Hello everyone. Thank you all who have read the book so far. I'm so surprised at all the reads. It even shot to 1k in a week, so I thank you for that. (I will go back and fix the little mistakes I have found while reading some parts of this, but I hope it hasn't deterred from your reading experience).
I come to you with a bonus chapter (cue the applause and screams). A bonus chapter in Jason's point of view. I had this on my laptop for ages and I forgot I had it (oops!). I was meant to post this ages ago but here we are, better late than never.
I hope you enjoy this little snippet in Jason's view. I had so much writing this and getting into the mind of Jason and how he felt about everything. It was just too cute.
I hope you all enjoy x
Jason's POV – Edinburgh
It had been some time since I'd spoken to Rosie. The last time I had any sort of conversation with her was the night at the club with Max. There was something about Max that would just make my teeth grate. I didn't think he was right for Rosie. I knew they had dated during their time at college but now he wanted to get back together with her? There was a reason they had broken up in the first place, and I didn't know what made Rosie say yes to going out with him again.
So, to say that night at the club was a little awkward would be an understatement. I was glad Aliya came when she did as I didn't know what I would have said or done to Max at that moment. I don't know why I acted the way I did that night. I just wanted to see Rosie happy and I knew she wouldn't with Max. She deserved better.
I'd known Rosie since forever. She was friends with Liz and was a big part of my life. I had gotten used to seeing her around my house, like she was a part of the family. Now she was working, I would see less of her at home. At first, Liz would mope around whenever Rosie wasn't coming around, it was a huge change for all of us.
I suppose Liz's work kept her distracted enough to not notice the change in our household. She seemed to make new friends from her workplace and would hang out with them instead. Rosie would still pop over most weekends and her laughter filled the house once again, like she had been there the whole time.
It wasn't until after the whole club incident, after she had noticeably been spending more time with Max, that a shift could be felt. The house felt strange without Rosie's presence around. It was then, that I realised how much I took her for granted. I was so used to her being around, that when she wasn't here, I actually missed her. It didn't seem to affect Liz as much as I thought it would. She seemed to be distracted on her phone most of the time and had her outings with her work friends to keep her occupied.
I knew the way I had acted at the club was out of line, but I didn't know what to say. I hadn't seen Rosie at lunch during work all week, so I couldn't even apologise. And when I did see her, I didn't know what to say, so I stayed quiet.
I then found out that she was going on the Edinburgh trip and I knew then that was my opportunity to say sorry. And to offload a lot of other thoughts that were swirling through my mind.
Seeing her smile and laugh with Daniel on the plane made me realise how much I had missed her. No matter how much I practiced an apology in my head, it didn't sound right. I just hoped that she would forgive me, and I would have the chance to speak to her again.
All thoughts of Rosie were momentarily paused as I took in the sights of Edinburgh. It was magnificent. The grey clouds poured with rain, making the pavements glitter. In the distance, the castle could be seen, foreboding against the dark clouds.
We finally arrived at the hotel after what felt like a long trip. I was ready to take a nap. My half-asleep tired brain almost didn't register when Victoria said we would be sharing a room together.
Rosie looked at me, her eyes wide, and I didn't know what she was thinking. Was this really a good idea? Why did my heart beat a little faster at the thought of sharing a room with Rosie? I shrugged, feigning innocence, trying to show Rosie it didn't bother me as much as it did.
I let Rosie into our room first, and sighed, glad to be in so I could take a nap. Rosie paused as she walked in, looking around her. I furrowed my eyebrows, hoping everything was okay. I walked in behind her and froze, dropping my bag in the process, now noticing why she was shocked.
If Victoria's little announcement hadn't woken me up before, this now certainly had. Right in the middle of our beautiful bedroom, was a double bed. I was thinking of something to say, anything to combat this awkwardness between us, but my mouth opened and closed like a fish.
"Well, what a way to start an adventure" Rosie laughed, turning to me.
