; get a good look, did you?” Ryan says with a smirk.
“Fuck off, or I’m never going to look after you again. I could have left you in a heap in the hallway. Stop pissing about. I got you in bed - without copping a feel, I might add - then cleaned you up and got some ice for your face to try to stop it being too ugly this morning.”
“I’m sorry. Thank you for looking after me.”
“It was the least I could do after you took them out for me. Thank you. Right, come on, let’s get up. I got stuff I want to do.”
“I don’t think I can yet. I feel like shit. Can I stay here a while?”
“Yes, just promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“Please don’t relieve your little problem in my bed!” I say, trying not to laugh.
“Very funny. I’ll have you know, there is nothing little about it. Now leave me in peace, woman!”
A few hours later, I find myself sat on a bar stool in Cocoa’s, chatting to Megan while she finishes up for the day. I spent a couple of hours upstairs making plans for what I need to do this week, and looking at the projects I have at the moment, before coming down to get Megan’s opinion on my situation with Ryan. I watch as she goes over to lock up the doors and comes to join me, where her coffee is waiting. She groans as she sits down.
“Long day?”
“Yes, and not helped by the hangover which, by the way, you are totally to blame for!” she says, whilst pointing at me.
“Sorry; tell me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure at some point yesterday you told me you wanted to get wasted because you haven’t in so long!”
“Nah, don’t recall that!” she says with a laugh. “So, I have this weird feeling that you are here because you want to talk about something, or should I say someone, from last night.” Megan tilts her head to the side and raises her eyebrow.
“Yeah, alright, no need to be so smug.” I tell her about the fight she missed after we left, what happened when we got home, and then this morning. She listens to everything and nods in all the right places.
“Okay, I think this conversation is going to take longer than I have got. James is going out this evening, so I need to be back for Oscar. Do you want to follow me back? We can order a takeaway and talk it all through.”
“Yes, that sounds awesome. I haven’t seen Oscar for ages. I bet he’s grown loads.”
Twenty minutes later, I am following Megan into the flat she shares with her boyfriend James and their son.
“Mummy,” Oscar screams when he sees her.
She picks him up and kisses him. “Hey, little man, have you had a good day with Daddy?” she asks.
Oscar is the cutest kid I think I’ve ever seen. He was three not so long ago. Like his dad, he is pretty tall, but he has his mum’s dark hair and eyes. Megan keeps his hair quite long and scruffs it up with a bit of wax to make him a smaller, dark-haired version of his dad. James is tall and slim with mousy brown, messy hair. He has dark blue eyes that are mystical to look at. He’s pretty hot.
“Hey, baby,” he says, coming over to Megan and kissing her forehead. I’m so jealous of their easy yet loving relationship. They have been together seven years now; I’m waiting for an engagement announcement sometime soon.
“Molly, what did you do to my girlfriend last night? She was up half the night puking.”
“Sorry, but that is not my fault. She is a grown woman and should know when to stop,” I say, laughing.
Once Megan and James have caught up briefly, he heads out.
“Have a good night, ladies,” he calls from the hallway.
“I’m not a lady,” I hear Oscar shout from his bedroom.
“No, you’re not, little man, sorry. See you later ladies, and Oscar,” he says, laughing as he leaves the flat.
Megan leaves me to order the dinner while she puts Oscar to bed. I ring and place an order for our favourite Chinese dishes and hunt down the bottle of wine Megan said was in the fridge, before pouring us each a glass.
“So, Molly. Million-dollar question. Are you going to get under him or over him?” Megan asks as she comes back into the kitchen, trying not to laugh.
“I’ve explained already how stupidly attracted to Ryan I am and how easy it would have been already for something to happen, but in the back of my mind, I just see it going tits up and then losing him. I would rather fight to keep him as my friend than do something to remove him from my life completely.
“Then there is also the issue with Emma. Up until the accident, we were such close friends, but since then, she has distanced herself from everyone. She has made it quite clear what she thinks about the idea of Ryan and me getting together. I don’t want to trash my friendship with her, and I am yet to find out if Susan and Pete share her feelings. I cannot lose them; I see them as my parents.”
