I hand him a cup. “Shush, gobshite.” I turn to Lexy and hand her a cup. “You, shush, too.” I take my own cup and sip the coffee.
This stuff tastes like banana peel dipped in wax crayon with a hint of sugar mixed in.
“That’s not what you were saying ten minutes ago.” Bing slides next to me on the counter, and I elbow him.
“Do you like my bed, Samuel?” I look up at him sternly.
His eyes twinkle with a mischievous spark. “Fuckin’ right I do, Jennifer.”
I put my finger against his lips. “Then I suggest you shut your piehole, or the only person sleeping in my bed for the foreseeable future will be me. And me alone.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Lexy says with amusement.
“Samuel, you buffoon, Ann Summers is just down the road from me, and I have no problems paying them a little visit.” I raise my eyebrows, and he visibly swallows. “So yes, I would do that.”
Lexy snickers and walks into my front room, sitting on the sofa and turning the television on.
“If you’re gonna do that,” Bing whispers lowly. “Then I absolutely want to be in your bed with you.”
“That’s kinda kinky.” My lips quirk. “Who knew?”
He leans forward and drops a kiss to my lips. “Don’t tempt me, Jennifer, or I will kick my sister out of your flat and show you the f**king definition of the word kinky.”
I lick my lips slowly. “Then it’s a shame I like you right now, isn’t it?” I move towards the sofa and hear him grumble to himself. I grin.
I will never, ever get tired of winding him up.
Chapter Thirteen
BING
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were a f**kin’ girl, Mitch.” I laugh and wipe my sleeve across my forehead. “You have Saturday night planned?”
“Beer. Red. Beer.” He shrugs, hammering some nails into the wall. “I thought it was pretty simple.”
“Oh, and I wonder why we have to go to Red. Nothing to do with the fact Saph will be out.” I smirk wryly at him.
“Nope,” he snaps. “Just wanna get out, and since you won’t be attached to Jen’s naked body this weekend, I thought we could have a night like we used to. Y’know, all boys.”
“Yeah, yeah. When you got it, mate, you got it. I most definitely have it.” I check my watch. “Talkin’ of Jen, I gotta go meet her.” I drop my tools by the bar, giving Mitch a playful punch on the shoulder as I leave.
“Twat!” He yells after me. I laugh, practically sliding down the banister. I wink at Saph, grab my coat, and step out into the slightly warmer air. Since the snow disappeared – much to Jen’s delight – it’s started to warm up. A little.
Since her flat is closer to Red, and that’s where I left from this morning, I have to walk to hers. Shit. I wish I’d thought of how bloody tired I’d be after work. And hungry. I’m f**king starving.
I fumble in my pocket for my phone to text Jen as I enter the park outside her house. I shoot off a quick message, telling her to meet me here and we’ll grab chips. I whistle under my breath – and walk straight into someone.
“Shit, sorry, love!” I grab the person’s arms. And drop them like they’re on fire when I see Heidi looking up at me. My jaw clenches.
I’m beginning to wonder if she has a tracking device on me, because she just pops up at the most convenient times. She just “bumps” into me every f**king time.
“Oh, Bing.” She flutters her mascara clad eyelashes at me. “What a coincidence.”
“What is?” I grind out.
“That I should just happen to bump into you.”
“Yes, Heidi. In the largest city in the country – on the side of the city you don’t live – I’m sure it’s a coincidence you just happened to bump into me,” I say dryly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go and meet my girlfriend.”
Her eyes flick over my shoulder, and she puts a hand against my chest. I knock it away.
“Heidi. I f**kin’ mean it. Enough!”
She pushes herself against me and I take a deep breath in to calm myself, tilting my head back slightly.
JEN
Her lips touch his neck softly, her eyes icy and focused on me. Bing jolts, shoving her away, and she smirks at me. I nod at her once.
She wins, because I can’t keep fighting that losing battle with her. I’m only twenty, but I’m too damn old for petty school girl games.
I step backwards as Bing turns, and I hear him yell. The words all run into each other, and that’s what I need to do. I need to run – even though it’s not his fault, it’s all her, and I know he’ll chase me, but I need to get away.
“Jen!” he yells, and I shove my way past people to get out of the park. I glance at the road and run across the empty street. I slam the code into the keypad, yank the door open, and move straight past the lift to the stairs. I take them two at a time and I can hear his footsteps thundering after me.
I push my front door shut behind me, walking across the room to the window. The door opens and closes.
“Please leave,” I say quietly.
“Jen…” He crosses the room to my side and raises his hand to move hair from my face. I shake my head, and step back.
“Please don’t,” I whisper. “I can’t-”
“It was all her. Not me. Believe me, Jen.”
“I know that.” I step back again. “I know it wasn’t you, but I can’t do it. I’ve tried, Bing. I’ve tried so f**king hard to deal with her and all of her bullshit, but I can’t anymore.”
Each word is killing me slowly. It’s snapping off a piece of my heart, breaking it and shattering it. I don’t want this. I don’t want to walk away. He’s become everything so quickly.
“Maybe…” My breath hitches. “…Maybe what we had was never meant to be anything more than sex.”
“What we had?” he asks, his voice more vulnerable than I’ve ever heard. “No, Jen, it hasn’t just disappeared because you decided you can’t do it anymore! It’s always been there, and maybe it always will be, but what we have is more than just sex. Every time I watched you fly apart in my arms, every time we played, joked, laughed, that was more than sex, babe. It was more than sex when I promised you forever.” Tears fill my eyes and I look down. “When I promised you forever, Jen, I f**king meant it. I mean every goddamn word I said.”