Chapter 9

It wasn’tthat I felt the need to run from Rich as fast as I could. To be honest, the ability to run with the raging hard-on he had left me with wasn’t possible anyway. It was more that if I didn’t think carefully about the consequences of my actions and everything I was hoping to happen with Rich, then I wasn’t only going to lose the man I was fast becoming more than just attracted to, but there was the chance of fucking everything up and losing my best friend too. Annie had been in my life since I was a toddler. Not having her around me every day would be incomprehensible. What if something happened? What if Rich broke my heart? What if I broke his? I needed to make sure I had all the answers to the worst-case scenarios of this situation.

But then another thought came to mind. What if I didn’t act on it? How would that affect my ability to be around Annie and Rich if all I was doing was pining for a man I was never going to be with? That wasn’t going to do my friendship any good either.

The next day,Annie called me bright and early. “Hey, babe,” she half sang cheerfully down the phone.

“Someone’s in a good mood this morning.” I smiled in reply.

“Someone got a little something last night, so she has reason to be.”

I grinned. I was glad one of us was getting what they needed after the night before my balls were bluer than the Blue Man Group. “Oh, is that so?” I teased. “Come on, spill the details. Did you meet a fine young man when you were out last night?”

The pause before she answered didn’t go unnoticed, and I prayed I wasn’t about to hear the words I knew were coming next.

“Actually, it was Declan.”

I let out a sigh and rolled my eyes. Yep, there it was, the answer I didn’t want to hear. “Oh, Annie.” I couldn’t hide the disappointment in my voice when I spoke to her.

“Oh, fuck off, Liam. It’s only a bit of fun. I’m not about to marry him and have his babies. It’s just sex and drinking. Haven’t you ever had an itch you needed to scratch?”

The answer was a resounding hell yes. The difference being knowing what might happen if I did, I held off. For now. “Of course I bloody have. But Declan?” My voice trailed off.

“I know, I know! But he was there, I was pissed, and it seemed like a good idea. I doubt I’ll be going back for more, but I wanted to call you and say sorry for leaving you in the lurch last night. Can I make it up to you?”

I couldn’t stay mad at Annie for anything, and she knew it. “You’d better.” I smirked. “Just promise me something?”

“Anything.” She answered without hesitation.

“Be very careful with Declan. And for the love of Christ, I do not want to hear anything about how he is in bed!”

A loud laugh came down the phone line at me. “Deal. Absolutely!”

“Talk to you later, then. Love you!” I smiled.

“Love you too,” she replied before hanging up.

Tapping the side of my phone with my index finger, I thought about texting Rich. I wanted to talk to him. Hell, talking wasn’t all I wanted to do to the man, but until I could figure out how we could handle any fallout over us being together, I needed to keep it in my pants.

Opening the message app, I clicked on the new message icon and typed Rich’s name in the ‘To’ section. Before I could reconsider what I was doing, my fingers tapped out what was in my head.

Hi, hope it’s okay that I texted. I can’t stop thinking about last night, and I would like more. However, I think we need to talk about what happens with my friendship with Annie because of what happens with us, and how to handle anything that might come out of that. Once I’m sure of that, and protecting it, I would like to see where this might go.

I hit send, locked my phone, and put it back in my pocket, trying not to think too much about what Rich might reply.

After wilfully ignoringmy phone for a few hours, I finally had the courage to look and see if I had a reply from Annie’s dad.

Rich

It’s totally okay to message me any time you want. I agree, I would like to see what else could happen between us, but you’re right. I also think we need to be aware of Annie’s comfort with the situation. She says she’s going out again tonight. Would you like to come over and we can talk about it all properly? Maybe get a takeaway?

My heart skipped a beat at the thought of seeing him again. Shaking my head at the mess I was getting myself into, I tapped out a reply.

Sounds good. Just let me know what time and I’ll be there.

His reply was almost instant.

Rich

Make it about 7?

I’ll see you then x

Rich

Good x

A goofy grinspread across my face at the kiss on the message and the thought of seeing him again. I was done for. This was getting way too serious for me and way too soon. Was that because I had known him for so long? Was it because I was genuinely getting in too deep already? Who knew? But one thing was for sure, I needed those answers because I really wanted to keep seeing Rich.

