8
Conor
It was midnight before Sasha finally left my apartment last night.
She refused to leave until I had the plan fully memorized in my ‘tiny, pea-sized brain’.
She was trying to sound insulting, but I thought it was the cutest thing I’ve ever heard.
She was not happy when I told her that though, if the scowl and eyeroll had anything to show for it.
We’re keeping our epic love story simple.
We met through Olliepop and Josh, instantly wanted to rip each other's clothes off but never acted on it because of Max.
Then we bumped into each other one day and one thing led to another and suddenly I was giving her the best sex of her life, ruining all other men for her.
From then, she realized she couldn't be apart from me or my huge, orgasm inducing dick and that was that. We fell in love.
I'm sure if you ask Sasha, her version may be a little different but po-tay-to, po-tah-to.
The only thing that we’re both worried about is convincing our friends, specifically Cap and Olivia. They’ve known us for a long time and can read us with their eyes closed.
Sasha came up with the not-so-brilliant plan of having dinner with them tonight while Bella is staying at Diane’s place for the night. It’s a test run to see if we can work as a couple in front of other people, but also to see if other people are buying what we’re selling.
I personally have no issues with making it convincing. If making it look real means I get to hold her and touch her, and look at her like she’s my girlfriend, then I can do that with ease. Hell, I would tear Sasha’s clothes off if that’s what it would take to make people believe this is real.
Actually, I would tear her clothes off anyway. It’s a shame she made all those rules. I would have died a happy man if I got to give her the full girlfriend treatment.
“Oh God,” Sasha groans beside me as we ride the elevator up to the next floor, “I think I’m gonna be sick.” She emphasizes that statement by pushing her arms against her stomach.
“We’ll be fine, Angel.” I’m not sure how much physical touch I’m allowed to do in private so I settle with a reassuring pat on the arm.
Oh who am I kidding, there was nothing reassuring about it.
It was awkward and uncomfortable and from Sasha’s nervous laugh as she looks between her arm, my hand and then my face, I can tell she thought it was just as fucking weird.
Sasha is a ball of nervous energy as we walk closer to Josh and Olivia’s apartment. I, on the other hand, am completely at ease. “Sasha, we’ve been together for two weeks, you need to act as if we’re in love, not that you’re scared of me.”
“I’m not scared of you.” She fires back in a harsh tone, then whispers under her breath, “I’m scared of them.”
I lift my hand to the doorknob before Sasha grabs my wrist in her small hand. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going in, obviously.”
“Have you got no sense of boundaries at all?”
“Nope.” I say, popping the ‘p’ and waggling my eyebrows at her which earns me a sexy little eyeroll.
Sasha knocks lightly on the door and I pull her into me, my arm wrapped around her waist, my fingers digging into her hip. She instantly stiffens in my hold. “What are you doing?” She asks, all wide eyed, red faced and freaked out.
“If I remember correctly, I would say this whole thing was your idea. So, I’m pretty sure you know what I'm doing.”
“Right.” She chuckles nervously, her cheeks turning a pretty shade of pink. The other side of the door rattles as someone fiddles with the lock. Sasha turns her head up to look at me again, “One more thing,” She starts, biting her lower lip anxiously, “I didn’t tell them you were coming.”
WHAT?
The door swings open before I can process what Sash just said.
Olivia stands frozen at the other side, her bright, warm smile falling deeper into a frown the more she takes us in.
“Josh!” She calls out, blinking rapidly and shaking her head.
Cap comes in front of the door a second later and all four of us are just standing here, staring at each other.
“I know I'm sleep deprived, but please tell me it’s not so bad that I'm hallucinating.”
“No, baby, you’re not hallucinating.” He eyes us with suspicion for far too long while Olivia stands there with her jaw on the floor.
“So, are you going to invite us in or do we have to stand like this all night?” I ask, trying to bring some light to this tense situation. Josh gives a nod, taking an unmoving Olivia by the hand and pulling her deeper into their apartment.
I do the same, taking Sasha’s hand in my own and walking her to where Josh and Olivia have sat down on the couch. We take the one opposite and I pull Sasha into my side again.
“What is this?” Olliepop asks, looking very confused.
“We’re together.” Sash says softly, squeezing my knee gently and smiling up at me. It’s a genuine smile too, not just one for show but one that makes my brain short circuit. I have no other thoughts but this woman and her smile and the way her eyes crinkle at the corners. She’s breathtaking.
“No, you’re not.” Olivia shoots back.
“Yes, we are.” Sasha glares at her best friend.
“Emm, no, you’re not.”
“Emm, yes, we are.”
“No, you’re-”
“Okay, stop it. This could go on all night.” Josh chimes in, putting an end to that whiplash inducing conversation. “When did this start?”
“Two weeks ago.” I reply, looking between each of their faces but nothing is giving away how they’re feeling.
