Chapter 14
Spending the next few days alone in my flat makes me want to climb the walls.
I work out in our home gym more than I should, fatiguing my muscles until I can barely sit up to grab the remote for the telly.
I run around the neighbourhood, passing by a vacant Tower Park as my team is off playing somewhere else.
Without me. I ache to be back in the stadium and on the pitch working out with my team instead of running out here like a lone wolf.
Regardless, this is what I have to do. I may be suspended from the team but I refuse to let myself fall behind because of it.
And when the time comes, I know my dad will make sure I earn my spot back on the pitch.
I was, however, allowed a brief visit inside the hallowed walls of Tower Park to talk to the stadium staffing manager and secure Sedgwick a job picking up garbage in the stands after matches.
It’s not what I wanted for him, but it was all they had available.
When I told him the news, he did what he’s been doing since the second I stepped on him in that phone box. He surprised me.
Sedgwick immediately sits down on the hotel bed, blinking and absorbing what I’ve just told him. He props his elbows on his knees and holds his head in his hands for several long, nerve-wracking minutes.
“I know it’s not ideal, Sedg, but they say the best way to find a job is to have a job,” I stammer.
“And well, this is a job. I know you don’t care for football, but the pay isn’t bad.
There’s a hostel nearby you can stay at until you get some money saved.
Though, I’d really appreciate it if you’d let me pay a deposit on a flat for you. It’s something I really want to do.”
My words are stopped short by a garbled cry. “I don’t deserve this.”
“It’s an honest job. Of course you deserve it.”
“But there are so many others out there…” His voice trails off as he looks out the window.
I run my hand through my hair, my brow furrowed with thought. I pin him with a serious look. “You take this job and I’ll see what I can do for the others.”
Sedg smiles. “You’re a lot more than you seem, Tanner Harris.”
“I could say the same thing.”
By the time our London Eye double date with Camden and Indie comes, I’m more than ready to feast my eyes on the woman I had spread out naked on a table a few short days ago.
Belle strolls into my flat with Indie and there’s a heaviness between us that feels…different than I expected.
After that night at her place, I did wonder if I handled my exit appropriately. I wasn’t sure what to do. I’m not typically one to linger in a bird’s flat after an epic fuck, so once we worked out our schedule, I left.
“Hi Tan, bye Tan,” Indie says as she makes a mad dash for Camden’s room. Christ, they’ve been apart for a few days and you’d think they were dying from separation anxiety.
I shift my gaze to see Belle still standing firm in the entryway. Her arms are crossed over her chest and her posture is decidedly stiff. I gesture to where I’m at in the living room. “You can come in, Ryan. It’s not like you haven’t been here before.”
She rolls her eyes and leans her back against the wall beside the door, crossing one heeled foot over her ankle. “I’m fine right here.”
I frown and point down the hallway toward where Indie just went. “Those two could be fucking in there for all I know. You may as well come in and get comfortable.”
“I won’t be getting comfortable at all, don’t you worry. I’m ready to get this double date over with.” The sneer on her face is unmistakable.
“Did I miss something here?” I ask, looking around me. “Did you take your icy bitch pill before you came over here tonight just for my pleasure?”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” she snaps, standing up straight and balling her hands at her sides like someone needs to come in and hold her back.
“Well, last time you greeted me in a saucy little nightie. Tonight it looks like you’re dressed for battle.”
I glance down at her all-black ensemble. Black ripped jeans, black top, large black knitted sweater, and camel boots with dangerous-looking studded heels.
“Don’t worry. There’ll be no more of that.” She spears me with a glare. “Everything is different now.”
I smirk. “Is it because I’ve seen you naked?”
Her eyes fly wide and she looks down the hallway. “I haven’t told Indie and I sure as fuck hope you haven’t told Camden,” she seethes.
“Tell Cam what? That you have a sexy nightie, or what we did together as a result of that sexy nightie?” I tweak my brows lasciviously at her.
“Both,” she snaps, completely ignoring my boyish Harris charm that always serves me well. I’m offended.
“Why the bloody hell not? I thought we made a good team.”
“So did I!” she exclaims.
“Then what the fuck is the problem?” I rake my hand through my hair, grateful that I left it down tonight for moments like this that seem so frequent with Belle Ryan.
