Chapter 36 - Niall - Bumping into You
Chapter 36
Niall
Greg hasn’t said a word to me since he caught Gwen and I kissing. I’m relieved to know the girls are on Gwen’s side and not giving her a hard time, but the unease between Greg and me is making my nerves shot.
Grabbing a couple beers, we head over to the billiards table. I thought playing basketball would release some of the tension Greg feels toward me, but from the way Greg is looking at me, it clearly hasn’t done the trick.
Greg’s and Holly’s dads sit over at the bar watching one of the games on the television. I look over at Greg, and he’s throwing daggers at me with his eyes.
“Please just say what you need to. This silent glaring is killing me, mate,” I say.
“Don’t give me that ‘mate’ crap, man,” he says angrily, roughly applying the chalk to the cue tip. “I saw you kiss Gwen. We all did.” He points to himself, Trent, and Miles.
Trent and Miles both snap their eyes between Greg and me. Shit’s about to hit the fan, mates.
Gwen and I had been so careful, but then I had to let my emotions overcome my common sense.
“You mean at the escape room?” I ask, trying to make light of things but then quickly realizing my mistake. I don’t even know why that came out of my mouth. Clearly, he saw us this morning. Everyone did, and now I’ve alluded to more. Why can’t a black hole just open up on the floor and swallow me whole?
“Of course at the escape room!” Then, Greg’s eyes grow wide. “What is that supposed to mean? Have you kissed her before then?” He sets the chalk and stick down and leans his arms on the side of the table, quiet and breathing slowly, clearly trying to reign in his temper.
“Dude,” says Trent, shaking his head at my daftness. Yeah, I definitely put my foot in my mouth. Thank you, Trent, for noticing.
“Well, alright then, this day just got a little more interesting,” says Miles before taking a sip of his beer.
Breathing in deeply, Greg raises his head and looks me square in the eyes. “What part about ‘not too friendly because she is my little sister’ did you not understand?”
I sigh, rubbing my hand over my face. How do I even explain this without giving away the fake-dating agreement I made with Gwen?
“Look—” I start.
“Don’t,” interrupts Greg.
“Dude,” Trent says, patting Greg on the back, “let the man explain. This is Sully, remember?”
Greg nods.
I swallow, giving a grateful look to Trent, who steps back and leans against the pool table waiting for my explanation. He gives me a small smile, letting me know to continue.
“Look, you asked me to be friendly with Gwen. Well, I was,” I say, holding up a finger as Greg opens his mouth to say something.
“Please let me explain. You’re like brothers to me. I would never intentionally do anything to ruin that. But please trust me when I say I never intended for anything to happen with Gwen. She’s just . . . remarkable. She’s funny and witty, grumpy and sweet, feisty and caring, and feck is she beautiful. It wasn’t hard for me to fall in love with her.”
All three of them snap their eyes to me.
“Love?” asks Trent.
“Did you just say you fell in love with her?” asks Greg.
Even though I’m admitting it for the first time out loud, nothing I have ever said before has felt this right.
I love Gwen.
She’s everything and more than I even have words for. I’ve never felt so much for someone as I do for her. I crave her smile. Her grumpiness makes me laugh. She’s everything to me.
“I did,” I answer honestly.
“Wow,” says Miles.
“Dude, that’s huge,” says Trent. “Greg, go easy on him. Remember how hard it was for you to tell Gwen how you felt about Holly.”
Greg sighs, placing his hands behind his head. “Does she feel the same way?” he asks, a little of his anger dissipating.
“She’s not said the words. Hell, I’ve only just said it out loud for the first time. But I can tell you that we are officially together.”
Greg nods, then asks, “And after the cruise? What happens then?”
“I don’t know. We haven’t discussed past the end of the trip yet, but I want more with her. A few days just isn’t enough.”
“Long distance is hard,” says Greg.
“I know.”
“You have a career and a home in Boston. And Gwen has hers in Chessie Valley. She’s not just going to up and leave her business, you know. She’s becoming one of the most sought-after event planners in Middle Tennessee.”
“I’d never ask her to leave or to change,” I say adamantly.
“So,” says Trent, “where does that leave things?”
“I have no idea,” I admit. The question settles like a weight on my heart.
“You better figure it out soon,” says Greg. “And you better not break her heart.”
The guys nod in agreement.
After we shoot a few rounds of billiards, Greg’s and Holly’s dads join us for darts. The older men smoke us almost embarrassingly. We have burgers and beers for lunch, and Greg seems to have recovered from the shock of seeing Gwen and I kiss. He’s back to his normal self in no time
“Man, I’m getting married to Holly tomorrow,” Greg says. “Somebody pinch me.”
Trent happily pinches Greg’s arm.
Greg yelps. “What the hell, man!”
“You said to pinch you.” Trent shrugs. “So I did.”
“Believe it, mate,” I say. “you’re marrying your childhood crush tomorrow on a beautiful cruise ship overlooking endless seas of blue, with your best mates by your side cheering you on.” I hold up my beer in salute, and we all cheer.
But there is a heavy feeling in my chest the rest of the afternoon. What’s going to happen with Gwen and me once this cruise is over?