My eyes flew to Dean's who looked annoyed to see me there. I wanted the ground to swallow. With a single touch, the door slid open, revealing my crap hiding place.
"How long have you been there?" Dean's body blocked the others from view, his gaze watching me intensively.
"Just." Hating how my voice betrayed how scared I felt.
Why I thought I could lie to Dean was beyond me, his eyes zoned in. Analysing not just the words, but the tone. His perception when it came to body language was like nobodies I'd ever met. Hell, I thought Chase's was pretty good, yet he didn't compare.
He knew. The change in his eyes told me everything. Like God had rained down snow, the once friendly depths were now hard, cold ice. No longer able to control the fear which gripped me, I slowly took a step back. Momentarily a look of panic crossed his face.
"Megan. Nice to finally meet you. I'm Diego." The man squeezed around Dean, offering his hand.
Self-conscious with Dean's eagle eyes surveillanced each movement I made, Diego pulled me past him and into the kitchen. Awkwardly, I stood in the centre. With Dean still by the door behind me, Benji and his girlfriend Tammie wrapped protectively in his arms, and Diego all looking at me, I felt like a freak show.
"Come in, come in. Has anyone offered you any food?" Diego asked, hurriedly putting a tea towel back in its place.
Immediately, I thought how unwell Diego looked. His cheeks caved in, leaving the skin to look almost like it had been draped over his face. His dark skin had a greyish tinge to it, and his eyes never kept still. They wandered continuously.
Even if I hadn't heard the conversation, Diego's addiction, or previous addiction was painfully clear.
My heart ached, I couldn't blame Benji for being mad that I was here. I felt mad Dean had brought me. How could he be so insensitive? Diego didn't need the daughter of the man who'd fucked over his family at his house whilst he was in such a fragile state.
"Yeah, Josiah gave me a hot dog." I smiled politely, forcing myself to look away.
"Great stuff." Diego trailed off. God, I wanted to be anywhere but here. "A drink?" Diego suggested with false upbeatness, that only showed how harrowing my presence was for him.
I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak. Tears burned the back of my eyes, I blinked rapidly. No way would I cry, I had no right to.
"We have alcohol if you want something with a kick?" Benji offered, purposefully being civil.
"This house is an alcohol free zone." Dean growled at Benji, taking some of the anger he had for me, out on him.
"It's just for your birthday, I'm having none. Don't worry." Diego's attempt to cool down the simmering anger radiating from Dean did nothing.
Especially when Benji untangled himself from Tammie, and the pair made to go past him. Deliberately, pausing. "Leave that up to me, it is my only purpose, remember." Benji all but spat the words at Dean.
Turning in just the right time, Diego punched Benji lightly on the arm, breaking the already mountaineering tension.
"Apologise to Megan for earlier." Diego pointed over to me, causing heat not from the summer weather to rush into my cheeks.
"Oh no that's-" Raising his hand, I stopped talking immediately. Diego gazed towards Benji.
"I'm sorry." The apology came easily from Benji, to easily give the circumstances.
"Why are you sorry?" Asked Diego.
"I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable."
"Hey, no worries. I'm sorry for my dad screwing your family over. I hadn't realised" The words were said before my brain could register them.
What followed was a strained silence. Inside I mentally died. Physically I wanted to shake my head and go hide myself, unfortunately that wasn't an option. So I just stood, still in the centre of the fucking room, locking my lips firmly together.
"Thank you Megan." Breaking silence Diego said. "Wow, this is far too tense for a birthday party. Everyone grab a plate and take it outside."
Like everyone wanted to escape the atmosphere as much as I did, Benji and Tammie quickly snatched up the remaining plates and followed Diego outside.
Eager to join in, I made a bid for the door, only for Dean to step deliberately in my path. Thankfully he no longer wore a murderous expression.
"What did Josiah say about Diego's family?"
Glancing up at him, even when I was annoyed at him, I couldn't help admiring his beauty. It was beginning to become a sort of problem.
"Just that My father screwed them over. I'm guessing that's why you don't want me to mention any of this? Will you tell me what happened?" At last, a question I actually knew the answer to.
