CHAPTER ELEVEN. The Duck.
"IS THIS ONE COOK OR FREDDIE?" Rowan glances up to Victoria as the two stride down the long hallway of the Graham estate, smirking at her sister deviously.
"Shut the fuck up." Victoria sneers, shoving her sister. Rowan snickered, following Victoria like a puppy dog in need for food. The house was filled with the lingering scent of glamorous assortments of freshly handmade food that Victoria's parents personal chefs had created for the evening.
Victoria was on edge about the entire thing. Less than 24 hours ago, Freddie and Victoria were huddled in that kitchen, using that exact stove, pulling ingredients out of that exact fridge and pleasuring themselves on that exact kitchen island.
Don't worry, it had been cleaned.
Thinking about how Victoria's fake boyfriend would be now meeting her parents was surreal. Victoria never really enjoyed the introducing part of relationships, especially when parents were involved. She found it embarrassing, almost. She was easily grossed out by the causality's of relationships, but she never understood why. She didn't like all the typical things that came along with a relationship, and simply preferred everything being simple and not extravagant.
The worst part of this entire event, was that Cook wasn't even a real boyfriend. It was all a game, and the game had gone on for too long.
Victoria's mind was everywhere. Yes, she enjoyed her night with Freddie and wanted it to last forever, but Cook's overwhelming amount of affection today put her off. She was almost concerned Freddie had slipped some sort of information to Cook about last night, but then again, they were currently on the outs.
Victoria's main concern was what would happen after it all. When she would end it with Cook, where would this leave her and Freddie? Would this lead them into something more than friends? Victoria was unsure. She knew that not only would Effy be betrayed, but Cook might as well be. He knew what the plan was from the start. Surely Effy and Cook were sharing intimate late nights together days prior, making Victoria's nerves slightly ease. He couldn't possibly be angry at her for ending it to be with Freddie, right? No. No way. This was his idea — not hers. He had no right to be angry with her.
The amount of anxiety Victoria had just been drowned in was suffocating her. Her palms had become sweaty, her fingers clenched against her palm as if she's gripped on to a ledge, not prepared to let go just yet. Her eyes were frantic — bolting around each edge of the long corridor room that her and Rowan walked along. Her eyes were buzzing, the numbing sound of sizzling pans and hefty foots steps being blocked out all by her screaming internal voices.
Rowan was the first to enter the tall living room that was haunted with tunes of classical music, barely drowning out the chattering voices. Before making her first few steps into the room, Victoria had froze — hoping she'd find a way in such a short amount of time to calm herself. Victoria's ears had easily caught the voice of Cook, her eyes cringing shut as she inhaled a large breath.
Finally bubbling up the courage to appear, her feet gently padded against the marble flooring, slowly entering in with as much silence as she could. Her shadow caught the attention of her mother, causing Vanessa to peer towards her eldest. The woman immediately curled her lips up into a grin, lifting up from the leather cream seat that was twisted beside Victoria's fathers velveteen green chair.
"Victoria! You finally joined us!" Her mother charmingly smiled, lifting her hands towards Victoria. The young girl released a forced smile, side-eyeing Cook. Gaining close contact with her daughter, Vanessa leaned towards Victoria's ear. "You didn't tell me how much of a gentleman your boyfriend is, Victoria."
"He is?" She snickers, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. The balls of Victoria's feet twirled towards Cook, lifting an eyebrow.
"Hi, love." He grins with his freshly polished teeth, surprising Victoria on how dapper and clean he looked. Cook never cared much about his hygiene, so that fact he had dressed up for the occasion so proper really shocked her.
"Hi." She murmurs, taking a seat beside him — far enough away for another to sit in between them. Not having it, Cook slid his body closer to Vic, swinging an arm around her shoulders, causing her body to automatically fall into his chest. Expecting an aroma of cigarette smoke and alcohol, Victoria was met with the satisfying smell of cologne. Her eyes batted up to him, confusion laced through her irises. Cook caught onto this, only smiling.
"So, Victoria, James was telling us about how he's also friends with Effy — I wish you had told us yourself, we could have asked her to come along." Camden had sipped onto his crystal glass cup that was filled with rich scotch.