I laughed, shaking my head at the absurd situation we had been put in "This is certainly not the way I thought I'd start of this trip". I knew I wanted to get closer to Rosie, but this was not the way I wanted it to go. "I suppose I better go tell Victoria about the mix up"
"Wait" Rosie shouted, just as I was about to head out the door. "Victoria will probably be in her room relaxing right now. She might even be jetlagged and will be catching up on her sleep. It's best we don't disturb her. Besides, we can sort out sleeping arrangements later"
She had a good point. I suppose we could sort something out later on. But what were we to do while we sorted that out? It wasn't like we were on the best of terms right now. "Okay. what do you suppose we do in the meantime?"
"Are you tired just now?" Rosie asked, a small smile playing on her lips.
I was a little, but I knew that I wanted the chance to speak to Rosie and apologise. Especially since we were sharing a room together, I wanted to clear the air between us. "Nope, not really" I shrugged.
"Then, why don't we go out exploring" Rosie suggested. This was the perfect opportunity to say what I wanted to say. And with that smile of hers, I couldn't say no.
We had walked for a while, venturing not too far from the hotel, walking past Mary Kings close and various shops. We grabbed some dinner on our way back to the hotel, thinking now would be the best time to apologise. Just as I was about to open my mouth, Rosie beat me to it.
"Listen, I just want to clear the air between us" I was glad to see we were on the same page and she wanted to speak about everything that had gone on the past few weeks.
Aliya's advice came flooding back to me in that moment. The night of the club, Aliya and I went for a walk, talking and catching up on everything. It was nice to see Aliya again, but I didn't feel anything as much as I used to for her. She could see something was bothering me and asked me about it.
"I don't know what happened" I said, ruffling my hair "I saw Max with Rosie and just saw red. I don't want to see Rosie hurt"
Aliya gave a small smile "You like this Rosie girl? Who is she to you?"
"She's just my little sisters' best friend" I confirmed.
Aliya raised an eyebrow "Just your sisters' best friend. Nothing more?". I didn't know what Aliya was insinuating. Was she claiming there was something more? I didn't answer her, thinking this over. "It seems to me that you like her as more than a friend"
I shook my head "I don't think it's that. I mean... she's... well..." Memories of our time together came rushing back. Our kiss at the club, our lunchtime meetings, her smile when I would pass her in the office, our kiss at the basketball game. My heart sped up thinking of these small but significant moments. There was a moment, somewhere in there, where I stopped seeing Rosie as my little sisters' best friend but as something more.
"Oh my god, you're right" I shouted, placing my head in my hands.
Aliya chuckled from beside me "Trust me Jason, if anyone knows you well, it's me. I've known you for almost four years, you're like an open book"
"What do I do?" I sighed. "It's not like I can go in there and profess my love for her. Not that I love her...maybe.... I don't know" I sighed, frustrated.
Aliya placed a hand on my shoulder "You don't have to storm in there at this very minute. Just wait for the perfect moment. Plus, this will give you time to sort out your feelings and see how you really feel. Once you know, you should talk to her about it. The worst-case scenario is that she rejects you and you still remain friends. But I don't think you have anything to worry about"
"Thanks Aliya" I smiled. "I'm so glad that I accidently messaged you"
The air was finally clear between us but there was one matter we still hadn't settled on. The sleeping arrangements. I offered to take the floor, but Rosie was insistent I sleep on the bed. She was convincing and, as I didn't have any more energy to argue further, I finally relented. I was jetlagged and would do anything for some sleep. Besides, it would be just for one night, right? Maybe I could convince her again tomorrow night.
I had a greats night's sleep, so much so, that I forgot who I was sleeping beside. Waking up with Rosie next to me was a lovely surprise. The sun filtered in through the windows, bouncing against Rosie's dark hair, that I desperately wanted to brush away but didn't for fear of waking her up. With Rosie cuddled beside me, I didn't want to get out of this bed and I almost felt guilty for wanting more mornings like this.