Deep in thought, I risked a step towards him. Laying my hand flat against his chest, loving how strong he felt beneath my touch. Eventually, I'd understand him, I assured myself. One day, I'll see under the armour he wears like a second skin.
"You believe them then?" Dean covered my hand with his, keeping my hand trapped against him. Not that I minded.
"I get a feeling my father isn't as... squeaky clean as I imagined him to be." I watched for any hint that suggested Dean knew that. How could he not, he worked as the man's right hand man? Did Dean now do the same to other people? Questions after questions, piled on top of each other. By the end of the summer, before I returned home, I'd make it my mission to uncover it all.
"What did you hear by the door?" His hand tightened on mine, there was that panicked look again. What was he afraid I'd heard? Was it the girl? I'd never asked, maybe Dean already had someone. Maybe I was the other woman.
"Nothing."
"Don't lie to me."
"Why didn't you tell me it was your birthday?" I shot back, fed up of answering all his questions but never receiving the same courtesy.
Just as Dean opened his mouth, the man from the firepit crew wearing shorts arrived at the door. A can still in hand.
"I'd better be quick guys, you know how Ryker is when food is around." The man grabbed a plate of sausage rolls and quickly exited.
"Come on." Dean placed a hand on my back, guiding me outside, and leaving yet another one of my questions in the air.
Everyone had gathered around the BBQ, their laughter filling the air. All the tension from before seemed to have vanished, the power of food.
Out of nowhere, a Siberian husky with the bluest eyes I'd ever seen came bolting round the corner, charging straight for Dean. Smiling brighter than I'd ever seen, Dean opened his arms wide for the dog to jump straight into them.
Immediately, the dog began to lick Dean's face enthusiastically. It's body, unable to control the excitement of seeing its owner again, making it difficult for Dean to hold on.
Eventually, Dean placed the dog back onto the floor, giving plenty of belly rubs to try and calm them down.
"How have you been, girl? Missed me?" I'd never heard Dean's voice sound so friendly. Upon hearing her owner's voice, the dog began barking eagerly.
Watching the pair of them play gave me a different side to Dean. He always came off cold and uncaring, yet here his whole focus was on the dog who'd cleared missed him.
I couldn't stop the smile which came to my face when looking at them both. I probably looked like an idiot, standing there smiling down on them.
Kneeling next to the dog who'd calmed down massively, Dean turned to me. "I want you to meet Jessie. Come here, give me your hand." If anyone else had asked I'd have been apprehensive. Having never been around dogs, their loud barks always seem to cause me to jump.
However, doing as Dean asked, I knelt next to him. Noticing how on edge I was, Dean gently took my hand, confidently holding it out to the dog, whilst talking in another language. I listened, trying but failing to understand a word he was saying.
So this is Jessie, I thought as the dog approached me, sniffing and poking my hand with her nose. All the while I thought he had some secret lover on the side, when really it was just his dog.
Not being able to look away, I watched the man I realised I was falling in love with comfort his adoring dog. Jessie looked up at Dean as though he could walk on water. Was that the look I had?
"What language is that?" I asked after a moment.
Not answering, Dean simply tapped his nose to reply. Yet another question left.
"Why do you speak to her in a foreign language?"
"Nobody can control her but me then." Dean answered, not taking his eyes off Jessie. He had such a bond with her, I felt like an outsider standing next to them. Everyday the questions I had about this man mounted, but the answers I had, I liked.
"Control her?" I questioned.
"Jessie is a very intelligent dog."
"I've got your seat over there Megan." Josiah announced as he strode over. Luckily for Dean, ending his chances of needing to explain anymore, and effectively stopping me from learning more.
Josiah showed me over the seat which had been saved by the fire pit, whilst Dean threw a couple of balls for Jessie. I tried to pretend I didn't feel neglected by Dean, preferring to spend time with Jessie, when he'd brought me here. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he's missed his dog, it was more I felt left out. I didn't know these people.