"Oh, well uh, I just wanted this to be a personal night, you know? Let you all get to know James." Victoria had never called Cook by his first name — her own words sounding forbidden to her.
"I agree." Vanessa patted Camden's knee cap. "Dinner should be ready soon. James — I hope you enjoy duck."
"You're making duck?" Victoria's mouth gaped. "You never make duck."
"Well, I'm not the one making it."
"Mum." Victoria glared.
"It's a special occasion, Victoria. You haven't had a boyfriend since Tony, and he was barely considered just that." Vanessa causally spoke, laughing.
Freezing in Cook's arms, her eyes widened, feeling as though she had been caught in a life-sentencing crime. "Mum!"
"What? Is that name not allowed?"
Victoria groaned, nuzzling her face into Cook's sides to hide away from the embarrassment. Unknowingly, Cook's face was swarmed with redness, slowly rubbing her head for some sort of comfort. "Can we not talk about him, please?" Victoria whispered just loud enough for her parents to her. Knowing his daughters discomfort, Camden sent a look to Vanessa, the older woman understanding.
"Well, while we wait for dinner, I want to speak about your birthday." Vanessa grinned, taking a sip of her savoury red wine.
"Now?" Victoria picks up her head, continuing to snuggle into Cook's side as she had found it comfortable.
"Yes, now." Vanessa chuckled. "It's only a week away, Victoria, we must plan something. It's your first birthday since you've been back home, we need to make it special!"
"It's your birthday in a week?" Cook peers down to Victoria, catching her attention. Victoria huffed, slowly nodding.
"The big one-seven." She sneers. Victoria always loved her birthday, but had slowly begun to hate it due to having to grow up. That was a stupid thing to hate, she knew. But she couldn't help it. She was afraid of what her life will become all on her own.
"It's a big deal, Victoria." Her father pointed towards her, quirking an eyebrow. "Your mother will take you dress shopping."
"Yes!" Her mother jumped like a child.
"I want a dress." Rowan pointed out.
"Nobody is getting a dress." Victoria shuts down the idea.
"Lies. We will all be getting a dress — even your father will dress up for you." Vanessa nudged her husband.
"Oh, yes, I will." Victoria's father continued to encourage her mother, receiving a glare from Vic. Her father only winked, amused by this entire conversation, unlike Victoria.
"We must think of a theme. We will have live music in the yard, and make sure we order a cake from that bakery up on fifth and broad — you always enjoy their sweets, don't you, Victoria?"
"Yeah, mum." She whispers, playing with her shoes laces. "I don't really need a theme. I just want to enjoy time with my friends and family." Victoria shrugs.
"That's sweet, darling." Vanessa's lips pouted, admiring her daughters thoughtfulness. "But there will be a theme."
"Ugh, mum!" Victoria's head tossed back out of frustration, the vibrations of Cook's laughter pumping against her skull. Vic couldn't help but chuckle along with Cook, smacking the side of his thigh for making her laugh.
"Oh! Ducks ready." Her mother speaks in a sing-song tone of a voice, her shoulders oddly shuffling along into the kitchen. Rowan followed her mother in pursuit, as Camden did as well, leaving Victoria and Cook alone.
"Enjoying yourself?" She glances up to Cook, pulling herself up and away from him. Her hand reached out for him to grab, willingly opened to help him to his feet.
"Very much." He grabs onto her soft hand, gently tugging her. Once meeting her height, Cook released a sigh, brushing a piece of fallen hair away from her naked face. "You look pretty."
"Thank you." She gently whispers, unknowingly stroking his hand. Their bodies were close to one another, both meeting a matching pattern of breathing without even realizing. His body heat waved against her, her heartbeat catching up hastily.
"Vic," His tone of voice caught her attention. It was sultry, almost. "After this, I know we need to talk." He clears his throat, scratching the back of his head. "And I'm going to be honest with you, it's been stressing me out."
"Why?"
"Because, I know what the main topic of discussion is." He shakes his head. "Listen, I-"
"Victoria! James! Come on, you two! The Duck will get cold!" Vanessa shouted from inside the dining room, causing Victoria's eyes to roll.
"That fucking duck."
authors note
i formally apologize cuz this SUCKS but i needed to update