“How?”
“I was in Aunt Dee’s cafe when Sasha came in.
” I begin, “You know I’ve always had a thing for her, Cap.
I just thought to myself, ‘what’s holding me back from asking her out?
’ It turns out there was nothing. She’s single and I’m single, so I asked her for dinner.
” Olivia’s brows are furrowed and she has a death grip on Josh’s hand, turning his fingers a deathly shade of white.
“We went to this Italian place downtown and there was just this immediate connection between us.”
Olivia mutters “gross” under her breath and Josh shoots her a warning look. Sash tenses beside me so I pull her into me to try and ease some of the tension.
“And is this real?” Josh asks then, but before either of us can answer, Olivia speaks.
“Oh, please. This isn't real, Josh, they’re lying.”
“No, we’re not.” Sash finally says from beside me.
“Yes, you are.”
“No, we’re -”
“For fucks sake, you two. Stop it.” Josh grits out. Sasha and Olivia are best friends and yeah, they don’t have massive fallouts but from what I’ve heard, they argue over every tiny, little thing. “Ollie, why do you think they’re lying?”
Olivia eyes me in a way that seems as though I’ve taken her favorite toy and smashed it to pieces in front of her.
“Well, Sasha told me not that long ago that she’s not ready to move on from Max.
You would have told me about something this big, if it was true.
And look at her, she’s not relaxed in Conor’s arms at all.
” She takes a breath after her rant, before locking those fiery blue eyes on me.
“And you, I told you to go for someone like Sasha. I told you not to go for Sasha. So, are you lying?”
I say nothing in response but I can feel my palms getting sweaty from the intensity in this woman’s stare. She waits for one of us to speak, her leg bouncing wildly against the edge of the couch. “So help me God, if you don’t tell me the truth right now, I will change Isabella’s middle name.”
I gasp, my hand rising to my heart in mock hurt. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Try me, pretty boy.” Josh chuckles at his girlfriend's words and I have to fight back my own grin. Now is not the time for it. Olivia turns her lethal stare onto Sasha and I can feel her wiggle uncomfortably against me. “Sasha no-middle-name Reilly. You tell me the truth right now.”
Sasha stays silent for a moment before her whole body relaxes, “Uhh, fine. We’re lying.” She moves away from me, settling on the other end of the couch and folding her arms across her chest.
“I knew it!” Olivia shouts, scaring us all, at the same time Josh asks, “Why?”
“God, it’s so embarrassing.” Sasha groans, covering her blush covered face with her hands.
I take one for the team, deciding to explain everything that happened in the last twenty-four hours. “We weren't lying about dinner though, that really happened.”
“But it wasn't a date.” Sasha cuts in in a rushed voice. “It was dinner as friends, nothing more.”
“Sure, Angel. Just friends.” I smirk which earns me an eyeroll.
“Why do you call her Angel?” Olivia asks, seeming to have calmed down from the angry rottweiler she became and is now more like a bitchy chihuahua.
I wasn’t planning on ever telling anyone this, but these two are my closest friends and the most important people in my life.
Why should I not tell them? “Because that day she came into the coffee shop, I was drowning in my own head, close to losing it, but I took one look at her, and I felt peace. She saved me.”
I turn my head to look at Sasha, nervous because this is the most real I’ve ever been around her, but she doesn't look disgusted like I thought she would. Her wide eyes are on me, shining bright with so much emotion that I can't place. I’ve never been good at reading people and right now, I wish I was. I would love to know what she’s thinking.
When we lock eyes, everything else seems to fade away.
It feels like it’s only the two of us in this room.
She’s all I can see, all I can smell, and the only sounds I can hear is her shallow breathing and the beating of my heart.
The moment is interrupted far too quickly by Olivia slapping her hands against her knees and getting to her feet. “Sash, come help me with something for a minute please.”
Sasha’s worried gaze collides with mine again and I salute her as she gets up, mouthing “good luck”.
When the girls disappear down the hall, Josh levels me with a hard glare. “What?”
“What the hell are you doing, Matthews? This is crazy.”
“I’m doing her a favor. She asked me to help her out and I am.”
“And how long is this gonna go on for? Have you thought about that? And what are you getting out of this?”
“Cap, I haven't thought about any of this. All I have thought about is getting to spend time with a woman who I haven't been able to get out of my head since I first met her. This has never happened to me before.”
Josh scrubs the scruff on his jaw as he contemplates what I’ve said.
We sit in the quiet, my confession making the air feel heavy.
“I was the same with Ollie so I get what you’re saying.
” He says and it feels like a weight has been lifted off my chest. “But, this is different.” His expression hardens again and that weight slowly starts pushing down again.
“This isn’t real and at the end of it all, who’s gonna be the one getting hurt? ”