The Honeymoon Period (The Austin Series) (58 page)

‘No, I told
you he’d be an eight on cock spot, I mean he’s no Gabe from what I’ve seen, but
he’s not small either. I just don’t know what it is.’

‘Are
penetrative orgasms that important?’ I asked.

‘You are bloody
joking, right?’ she gasped with a look at me.

‘What? Well,
I don’t know, do I?’ I have no one other than Gabe to compare it to.’

‘Maybe not,
but you’re telling me that coming with external stimulation is as good as when
he’s powering into you with his cock alone?’

‘
No,
’
I groaned at the thought of it. ‘I guess not.’

‘Well,
there you are. I need cock stimulated orgasms as well as the others, Mia.’

‘So what
are you going to do?’

‘Go to the
bar and get us more alcohol that’s what. Another jug?’

‘Yes
please, may as well just get me a straw too, save all these glasses,’ I
grinned. She laughed and headed to the bar. Being with her had lifted my mood,
taken the edge of this simmering re-emergence of tension with Gabe. I checked
my phone and found four messages from him, asking if I was ok, each expressing
more urgency for a response than the last. Christ, this was getting ridiculous,
I’d only been out for two hours.

I’m fine
Gabe, I’m having a lovely time catching up with Lexi. Please stop worrying.
Ring you later x

I looked
over at the bar and saw her chatting to an older guy, I watched her carefully
and sighed, I knew the signs, the change in her stance and the way she rubbed
the back of her neck as they talked, she was flirting. I saw them exchanging
numbers and she returned with our drinks.

‘Seriously?’
I said with a scowl.

‘What? I
got you a straw,’ she replied as she brandished it under my nose.

‘Don’t play
all innocent,’ I replied as I grabbed it off her. ‘You just pulled and took his
number to hook up.’

‘So what if
I did?’

‘You’re
seeing my boyfriend’s best friend, one of
our
friends. Doug doesn’t
deserve that Lexi, he’s a really nice guy. If you want to fuck someone else,
finish with him.’

‘But I
don’t want to finish with him. He’s fun.’

‘Is that
all you think it is for him Lex, fun?’

‘I don’t know,
we’ve not had the “
where is this relationship going
” talk and I’m quite
happy about that.’

‘Well, I
think he’s serious about you Lex, so please don’t hurt him unnecessarily.’

‘Going to
tell on me?’ she asked, giving me a look.

‘No, but if
the shit hits the fan I won’t lie for you either. My relationship’s fucked up
enough without adding that to the mix. Speaking of adding to the mix, I was
asked to have a foursome including some girl on girl on Saturday night.’

Lexi spat
her beer on the table and screeched with laughter as I filled her in. I got her
another pint and we carried on laughing as she polished that off as I sucked up
the dredges of my second jug of cocktail. I looked up as a couple of guys came
over and stood by the table and started chatting to us. I laughed at some of
the cheesy chat up lines they were trying on us.

‘Do you
mind if we join you?’ smiled the one. I was about to answer to say we’d rather
be left alone and was stunned to hear Gabe’s annoyed voice.

‘I mind,
she’s with me.’

The guys
turned around, blocking Gabe from my view, but I heard him tell them to get
lost and I looked at Lexi who was as open mouthed as I was.

‘Not a
word, I’ll deal with this when we get home.’ I warned her.

‘Out of
order,’ she hissed and I nodded.

‘Mia.’

‘Gabe.’ I
looked up at him and saw he had his scowl on again, he stood with his hands on
his hips as he held my gaze.

‘You didn’t
answer my texts. I had to come to check you were ok.’

‘I did
answer.’ Damn him, why did he have to look so hot when I was mad with him and
how had he known we were here?

‘Not the
last three you didn’t, or my calls.’

‘Sorry,
didn’t hear my phone over the music. Well then, as you’re here we may as well
go.’ I stood up and saw the look of surprise on his face, it was only nine-thirty.
He was obviously expecting a fight, well he was going to get one the minute
Lexi was out of the way, he’d just ruined our evening together, again, and
sympathetic as I was to the stress he was under, he’d stepped too far across
the line. If I didn’t stop this now, I was making a rod for my own back.