“I understand all that, I do, but what if you make a move
with Ryan and it’s amazing, and it lasts?” she says. Megan, ever the romantic!
“I just don’t know if I can risk it.”
“Okay, so what is the alternative?”
“I guess the alternative is putting myself back out there and going on some dates. Find out if this attraction to Ryan is because of him or because I need a bloke in my life.” I explain, although I don’t tell her how I hate the idea of seeing anyone else.
“Are you sure that’s what you want?”
“As sure as I can be, I guess.”
“Right, well if you’re serious, I have someone I could set you up with.” I nod at her. Megan has good taste in men and is a good judge of character, so I’m as hopeful as I can be.
“Okay, who?”
“One of James’ friends from work. He came around in the week and asked if I have any hot single friends. I think you would get on great. Shall I give him your number?”
“Yes, go for it. What’s the worst that can happen? If you say he’s a decent guy, then I believe you.”
We continued chatting well after dinner was eaten. When I looked at the clock and realised it was eleven o’clock, I decided I should head home.
When I got there, the place was in darkness, so I presumed that Ryan had already gone to bed, probably still nursing his killer hangover from the night before.
I followed suit and got myself into bed. I fell asleep eventually with thoughts of Ryan and dating other guys rolling around in my head.
Chapter Eleven
Ryan
I woke up this morning with a huge smile on my face, despite having the mother of all hangovers and a bruised face. I was wrapped around Molly. My arm was holding her around the middle and our legs were intertwined. Her back was pressed tightly to my front, and her hot little arse was tucked nicely against my cock. There was no way I could hold off my hard-on with her arse there.
I couldn’t remember much about the end of last night, and I had woken up in Molly’s bed with her cuddled against me. I suddenly had a sick feeling that something may have happened between us, and I couldn’t remember. I gently moved my hand and felt that Molly was clothed and I still had my boxers on; to say I was relieved would be an understatement. When, or should I say if, I get Molly to myself, I never want to forget any time with her, ever.
My movement must have woken her because I heard her breathing pick up and her body stiffen as she realised where she was.
I still can’t quite believe her last words to me before she left were warning me not to have a wank in her bed. I didn’t, of course, but fuck me if it wasn’t tempting. To have her smell all around me, I could almost kid myself that she was there with me.
I have spent all day laid on the sofa in front of the TV, thoughts of Molly and everything that has happened over the last couple of weeks floating in and out of my mind. She said before she left this morning that we were going to talk about what has been happening between us. I’ve been going backwards and forwards over what I want to happen for hours. The chat I had with Shane last night and what he said keeps coming back to me. “What if you making a move only made things better between you?” What if he is right? What if this is meant to happen? They say everything happens for a reason, right? Maybe this is one of the reasons Hannah was taken from us - were we meant to be together?
I eventually give up waiting for her to come home. I haven’t heard from her all day but she said she needed to get her head straight, so I don’t want to interrupt her.
It’s just before midnight when I hear the front door shut. I wait for her to come upstairs but she doesn’t; she has obviously gone straight to bed.
After another hour of lying in bed not sleeping, my need to see her gets the better of me. Knowing she is downstairs is torture. I quietly make my way down to her room. Luckily, her door is slightly open, so I won’t wake her by opening it. I peek around the doorframe to see her sound asleep, facing me. A bit of hair has fallen across her face and the rest is lying across her chest. She is wearing a vest top and tiny shorts, so tiny they don’t go anywhere near covering her arse. She has her legs tangled around the duvet at the bottom of the bed. I stand there for a few minutes, just looking at her and listening to her breathing. It is in that moment that I realise just how much I want her, need her. She’s gorgeous and looks just like the angel Susan calls her.
Eventually, I make my way back up to bed and fall fast asleep with dreams of my angel filling my head.
I roll over and pull my eyelids open. I look at the clock and see it’s already getting on for ten o’clock. Oh, I love the holidays: late nights and even later mornings. Heaven. I jump out of bed, quickly shower, and get dressed before heading downstairs, hoping that Molly will be there and ready to talk. I know what I need to tell her.