"Dean's a thinker. He thinks of everyone's next step before even they do. He's a great asset, but he needs his time. Gatherings like these, he likes to escape." Josiah's voice pierced my thoughts, his eyes following mine to land on Dean.
"You're his friends right? Why would he need to escape?" Dean fake threw a ball, Jessie didn't even flinch, her eyes trained on the ball still firmly in Dean's hand. "And I've seen him at social events, he's a natural. People love listen to him."
"Because we're his friends, he can escape. Here, he can just be himself. He gets to play ball with his dog."
Sensing that we were watching him, Dean caught my eye. A small happy smile traced his lips. With the smell of the BBQ, chatter, music and the sun just slightly beginning to drop, I returned his smile with one of my own.
I turned back to Josiah to see he'd left.
"So, you're the famous Megan." A young woman in her early twenties said as she sat next to me, her Russian accent faint but definitely there. Her bony hand, held out ready for me to take it. Which I did. "Pleasure to meet you, I'm Kimi, Dean has told us nothing about you, but then I suspect he's told you nothing about us either?" I liked her straightforward manner. Her eyes carefully watched as Dean and the man Kimi had been sitting on earlier approached.
"No, he didn't." I said just before they reached us.
The man held a cider can in his hand, using the other to pull Kimi's lips to his and then sat down and positioned her on top of him. They looked in love, I thought wishfully.
"What are you two gossiping about? Ryker by the way." He spoke with a slight Somerset twang.
"Hi, Megan." I said awkwardly, as Dean silently took the seat next to mine. Pretending not to notice how Dean didn't greet me the way Ryker did Kimi. I wasn't jealous, I repeated.
"Oh we know you." Ryker wiggled his eyebrows, only to stop seconds after when Kimi gave him a swift elbow to the chest.
"So how do you all know each other?" It didn't escape me from the exchange of looks as soon as the question left my lips. Mostly from Kimi and Ryker, Dean's face was back to being expressionless. Apart from his eyes, they gave a clear message to the other two.
Be. Carefully.
"I worked with Dean, until this one-" Ryker suddenly began to tickle Kimi who squealed loudly from the attack. "Decided to get herself blown up. I'm a Doctor, that's how we met."
"Excuse you, I'm a scientist. I make reactions happen, getting blown up is part of the job." Kimi said, using Ryker's chest to push herself back up into a sitting position.
"You definitely make reactions happen." Ryker jilted his hips, throwing Kimi off balance and back down on top of him. Not that he minded.
I looked away from the pair when Kimi began to whisper into Ryker's ear suggestively. Their openness to show their love for each other made me question if I'd ever have that with Dean. They were thoughts I shouldn't be having. A summer fling, that's what I agree with myself. Just like in the films.
Thankfully, the guy who'd interrupted Dean and I in the kitchen came to disturb the two love birds.
"What are you fuckwits talking about?" The man's New Zealand accent stood out more when he swore.
"Megan asked how we all knew each other." Kimi said between kisses.
"Did you tell her the story of how Dean nearly killed me?" The man asked Ryker, who was too busy with Kimi to answer.
"It was a warning shot." Dean leaned back in his chair, looking pointedly at the man. For the first time I noticed Dean had two drinks in his hand.
"Why don't we let Megan be the judge of that?"
At this, Ryker disapprovingly pulled himself away from Kimi to promptly kick the New Zealand man in the shin. "Save it for another day, it's a party. We don't need you yapping on."
"Cory's not still going on about that warning shot is he?"
The poor guy didn't get to say anything in return as Josiah arrived, marshmallows in hand. However, his straying eye over to where the last three remaining partiers were didn't go unnoticed.
"That looks intense." Ryker commented, nodding at Diego hushly telling Benji off.
"He's just a kid who wants to play with the big boys. He'll learn." Josiah said more to Dean than anyone else, who didn't appear to me listening. He sat holding two red cups, staring as the flames danced within the pit. As always his expression was unreadable, but I got the feeling he wasn't thinking happy thoughts.
Instinctively, I placed my hand on his arm. Slowly, Dean looked at it resting there, still deep in thought as everyone chatted around him.