 ‘Lex, you
coming?’ I asked. ‘I’m not happy leaving you out alone.’

‘Sure’ she
said, looking confused from me to Gabe then back to me. I smiled at her, grabbed
my bag and stood up and looked up at Gabe questioningly.

‘Car’s right
outside,’ he said, still looking at me puzzled. I gave him a smile and walked
to the door and they followed me out. Lexi played along and made small talk
with Gabe about our trip until he pulled into the car park. As he got out and
walked around the front of the car I quickly turned to her.

‘Will you
go straight up, I’m going to have it out with him here.’

‘Sure. You
going to be ok?’

‘Who knows,’
I replied with a shrug, resigned to the inevitable argument we were about to
have. So much for not fighting any more. Gabe helped us out and I pulled on his
arm, holding him back, as Lexi walked off.

‘No car sex
Mia, we agreed,’ he smiled as he faced me.

‘O don’t
worry, no car sex,’ I agreed shaking my head. ‘In fact, after your little stunt
tonight you’ll be lucky if you
ever
have sex with me again. You’ve been
out of order before Gabe, but
this
takes the bloody biscuit,’ I hissed
as I glared at him. He stepped back surprised at my tone.

‘Don’t you
dare turn this around on me Mia, I sent you texts and called asking if you were
ok and you didn’t reply,’ he said angrily. I watched his hands go back on his
hips and his eyes narrow as his mouth set in a straight line. No way was I
backing down, I was in the right this time. I stood up straighter, lifting my
chin to show I wasn’t going to be intimidated by him.

‘I was out
with my best friend Gabe, as agreed in advance with you. I don’t constantly
check my phone when I’m out with you to see if Lexi’s feeling insecure after
five minutes without me.’

‘You think
I’m insecure?’ he said with a laugh that gave away just how pissed off he was
at the comment.

‘You
are
insecure Gabe, I’ve only been out for just over three hours, during which time
you’ve texted me seven times and rung me God knows how many more. Then you turn
up in a bar, a bar that you shouldn’t have even known I was in, to ruin my
night out.’

‘Don’t push
me, Mia,’ he growled as his eyes flashed a warning at me.

‘Don’t push
you.
You don’t get to take the high road here, Gabe. I made it clear to
you how important my friendship with Lexi was. I just spent four days alone
with you, during which you apologised for screwing up my last couple of planned
evenings with her and you
promised
to respect my time with her. The
first chance I have to catch up with her, you break your word and come and mess
it all up. You keep doing this and you’ll force my hand.’

‘Meaning?’
His voice had gone dangerously low and his body had completely tensed up. I saw
his fists clenched at his sides, he’d just gone from mad to scarily furious and
I took a quick step back from him.

‘If you
back me into a corner Gabe, if you try and force me to choose between the two
of you, I’ll pick her
every
time. I’m making this perfectly clear to you
right now, so if that happens it’s on you, you’ll have brought this on
yourself.’

‘Are you
fucking kidding me?’ he spat.

‘No, I’m
deadly serious so don’t push me, Gabe. Much as I love you, you’re competing
with seven years of history with the one person in the world who knows me
better than anyone and loves me unconditionally. You either accept that or … or
…’ I faltered, not wanting to go there.

‘Or what,
Mia? Come on finish that sentence.’ His eyes were a turbulent stormy blue as he
glared at me, daring me to say it.

‘We’re
through,’ I said in a firm voice, though inside I was shaking.

‘You’re
giving me a fucking ultimatum?’ he snapped. I watched as his eyes turned cold
and his jaw tightened, I could actually hear his teeth grinding.

‘You
haven’t left me a choice, Gabe. You’re acting totally unreasonable. I’m really
trying to be patient with you, but I'm at the end of my tether. You need to
sort your shit out because you’re really starting to piss me off getting
between Lexi and me.’