When I get to the kitchen, there is no sign of her. I flick the kettle on, then head down to her room to see if she is there. The door is open and there is still no sign of Molly. She obviously was up early to go and get the office set up. I guess my little speech will have to wait.
I end up spending most of the day in the gym. I went for a ridiculously long run, then hit the weights, trying to keep myself busy.
When I get home, I FaceTime my mum. It has taken me years to get her and my dad to be able to use it, but I think I’ve got there at last. I had totally forgotten about my black eye and busted lip as it hadn’t been hurting, but one look at me has my mum in a right tizz. It takes me a full ten minutes to calm her down. I explain to her what happened, in as little detail I can. She has made it quite clear in the past that she doesn’t really like Molly. In her opinion, she is the opposite of the nice girl I should settle down with. It didn’t bother me before, but now I could throttle Hannah for telling my mum all about her best friend’s antics. I always end up having to defend Molly to my mum, and I hate it.
After we say goodbye, I decide to see if I can get my sisters on a group chat. We were always really close growing up, and I hate to admit it but I miss them being so far away. To my surprise, they both answer my call. Neither of them came home from university this summer, much to my mum and dad’s disappointment. Abbi has stayed in the flat she shares with her mate and is working with kids at a summer school. Liv has moved out of halls of residence and into a flat with her mates, and landed herself a summer job at a local newspaper.
They both don’t have quite the reaction to my bruised face as Mum did, but they are still concerned. After I finish telling the story again, I can see both their eyes water slightly.
“What is wrong with you two?” I ask them, confused.
“You love her,” they both say in unison and smiling dopily at me.
“Yeah of course, she’s my best friend,” I say, a bit taken back.
“Right, okay Ry,” Abbi says.
We spend the next hour chatting about our lives - that is, until I hear the front door close, signalling Molly’s return home. I quickly make my excuses and say my goodbyes to my sisters.
“Hey,” I say as she rounds the corner into the room, carrying a couple of shopping bags.
“How are you feeling? Hangover gone now?” she says, smirking, placing the bags on the counter and pulling out the contents.
“Yeah, fine now thanks.” Wow, this conversation is awkward.
“Good, I bought ingredients for a carbonara for dinner if that’s okay with you?”
“As long as you’re cooking, Molls, anything is good with me.” She laughs and turns to get started.
“So, what you been up to?” she says over her shoulder.
“Not much. Been to the gym and just talked with my mum and sisters.”
“Oh God,” she groans. “I bet your mum loved the look of your face. Please tell me you didn’t tell her it was because of me? She already hates me.”
“She doesn’t hate you, Molly,” I’m not sure if this is a lie or not. “I told her a diluted version of what happened. She understood.”
“Yeah, whatever you say, Ry,” she says
, shaking her head “How are Abbi and Liv?”
“Both good. They’re both working hard. I think they’re secretly glad they didn’t go home this summer. I told them they should come visit. I hope that’s okay.”
“Of course it is; it’s been ages since I’ve seen them, and unlike your parents, they actually like me!”
Molly continues with dinner while I set the table and pour us both drinks. I sit down and sip my beer just as she is plating up.
“Here you go,” she says, placing it in front of me.
“Smells amazing as always; thank you,” I say, grabbing my knife and fork to dig in. “So, what you been doing the last two days?” I ask, curious as to where she has been.
“Well, after I left you yesterday, I went to the office to get a list together for what I need, then I met Megan for coffee. We ended up talking for so long that she had to get back to look after Oscar as James was going out, so I followed her home and we got a takeaway and chatted long into the night.”
“You spent nearly all day Saturday with her, what the hell did you have to talk about for so long?” Her answer is just to lift her eyebrow at me, letting me know that it was me they were talking about. I feel my cheeks flush a little, knowing I was their topic of conversation. God, I hope she has come to the same conclusion as me and that is why she is acting a bit nervous.
Angel Series Books #1-2.5 Page 13