Looking at the time on my phone, we still had some time before we had to wake up, so I cuddled back into bed again, tucking Rosie closer beside me, wanting this morning to last just a little bit longer. But before long, the alarm went off and I could feel Rosie stirring beside me. I just wanted a few more seconds of sleep, a few more moments of Rosie being beside me, but I knew we had a busy day ahead of us.
I cracked open my eyes, seeing her stare at me. Rosie looked cute with her bed head, her confused look as if she just remembered herself our sleeping arrangements. I tried so hard to hide the smile on my face, both from her startled look and knowing I had slept next to her. It was an interesting morning indeed.
Tonight, was the night of the party and as much as I wanted to be excited about it, something wasn't settling right with me. I just wasn't sure what that was. After meeting the Scotland office and the team we took a stroll towards Edinburgh Castle. I hadn't had the chance to speak to Rosie at the office, so this was my chance to say something about what was on my mind. But with everyone around, it was impossible to get her alone. The castle loomed over us, the grey skies surrounding it giving it a medieval feel. We looked out into the distance, the sun trying to peek out against the greying sky, darkening the rolling green hills. It was magnificent out here.
"Shall we take a selfie? I'll send it to Liz" Rosie asked, getting her phone out to take a picture.
I wanted nothing more than to take a picture with Rosie but making Liz jealous was a bonus. The devil on my shoulder was laughing with me. "She's going to be so jealous. Let's send it now, so that she'll get it just in time for when she wakes up"
Rosie just shook her head, already used to our sibling rivalry. She placed the phone above us, moving it around to get the perfect angle. Without thinking, I moved closer to Rosie, our heads touching, her hair blowing around my face in the wind. The happiness radiated on our faces as the picture was taken, our cheeks rosy with the cold of the wind.
Rosie didn't mention the closeness. If anything, she embraced it. Did that mean she was having the same thoughts I was having about us? I couldn't tell. Maybe I was thinking too much into this. Here I was in the beautiful city of Edinburgh, and all I could think about was the beautiful girl beside me.
We leaned against the walls outside the castle, overlooking the city, colourful cars whizzing by below, the historic buildings around us making me feel like I was in a different world. As amazing as the city was, the same couldn't be said for the weather.
"I wish I brought some gloves" Rosie said, rubbing her hands together.
Without hesitation, I took her hands in mine. "Wow, your hands are cold. Here" and rubbed them against mine to warm them up. Even as kids, we looked out for each other and this was no different. We may have lost our way during our high school years, but we finally found our way back into each other's lives after I came back from college.
She seemed shocked for a moment before a small smile appeared on her face, her brown eyes boring in to mine. I couldn't believe I had the chance to be here with her. Without Liz, or our friends around, it was strange spending all this time alone with Rosie. But the more time I spent with her, the more of it I wanted. With her hand in mine, all the worries I had before disappeared into the cold Edinburgh air as if I had no worries at all.
When they announced our surprise was a dance, I don't think I had ever seen Rosie run to the dance floor fast enough. I knew once you got Rosie on the dance floor, you couldn't get her off.
Seeing Rosie laugh and smile as she danced without a care made my heart skip a beat. The conversation with Aliya played in my head and I knew there was no denying it. The girl that had been in my life for as long as I could remember, the girl who knew everything about me, who could tease me and make me cry with laughter and make me feel better with just her smile, was the one I wanted to be with for the rest of my life.
I just hoped she felt the same way.
I hope you enjoyed that. I wanted to add in the bit where he met his ex girlfriend Aliya as, I myself, was curious and wanted to know what he did after the club night with Max. I also wanted to explore what his thoughts were in Edinburgh as that was where everything seemed to change.
Let me know your thoughts. Don't forget to comment, vote and most importantly fan to keep up to date with my latest shenanigans. I may or may not have more works relating to certain people in this story coming out soon...