‘I don’t
fucking believe you. We just had an amazing weekend and you tell me I’m pissing
you off?’

‘We
did
have
an amazing weekend, Gabe. You and me, just the two of us, most of the time we’re
great, in fact we’re perfect and I couldn’t be happier, but I need more outside
of that. I told you from the start that I needed my friendships and I don’t
think I’m being unreasonable asking for a few hours alone each week with Lexi
or other friends. You asked me to be honest with you, to share my feelings,
well I’m doing that now and you’re
still
getting mad with me. I’m
respecting your imposed decision not to have sex, even though I hate it, yet I
keep telling you what I need and you keep ignoring me, you’re not respecting
my
wishes. My time with her is very important to me and interfering with that’s
going to push me away. Please stop being so
damn
possessive,’ I sighed. He
stood in front of me, his breathing deep and laboured as his eyes burned into
me.

‘Ok let’s
be totally honest then. Lay your cards on the table, Mia. You’re telling me if
I don’t toe the line where Lexi’s concerned, we’re over, is that right?’

‘I’m asking
for two partial nights and the odd day or night out with her, or any of my other
friends and if that’s too much for you to handle then yes, walk away Gabe,
because I can’t be with
anyone
under that tight a leash. I’m not going
to keep having this argument with you, you back off and respect my privacy when
I’m with her.’ I let him see the anger in my eyes and folded my arms across my
chest to reinforce it.

‘Fine, ok then
if ultimatums are on the cards, maybe I should lay down one of my own. A relationship
should be fair, isn’t that what you said, Mia? So let’s make it fair, I’ll back
off with you and Lexi on the condition that you stop seeing Milo in any shape
or form.’

‘
O. My. God
.’
I stood speechless for a moment shaking my head in disbelief. ‘This is so
not
about Milo. I’m sick to death of your fucking issue with a guy that has
never
acted inappropriately with me. A fair comparison to me being pissed off right
now would be if I was trying to stop you from seeing Doug. I don’t interfere in
your friendship with him so you need to stop getting between Lexi and me. As
for my friendship with Milo, I’m not asking you to stop being friends with
Julie, or talking to other girls that may fancy you or that you’ve fucked. I
won’t have you dictating to me on this, Gabe. You’re trying to be all dominant
with me, I’m your girlfriend and an equal, I’m
not
your bloody
submissive so I don’t have to agree to do everything you tell me to. God, I’m so
sick of fighting all the time about bloody Milo.’

‘You’d
prefer I don’t give a shit, Mia? Just look away and let you both flirt with
each other?’ he snapped.

‘
Flirt?!
When have I ever
… I …
arrrggghhh
, Gabe,’ I yelled, beyond
frustrated. Other than my first meeting with Milo, when I was single, I’d never
flirted with him. Gabe was seriously crossing the line of acceptable boy
friendly behaviour now. I let out a heavy sigh and my shoulders slumped. ‘You
know what Gabe, at this precise moment I actually don’t give a shit what
you’re
feeling. Tonight wasn’t about you, it was about me, about me and Lexi spending
some quality time together and somehow you’ve made it all about you again, for
the
third
time in a row. I’m just exhausted, I was having a fun,
carefree night and
you’ve
turned it into this … this fucking nightmare
again.’ I gesticulated with my hands in case my words just weren’t enough for
him. ‘This is too hard Gabe, it shouldn’t be this damn hard.’ I was so annoyed
and upset that I felt some tears roll down my cheek and wiped them away. When
he stepped forward I took a step back and held up my hands. ‘Don’t, don’t you
dare come and touch me. I can’t forgive this with a quick kiss and another apology,
Gabe.’

‘I can’t
believe you’re pulling away from me Mia, we need to deal with this.’

‘No. Just
like I need to deal with my worries about our physical compatibility being our
driving force,
you
need to deal with this problem you have, Gabe. This crowding
of me and not trusting me is
your
issue. I’m not pulling away, you’re
pushing me away.’

‘I’m
pushing you away? You’ve just given
me
a fucking ultimatum, I toe the
line or you leave me.’