* * *

Annie had been textingme all day to tell me she was heading out with Declan again, and I knew she would be staying out all night. I hated that she was spending time with him but relished the time it was going to give me alone with Rich.

I knocked on the door, and moments later, Rich opened it with a smile. “Hello, there. Come on in,” he greeted me, standing back from the door to let me in.

My crush on him was getting bigger with every passing second. I closed the door and stood with my back against it for a moment, just looking at him and taking in everything about him.

“Are you okay?” he asked, looking at me with a frown.

I smiled warmly at him, snapping myself out of the nerves I was starting to feel. “I am now.”

“I take it you know Annie’s gone out with Declan again?” he asked, breaking the awkwardness that was creeping in.

“Yeah. I’m not impressed.” I followed him into the kitchen.

“Beer?” he asked, opening the fridge.

I nodded.

“Yeah, I can’t say I’m best pleased either. But it’s her life. Not my mistake to make.”

“How can you be so accepting of it, though? The guy is a douche. He’s always been one, and now he’s even more of a twathead.”

Rich snorted and handed me an open bottle of beer. “You sound more like her dad than I do. But what can I do, mate? She’s an adult, and he’s not being an actual bellend to her right now. The second he is, that’s different, but let’s face it, we all know what we want, don’t we?”

He meant it as an innocent question, but I couldn’t help but stare at him as he took a swig from his beer bottle. I did know what I wanted, and I was looking right at it.

I swallowed hard and summoned up some courage. “Yes, we do. Look, this you and me thing. There are three areas I’m worried about. One, you and I get together and Annie hates us for it. I don’t want that. Two, you and I get together, and then break up, and neither of us wants to see each other again. Obviously, that’s going to make my relationship with Annie difficult. I don’t want to lose her as a friend. Three, we do nothing, and being Annie’s friend is really fucking hard because I might have to watch you getting involved with someone else, and I’m not sure I can handle that.”

Rich’s eyes widened and I looked away, taking a long drink of ice-cold beer.

“Straight in there, huh?” He smiled at me. “Okay, let’s go through them one by one. Number one, I think Annie is mature enough to handle the fact that we want to be in a relationship. Sure, she might have issues to begin with. There are things that have crossed my mind that she might say about it. But ultimately, I think it’ll be okay.”

I nodded, and he continued.

“As for number two. Well, after everything that happened with Annie’s mum, I can hardly say that I think we’ll get together and then everything will be peachy forever because nothing in this life is a guarantee. However, we can just try our best to make any breakup that might happen as easy on everyone involved as it can be. Sure, there will probably be a time after such an event when neither of us wants to see each other, but we can try to make it as amicable as possible. We can promise to make sure we’re open and honest with each other and that it’s not a case of what happened with my ex-wife and one of us being surprised at what’s happening.”

He took another drink of his beer.

“As for number three, that’s irrelevant. Something already has started here, so there’s not going to be any not doing anything.”

The look on his face as he said his last comment gave me goosebumps. The desire, the need on the man’s face was unmistakeable, and it was setting me on fire. Goosebumps rose over my skin, my heart beat faster, and I was practically salivating at the thought of being on the receiving end of that need.

“Okay. So, you think we should do this is what I’m hearing?” It should have been a statement, but I wanted to leave it as a question and gain ultimate clarification.

“I think we’re two consenting adults who are attracted to each other, and as long as we are careful and respectful, why not?”

Fuck. Was this really going to happen now? I swallowed more beer and thought about what I wanted to do next.

“Okay,” I replied, my voice coming out in almost a squeak. Very unmanly. Very unsexy. I nodded, embarrassed my nerves had sounded so clearly in my response.

Rich smirked and pulled his phone from his pocket. “Right, Deliveroo time. What do you fancy?” He glanced at me when he said the words. “I meant to eat.” His grin deepened.

“You choose. I trust you.”

Rich smiled and turned his attention to putting an order in on his phone.