“You’re the problem! You didn’t call, you didn’t text. I had to get the time and details from Indie for tonight. What the fuck is that about?” She props her hands on her hips like a scolding mother. She reminds me of Vi right now.
My eyes are wide and confused. “What would you have me do?”
“Call! Text! You just fucked me and left. A text was literally the least you could do.”
“I thought we were keeping things casual,” I reply, feeling like I’ve entered the Twilight Zone. “You told me you preferred casual, and I know this might shock you but…I listened!”
She growls, literally growls. “These are extenuating circumstances.”
“I agree.”
“Well, what are we going to do about it then?” Her shoulders heave with heavy breaths.
“Well, I have an idea, but are you really asking? Because I’m happy to take the lead here, but you seem to have an issue letting go of control.”
“Oh fuck off, Tanner,” she baulks and crosses her arms as she turns away from me.
Darkness clouds my vision. Enough of this shit. I’m not letting her control me anymore. Not if it turns her into this owly, moody, stubborn arse. She used sexy pyjamas to gain power over me last time. Well, two can play at that game.
She turns when she hears my approach. I don’t stop until she’s backed up all the way against the wall.
Her red painted lips are begging to be kissed and I can smell the fragrant shampoo of her hair that’s hanging down loose over her shoulders.
I cage her in with one hand on the wall beside her head and the other gripped firmly on her hip.
“How about this,” I whisper in her ear and feel her tremble beneath my touch. “Tonight, after we put on this charade, I’m going to take you back to your place and I’m going to fuck you.”
She opens her mouth to argue, but I cut her off. “Let me finish or I’ll kiss those words right off your mouth. I don’t give a shit if Indie and Cam come out.”
She closes her mouth and swallows.
I tilt my head and eye her entire face thoughtfully, committing each tiny freckle to memory.
“Then tomorrow, I’m going to text you to see when we might be able to fuck again because, believe me when I tell you, Belle, these past few days you were all I thought about.
Naked. Panting. And so fucking wet.” I pull her hip toward me and she greedily arches into my touch.
“So if a call is all it takes to get you back in that position, baby, you better watch your mobile because I’m going to blow it the fuck up. ”
My lips are an inch away from hers, so I am able to taste her audible gasp at my sexy promise.
“You think I’ll come to you just like that?”
I half smile. “With what I have planned for ya…Yes, Belle. Yes, I think you’ll come. Just. Like. That.”
I drop a soft kiss on her lips, and she breaks her facade completely with an amused laugh. She playfully shoves me away and I inhale deeply with a proud smile. I see something out of the corner of my eye and turn to find Indie and Cam staring at us from the hallway.
“Oh fuck,” Belle murmurs behind me.
I look back at her with a sheepish smile. “I should have mentioned that you can’t hide shit in my family.”
“So you two slept together?” Indie’s cheeks blush as her and Cam sit across from us in the back of a cab.
“Yes,” I reply.
“So what does that mean then?” She glances between the two of us.
“It means we had sex,” Tanner replies and I elbow him in the ribs. “But the really respectful kind.”
Indie’s eyes roll skyward. “I know what that means, but what does it really mean?” She looks at me.
“Nothing. It’s no different than any other Tequila Sunrise fling.” I say it in words I know she’ll understand.
Tanner smiles proudly and drapes an arm on the back of the seat. “I’m a fling, bro. Are you proud? It’s a step up from a one-night stand.”
Camden shakes his head and pulls a confused Indie closer to him. Using his classic Queen of England voice, he replies, “These two turtle doves are beginning their journey toward finding their truest love.”
Indie shoves Cam. “Well, if you’re both happy, then I’m happy.”
I exhale a deep breath as Indie frowns at the two of us as if we’re the strangest pair in the world, which is probably accurate.
She’s seen nothing but fighting between Tanner and me for months.
This is certainly a change of events, but I really hope she’s not idealising this into something it’s not.
Tanner leans forward and pats Indie on the knee. “Just don’t overthink this, Indie. I’ll be good. I promise. Let’s focus on having fun tonight, all right?”
It’s nearing eight o’clock by the time the cab drops us off in front of the London Eye. My eyes are wide and excited as I take in its grandeur and all the city lights twinkling around it. I can see why this is the perfect place to take a date.
We queue for tickets and Camden and Tanner buy out a whole pod so we don’t have to share one with anyone else. Indie tries to argue that it’s not worth the money, but neither of them give it a second thought.